Medicines (c): Leaves (Paṇṇa/Patra)

Only the Theravāda Bhesajjakkhandhaka and the Mūlasarvāstivāda Bhaiṣajyavastu include a list of leaf-medicines.

Moreover, the Sanskrit and the Chinese versions of the latter text have slightly different lists.

Theravāda:—“… the leaf medicines [are]: leaf of neem tree, leaf of Tellicherry bark, leaf of pointed gourd, leaf of holy basil,^[1] leaf of Levant cotton, or whatever other leaf medicines there are; neither they serve as hard food among the hard food, nor as soft food among the soft food. Having accepted them, [one has] to take care of [them] for the duration of one's life, [and] to use [them] when there is a reason.”^[2]

Mūlasarvāstivāda (Sanskrit):—“Leaf-medicine is: leaf of pointed gourd, leaf of Malabar nut tree, leaf of neem tree, leaf of ridged gourd, leaf of Indian devil tree; or, furthermore, another [leaf which] serves for the need of leaf-medicine [but] not for the need of food.”^[3]

Mūlasarvāstivāda (Chinese):—“Leaf medicines are three leaves,^[4] [which] mean: pickled vegetable (leaf of pointed gourd?), leaf of Malabar nut tree …, [leaf of] neem tree …, [leaf of] ridged gourd …, and the others belonging to this category,[which] should be used in accordance with the preceding [teaching].”^[5]

All these plants are known in Āyurveda, but are not specified as leafmedicines. Moreover, various leaves are mentioned in the Āyurvedic texts but they are not systematised as a particular category. Numerous leaves are named in the group of vegetables (śāka) in the chapters concerning food and drink in these Indian medical treatises, with their individual properties and effects on the body (Caraka Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 27. 878 ff.; Suśruta Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 46. 249 ff.; Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 6. 72 ff.). In modern medicinal botany, it is stated that “the leaves of plants, shrubs, and trees can be used for medicinal properties. Leaves can be used alone or can be mixed with twigs, stems, and buds” (U.S. Forest Service 2015b).

The leaf-medicines mentioned in the Chapters on Medicine of the Theravāda and Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinayas are summarised as follows:

	Original name	English name	Botanical name
Theravāda	nimbapaṇṇa	leaf of neem tree	Azadirachta indica
	kuṭajapaṇṇa	leaf of Tellicherry bark	Holarrhena antidysenterica
	paṭolapaṇṇa	leaf of pointed gourd	Trichosanthes dioica
	sulasipaṇṇa	leaf of holy basil	Ocimum sanctum
	kappāsikapaṇṇa	leaf of Levant cotton	Gossypium herbaceum
Mūlasarvāstivāda (Sanskrit)	paṭolapatra	leaf of pointed gourd	Trichosanthes dioica
	vāśikapatra	leaf of Malabar nut tree	Adhatoda vasica
	nimbapatra	leaf of neem tree	Azadirachta indica
	kośātakīpatra	leaf of ridged gourd	Luffa acutangula
	saptaparṇapatra	leaf of Indian devil tree	Alstonia scholaris
Mūlasarvāstivāda (Chinese)	酸菜	pickled vegetable (leaf of pointed gourd?)	Trichosanthes dioica (?)
	婆奢迦葉	leaf of Malabar nut tree	Adhatoda vasica
	絍婆	(leaf of) neem tree	Azadirachta indica
	高奢得枳	(leaf of) ridged gourd	Luffa acutangula

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Sulasī should refer to surasa, surasā, or tulasī in Sanskrit. It is holy basil. See also Khare 2012, 630, 646.

[2]:

Theravāda Vinaya Piṭaka I. 201: “... paṇṇāni bhesajjāni nimbapaṇṇaṃ kuṭajapaṇṇaṃ paṭolapaṇṇaṃ sulasipaṇṇaṃ kappāsikapaṇṇaṃ yāni vā pan’ aññāni pi atthi paṇṇāni bhesajjāni, n’ eva khādaniye khādaniyattaṃ pharanti na bhojaniye bhojaniyattaṃ pharanti, tāni paṭiggahetvā yāvajīvaṃ pariharituṃ, sati paccaye paribhuñjituṃ.”

[3]:

Gilgit Manuscripts III. 1.iii: “patrabhaiṣajyam| paṭolapatraṃ vāśikapatraṃ nimbapatraṃ kośātakīpatraṃ saptaparṇapatramiti| yadvā punaranyadapi patrabhaiṣajyārthāya spharati nāmiṣārthāya|” Vāśikā is synonymous with vāsaka.

[4]:

In the Chinese version, there is a term “三葉” which literally means “three leaves” before listing the items of leaf-medicine. It seems that the translator might have mistaken 酸菜 and 婆奢迦葉 as one term rather than two. 酸菜 means “pickled vegetable”. By comparing the Chinese version with the Sanskrit one, this term probably refers to the leaf of pointed gourd that can be cooked as vegetable (Khare 2004, 458).

[5]:

Taishō Tripiṭaka 1448. 1b15-16: “葉藥者，三葉：謂酸菜婆奢迦葉...，絍婆...，高奢得枳...，及以餘類，准前應用。” 婆奢迦 is vāśikā or vāsaka. 絍婆 is nimba. 高奢得枳 is kośātakī.