Aushadhi — Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia and Herb Classification
The Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia classifies thousands of medicinal substances by their elemental composition, taste, potency, post-digestive effect, and specific dosha-modulating actions — a comprehensive system of natural pharmacy.
Dravyaguna (literally 'substance-quality') is the Ayurvedic science of pharmacology — the systematic analysis of the therapeutic properties of every medicinal substance. Charaka's Materia Medica lists over 700 herbs, and the combined classical literature describes over 5,000 medicinal substances including plants, minerals, animal products, and processed preparations. Each substance is analyzed through: Rasa (taste — the six tastes that indicate dosha action), Guna (qualities — the 20 pairs of opposing qualities), Virya (potency — heating or cooling), Vipaka (post-digestive effect), and Prabhava (special action beyond what taste and potency predict). This classification system allows the trained Ayurvedic physician to predict the therapeutic action of previously unknown substances by analyzing their qualities — a remarkable epistemological innovation. Modern drug discovery has increasingly turned to Ayurvedic texts as sources of lead compounds for pharmaceutical development.
There is no substance in the world that cannot serve as medicine in the hands of the wise physician who knows its qualities.
The WHO's Traditional Medicine Strategy 2019-2025 acknowledges Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia as a rich source for drug discovery: approximately 25% of modern pharmaceuticals derive from plant compounds first identified in traditional medicine systems, and Ayurvedic leads have yielded compounds like curcumin, reserpine, and guggulsterone.
Charaka Samhita