Introduction

Kriya this word refers to “the procedure that is being/will be performed” while the word “kalpa” means “the formulations used in the treatment”. So, Kriya-kalpa when brought together brings the whole meaning as follows, “using the help of various formulations or yog, procedures are performed which help in achieving the purpose of curing the patient.” The first reference to Kriya-Kalpa can be found in the Sushruta Uttar-tantra chapter 18. When Acharya states, “athatah kriyakalpam vyakhyasyamah, yathovacha bhagwan dhanvantari”, mentioning the contents of kriyakalpa, bhagwan dhanvantari states to Acharya Sushruta, “tarpanam putapakashcha seka ashchyotananjane, tatra tatraupdeshtani tesham vyasam nibodha me” which means “tarpan putapaka, seka, ashchyotan, Anjan, these five procedures are mentioned here/stated here, that help treat the different conditions of eyes in different methods accordingly.”Then we get to see acharya Sharangdhar mentions kriyakalpa in the Uttar-tantra, khand 13, where he mentioned Seven upakarma that comes under kriyakalpas and helps in the treatment of different eye disorders. These seven upakarmas are as follows- “seka, ashchyotan, anjan, tarpan, putapaka, pindi, vidalak”, so acharya sharangdhar mentions two extra upakarma that are “pindi and vidalak.” All of the proceures will be explained later. Before that, it is important to mention the importance of kriyakalpas.

Tarpan

Tarpan is the first procedure mentioned under putapaka by Acharya Sushruta, and it is an important procedure that helps in curing various conditions related to the eyes. The word “tarpan” means “to provide nourishment”, so this procedure helps in providing the needed nourishment to the eyes. As is said by acharya sharangdhar, “For the tripti of the netra, the tarpan is the best procedure.” Now, for each type of procedure described, there are some indications and contraindications.

Importance of kriya-kalpas-

Specifically, these procedures are administered as the sthanik chikitsa for the eyes as every procedure mentioned is focused on the eyes.The eyes are one of the most important organs or senses that are possessed by humans, they help the person in viewing the world and understanding the different natures of things and so, kriya-kalpas help in serving the purpose of treatment of such an important body organ. It does not just resolve the short-term issues of the eyes but also helps in maintaining and keeping the eyes healthy for a long time through various procedures. Kriyakalpas are meant to alleviate the sthanik kha vaigunya, that resulted due to the vitiated doshas and were manifesting differently in the eye organ. Kriyakalpas are also found to be effective to alleviate the symptoms and effects of visha and also helpful to some extent to even help in sarva-deha-vikaras. So, this explains it has both the sthanik and as well as sarvadaihik prabhava.

Indications of Tarpan-

In ashtanga hridaya sutrasthana chapter 24, tarpan putapaka adhyay, the indications of tarpan are indicated as follows- too much heaviness in eyes, seeing the darkness in front of eyes, squint, falling of eyelashes, cataracts, abhishyanda, etc.In patients with redness in eyes, teariness, pain, or swelling in the eyes, when the dirt in the eyes is cleaned up, vaman, virenchan, and nasya as suitable for the patient should be used for shodhan, and only after that in a place with indirect flow of air, in sadharan rutu, and either in the early morning or in the early evening, the patient should be carried out with the procedure of tarpan. 

In Sushruta Samhita, uttartantra, chapter 18, the indications of tarpan are stated as follows- when eyes are excessively dry, irritation in eyes, harsh eyelash hairs, when eyelashes are falling, too much dirt is present, squint eyes, etc. in such conditions, when the tarpan is given to the patient it surely gives, strength to the eyes of the patient. Here, we are able to observe that the tarpan is a procedure, in which we mostly provide nourishment to the eyes of the patient, and for the purpose of providing the proper nourishment to the eyes, we use nourishing means like ghrita etc, and thus the diseases in which such a procedure can be indicated are the conditions where due to some reason the eyes are not able to get proper nourishment just like, computer eye syndrome, dry eyes etc.also, in procedure of administering the tarpan dravya in the eyes, it is kept luke warm for comforting the eyes, it is a type of seka for the eyes and it becomes comfortable for the eyes as the muscles can be relaxed through this seka plus the warm nature of the ghrita provides the ghrita a proper temperature through which it can impermeate through the membrane and act properly, plus the procedure of opening and closing of eyes immersed in the ghrita helps in proper spreading of the ghrita throughout the eyes through the circular motion of the eyes that happens during the opening and closing of the eyes.

Matra of the tarpan-

According to Dosha –

  Dosha                                  Matra

  Healthy person (Swastha) 500 vaka matra

  Vata dushti                       1000vaka matra

  Pitta dushti                         800 vaka matra

  Kapha dushti                      600 vaka matra

According to Adhishthana-

 Adhishthana                       Matra

Sandhigata                300 vaka matra

Vartamgata               100 vaka matra

Shuklagata                500 vaka matra

Krishnagata              700 vaka matra

Drishtigata                800/1000 vaka matra

1 matra = 1 second approximately.

What is the use of matra?

Matra is marked as the time for which the ghrita is allowed to stay in the eyes, this ghrita when it is poured into the barrier that is created called, “pali” made with the help of urad daal, is lukewarm and comforting for the eyes, it now, the main purpose of administration of this tarpak dravya in eyes is to provide nourishment and help in correcting the dosha. The purpose of matra is that in eye anatomy according to the Ayurved, the eye is made up of 5 layers namely, vartam, sandhi, Shukla, Krishna, and drishti and these layers are superficial to deep and to reach the deeper parts, the ghrita needs more time than that when the ghrita needs to work superficially, also, which dosha is imbalanced is also an important factor in deciding the time/matra for which the ghrita should be allowed to stay in. As is stated in the above tables, to support the following timings, the reasoning is as follows-  

First, discussing the matra needed for the ghrita to be allowed to stay in the eyes according to the doshas, so, for a normal and healthy eye, 500 vaka matra is stated as the proper time to be allowed, the reason behind being for healthy eyes, the main purpose is just to provide the nourishment to the eyes and for that purpose for all the elements to reach throughout the system and allows the ghrita to infuse properly. While, just next comes the vata dosha, for which 1000 vaka matra is stated as the proper time to help infuse the ghrita in the eyes, now, here our purpose has changed plus it is not a normal condition, complexity is added here, because of which, now, he ghrita needs more time to perform its action, plus if we compare, we see that the properties of vata and ghrita are opposing to each other, which is that where vata dosha is ruksha, sheeta, karkash, etc. the ghrita on that place has the properties of snigdhta and saumyata and these are the properties that then gives us the understanding that the ghrita has to reduce the dushit vata and also work on the principle of providing the nourishment to the body since it has to work on opposing properties it needs more time to help the body reduce the dushit vata and bring back the health of the eyes. Similarly, for the pitta dosha, it says 800 matra, now, here there is pitta dushti, and eyes are also pitta Pradhan anatomical structures of the body, then why is it said to be a dushti? The pitta here is not possessing its natural properties but this pitta is the dushit pitta that is not healthy for the body, and thus this vitiated pitta needs to be balanced since it is a dosha that is of similar properties of the eyes i.e. teja mahabhuta bahulya, it comparatively needs less time that the vata dosha, but since we know that if the dosha and dushya are of similar qualities then it is difficult for the Vaidya to treat the disease and on this principle, it needs more time thus the matra is stated to be 800 matra kala. when we see now for the kapha dosha, it needs the least time comparatively, because the ghrita is of similar qualities to the kapha but is not kapha vardhak, plus eyes are tej mahabhuta organ and kapha dosha is jala, and Prithvi mahabhuta dosha, so these two oppose each other and that makes it easy for the ghrita to treat the condition. Kapha dosha disorders only need 600 vaka matra of the time. This way the reasoning for the need for a specific amount of matra for ghrita is explained.

Next, let’s understand the basis behind the time needed by the ghrita for penetration according to the adhishthana. So, when it comes to adhishthana, we have, sandhi gata, vartam gata, Shukla gata, Krishna gata, and drishti gata. There are these 5 adhishthanas. All of these 5 adhishthanas are in the order from the outermost to deeper, so the sandhi gata roga is more superficial than the drishti gata roga and thus, accordingly, the time needed to reach the specific layers would need more time. Thus, this time difference and the time frame that has been set.

After the completion of the procedure, the eyes are properly nourished and even eyes are snehit or ghrita purna, being ghrita purna, this leads to an increase in the kapha in the eyes of the patient, this kapha needs to be balanced out for which following procedures should be followed-

Prepare a pithi of jau and keep it warm, and this should be used as a udavartan in the surrounding parts of the eye that then helps in the balancing of the kapha dosha.

Dhoomapana is also very helpful in balancing out the kapha dosha as it helps in the vilayana of the doshas. Plus it has the properties that are appropriate for balancing out the kapha doshas. Tarpan kriya should be done for 1, 3, or 5 days as is stated by Acharya Sushruta, whereas, acharya vagbhata mentions that in vataj roga, tarpan should be done every day, while in pitta roga, tarpan should be done every alternate day and for kaphaj dosha, it should be done every third day until samyak tarpak lakshan are not observed.

Samyak tarpan lakshan

Samyak tarpan means the tarpan that has been performed successfully and the patient is showing results. The signs for samyak lakshan are as follows-

According to Ashtanga Hridaya Sutra 24/11-

• Able to open eyes comfortably in light.
• Healthy-looking glow-in eyes
• Softness in eyes
• Does not feel heavy

These are the symptoms of samyak tarpan.

According to Sushruta uttartantra 18/12-13-

• Sukhapoorvak nidra
• Sukhapoorvak Jagran
• Nirmalata in Netra
• Varn (colors) are properly distinguishable by the patient
• Netra is properly and healthily functioning

All of these symptoms are for the samyak tarpan.

Ati- tarpan lakshan

Ati- tarpan, as the name suggests, “when the tarpan is done in more quantity than needed, then it is called ati-tarpit.”  The symptoms that indicate ati-tarpan are as follows-

Guruta of eyes, aaveelta in eyes(dirt in eyes), ati-snigdha, ati- ashru, kandu-yukta. All of these symptoms are of Ati-Tarpan.

Heena- tarpit lakshan

Heena tarpit, as the name suggests, is “when the tarpan is done in less quantity or for less time than needed, then it is called Heena-tarpan lakshan” Symptoms that indicate heena tarpan are as follows-

Rukshta, aaveelta in eyes, excess ashru in eyes, asahishnuta to light, roga vriddhi.

Chikitsa of Heena and Ati tarpan:

For the treatment of Heena tarpan and ati-tarpan, the methods prescribed are- Dhooma, Nasya, Anjana, Snigdha Seka, etc. should be used according to the usage and the doshas involved. The reasoning behind the selection of the following processes are as follows-

Dhooma-

Dhooma-pan is a upakrama that is administered in the form of smoke, that is inhaled through the path of the nose. Now, the drugs used are always based on the condition that is being treated and the patient’s balance and overall condition. Dhooma mainly consists of properties like ruksha, teekshna, ushna, etc. and such properties are more appropriate for the treatment of the ati-tarpan, as in ati-tarpan the patient’s eyes have received more nourishment than needed. This way dhooma helps in the treatment of ati-tarpan especially.

Nasya-

Nasya is a procedure in which the medicine is administered in the body through the nasal pathway with the help of drops, now the method of administration may differ based on the dosha and condition of the patient that is to be treated. For example, if we have to treat heena- tarpan then for that condition we need to use the dravyas that can provide nourishment and pacify the doshas at the same time, like a ghrita or some other type of sneha will be used. while to treat a condition like the ati-tarpan the nasya that should be used should consist of properties like rukshan properties and properties that help in balancing the excess tarpan, like a swaras, etc. This way the procedure of nasya helps in treating both the conditions, the ati-tarpan, and the heena-tarpan.

Anjana-

Anjana is a procedure that is used specifically for the eyes and its diseases. In this manner, where ati-tarpan or heena-tarpan is the problem related to the eyes specifically, then in that condition, tarpan becomes one of the best procedures to tackle the issues with the eyes because of its organ-centric action. In Anjana, the person has to apply a churn or Kalka form of medicinal preparation on their lower waterline. This medicinal preparation helps in treating the condition accordingly by exposing the eye to the medicinal drug in these forms. For example, for heena-tarpan, the preparation will include drugs that will provide nourishment and help to pacify and balance the doshas properly. While, on the other hand, for the ati- tarpan, the opposite quality will be used for balancing things out. 

Snigdha Seka-

Seka as the name suggests is fomentation. Fomentation can be of two basic types, hot fomentation or cold fomentation. Fomentation therapy is used as a superficial and non-invasive method of treatment. Now, here acharya has specifically mentioned the use of Snigdha seka, it can be more helpful in the treatment of the heena-tarpan but can also work for the treatment of ati-tarpan on the proper selection of the Sneha used.

This way the mechanism of action of all the treatment procedures used for the treatment of ati-tarpan and heena-tarpan has been explained.

Discussion

World population in today’s world has increased to 8 billion in today’s date and a quarter of this population i.e. approximately 2 billion people suffer from one or the other types of eye disorders and the ophthalmologists that are present all around the world are approximately 2-3 lakhs at most, that makes 1:1 lakh patient per doctor what is the success rate? Can one doctor successfully see as many patients in his/her lifetime? This is why eye disorders have become one of the most major concerns that should be taken seriously and should be addressed properly, along with which the options available to provide appropriate or proper treatment to the patient differ a lot. Tarpan provides an easy and proper method of reversing eye disorders and maintaining the proper eye health of the patients for a lifetime, it acts in both ways, as a treatment as well as a precautionary measure. To treat eye disorders, the vastness of treatment procedures available that can be used for eyes differs in the two pathies, i.e., allopathy and Ayurved, in which the mention of kriya kalpa becomes of high importance where through various formulations and preparations various kinds of procedures can be used for treatment as is suitable for the patient, this gives the patient a wide variety of treatment to choose from as well and the Vaidya also gets various options to decide from. Whereas allopathy, mostly has the treatment options of medicines, droplets, etc.

Now, in kriya-kalpa, the first one that comes is tarpan and this procedure of tarpan is very vast and can be used very successfully in various kinds of conditions like, dry eye syndrome, computer eye syndrome, weakening of sight, etc. tarpan is a procedure that can very easily be used to tackle down various eye disorders that are rather difficult to tackle with and that too much easily as it’s principle of working or mode of action is such that it works to the core of disorders, makes the eye healthy again and helps to maintain the eye health just as it is. All of these properties make it a very good way to even maintain proper eye health or even help in overcoming the disorder properly.  

Conclusion

Netra-tarpan, a procedure that is used for providing the proper nourishment to the eyes, has been explored and explained here in all its details. with the start of understanding the basis of kriya-kalpa and it’s meaning, all the upakarma that comes under the kriya kalpa, that helps in the treatment of the urdhva-jatru gata rogas. Then move on to the tarpan and understand the basis of this procedure. Its procedure, benefits, etc. Tarpan is a procedure that helps in providing the eyes with the nourishment that it needs to receive and helps the components to reach the depths of the layers of the eyes and helps maintain the health of the eyes and also helps in overcoming various types of eye disorders that might damage the eyes in long term or even weaken the eyesight in long term, but with tarpan, the chances of such effects are reduced significantly as the ghrita used for the tarpan is specifically used for strengthening the eyes like the mahatriphala ghritam. The tarpan acts as a precautionary method as well and may help in controlling the ever-increasing number of eye disorders throughout the world. With the lipid base, it also helps it more acceptable for the body as tarpan is done using the sneha dravya mostly ghrita, which is readily accepted by the body and helps in healing much fast and also helps in pacifying the doshas at the same time. This way tarpan helps in treating many ailments of the eyes which is one of the most important senses and organs of the body.