A Critical Review on the Ksheer Varga in Ayurveda

Abstract

Milk in Ayurved is considered as a ‘Amruta’ in our body. Kshir varga is the collection of the names of animals whose milk is medically important. The mention of kshir varga is vastly found in Ashtanga Sangraha, Ashtanga Hridaya, Charak Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, Bhavprakash Nighantu. There are eight types of milk viz. Cow’s Milk, Buffalo’s Milk, Woman’s Milk, Goat’s Milk, Sheep’s Milk, Sheep’s milk, Elephant’s Milk, Horse’s Milk and Camel’s Milk. If we try to understand modern approach towards milk, then many researches have shown that consumption of something full of fat and carbohydrate as milk is the one that reduces the child obesity, possible explanation for this being that when children’s body receives needed amount of nutrients , vitamins and minerals then the food intake or junk intake is reduced by a significant level and thus reducing the fat deposition in the body of children preventing child obesity. In this very way many other conditions can be controlled by using milk intellectually. Thus, it is now easy to understand the amount of importance of milk in Ayurved and modern sciences.

Keywords: Ksheer, Sheep’s milk, Elephant’s Milk, Churna, bhavna.