Ayurveda Initiative For Global Health

Rice as a sacred grain in India - Part 2. Did you know that Rice, a sacred grain which has spiritual heritage in India, represents Prajapati or Janardana, as it is one of the earliest cereals known to humanity? Rice, a sacred grain in India with the ancient scripture Vedas referring to it as simply 'annam', meaning food, represents vedic deity Prajapati (lord and protector of creation) or Janardana (monicker of Vishnu) as it is one of the earliest cereals known to humanity, and thus, is held in great reverence and is used in most religious activities of Hindus. According to Dr Richaria, a well known rice scientist, in India 400,000 varieties of rice existed during the Vedic period, and even at present the number is reported to be 200,000; the Indian state of Chhatisgarh alone is stated to have 20,000 types. Atharva Veda defines rice as the "sons of heaven who never die". According to Taittiriya Brhamana, the god of rice is called An...

Rice production in India - Part 1, History and production Did you know that Rice, an export of India in ancient times, had the Grecian name of Uryza which is idenetifed by the Tamil word ‘arisi’? Rice (Oryza sativa) is the staple food of the Indian subcontinent. and is grown in its Tropical and Sub tropical areas. Unmilled rice is known as "paddy". There is a huge varietal diversity of rice in relation to the aroma and morphological and grain charchteristics. From ancient days India placed great emphasis on growing aromatic rice and Hindu scriptures make mention of this fact in Charak Samhita, Vedas, and Rigveda and the oldest records.  Short grained rice of India are non-glutinous while Jasmine rice is gutinous. It is the dominant crop in India and one of its chief grains. and is grown in almost all its states.  Oryza sativa is the botancial name for rice as it is the seed of the grass species Oryza sativa (Asia...

Significance of Rice in hinduism In Hinduism, rice holds great spiritual and ritual significance as it is a staple of the Indian diet. Because of its basic life-sustaining qualities, rice is revered as a potent symbol of auspiciousness, prosperity and fertility and therefore is used extensively in Hindu rites and rituals. Rice particularly plays a significant role in some Hindu samskaras -- rite-of-passage ceremonies that signify transition periods in an individual’s life and personality development -- as well as in harvest festivals. During a Hindu wedding, rice is often sprinkled over the newlywed couple to bless them with a prosperous married life. Because rice is thought to ward off demons, it is poured into the wedding fire by the bride and bridegroom. It is also offered by the couple to their patron household deity after the completion of the marriage ceremony and sprinkled around the house by the new bride to secure blessings on their joint ho...

Navara Rice (Oryza sativa) Did you know that Navara Rice a variety of Oryza Sativa, a special kind of rice grown exclusively in some districts of Kerala, is used in panchakarma treatment, the five therapeutic measures for complete Detoxification of body, called Navarakizhi?   Navara Rice is a special variety of Oryza sativa, an Asian rice, which is cultivated largely in Palakkad and neighboring districts of Kerala state. It is called Navarakizhi in Kerala and is known as Shashtikashali in Ayurveda and is a replenishing drink, called karkidakakanji, and is effective in curing fatigue.particularly famous as the critical ingredient of a Kerala panchakarma specialty treatment procedure, a traditional rejuvenation therapy, undertaken for complete detoxification of body. It is a unique grain grass plant in the Oryza group which originated somewhere in Kerala and regarded as endemic. By officially assigning it a geographical indication status (GI tag), in 2017, granted by Governmen...