[The "jivaniya class of herbs" (Shi Tian Yao) in the Bower Manuscript (Bao Wei Er Xie Ben)].

ABSTRACT

The Bower Manuscript (Bao Wei Er Xie Ben) is a Sanskrit document unearthed in Xinjiang in the 19th century. The ten drugs, which tasted sweet, and used widely were named as the "jivaniya class of herbs" (Shi Tian Yao) in this document . It was found that "jivaniya" tasted sweet, felt cold and was often used in tonic decoction for relieving serious vata (Feng), with references to the ancient medical book Ayurveda and the modern Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia. "Jivaniya" was constructed with different dossage forms, such as butter, oil, enema, ointment. It can treat some diseases of consumption of the lungs, epilepsy, consumptive diseases and fever of children in Bower Manuscript (Bao Wei Er Xie Ben). The theories of "jivaniya" came from Ayurveda. Compared with the theories of traditional Chinese Medicine, the theory that "jivaniya" can treat consumptive diseases appears similar to the theories in Su Wen about "Feng Xiao". The theories of Traditional Indian medicine and Chinese medicine appear resemblant, such as the commonalities in terms of using sweet tonics with liquorice and Fritillaria cirrhosa to treat comsumptive diseases.