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<p>This study discusses notions of plant consciousness within the classical Ayurveda text, the <i>Caraka&#xa0;Saṁhitā</i>&#xa0;(CS) and its ideas on vegetal ‘being’. Drawing extensively from Cakrapāṇidatta’s commentarial gloss on the CS, the <i>Āyurvedadīpikā</i>, it begins by pointing to two frequently conflicting conceptualizations and positions ascribed to plants within the text: (a) plants as material agents of therapy and (b) plants as sentient and conscious ‘beings’. Then, drawing upon the CS’s suggestion that the property of consciousness can be inferred from sentience, the paper investigates Cakrapāṇidatta’s position that plants are not only sentient but also capable of some degree of self-awareness. It then proceeds to ask whether plants may be considered as possessing ‘minds’, situating this discussion within the broader epistemic framework of the CS’s theory of <i>sparśa</i>. In conclusion, the study discusses the implications and challenges of such notions of plant being in view of the text’s overwhelming dependence on a herbal pharmacopeia.</p>

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Are Plants Conscious? Vegetal ‘Being’ in the Caraka Saṁhitā

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年9月22日

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  • Pushya A. Gautama,
  • Sangeetha Menon

摘要

This study discusses notions of plant consciousness within the classical Ayurveda text, the Caraka Saṁhitā (CS) and its ideas on vegetal ‘being’. Drawing extensively from Cakrapāṇidatta’s commentarial gloss on the CS, the Āyurvedadīpikā, it begins by pointing to two frequently conflicting conceptualizations and positions ascribed to plants within the text: (a) plants as material agents of therapy and (b) plants as sentient and conscious ‘beings’. Then, drawing upon the CS’s suggestion that the property of consciousness can be inferred from sentience, the paper investigates Cakrapāṇidatta’s position that plants are not only sentient but also capable of some degree of self-awareness. It then proceeds to ask whether plants may be considered as possessing ‘minds’, situating this discussion within the broader epistemic framework of the CS’s theory of sparśa. In conclusion, the study discusses the implications and challenges of such notions of plant being in view of the text’s overwhelming dependence on a herbal pharmacopeia.