Plants of Atharvaveda: Their descriptions and medicinal uses

Atharvaveda is the fourth veda in the usual order of enumeration after Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, and Samaveda. However, the historical analysis of Atharvaveda shows that it is as old as Ṛgveda. The Atharvaveda saṃhitā contains around 5987 verses, which varies slightly based on the two recessions. These saṃhitās are curious compendiums of medicine in its various stages of evolution and include the most primitive as well as some of the most highly developed stages of therapy. Most of the vedic healing verses/liturgies occur in the Atharvaveda. These liturgies, termed Bhaiṣajya suktās (hymns on medicine), which deal with human diseases, their causes, and cures, show a remarkable insight into the subject of health sciences with several medicinal plants’ descriptions. The descriptions of the structure of the human body and its organs, which reveal anatomical knowledge, are shown predominantly in the Atharvavedic scriptures. The Atharvan medical terminology is still being used in the traditional Ayurveda practice. The project aims to make a comprehensive and systematic assessment of the descriptions of plants revealed in the Atharvaveda saṃhitā texts.