Sanjeevani plant search in himalaya

When Lakshmana fell unconscious, near death, hit by an arrow from Ravana’s son Meghnad, Hanuman approached the Lankan Royal Physician Sushena for advice.

Sushena asked Hanuman to rush to Dronagiri Hills and fetch four plants: Mruthasanjeevani (restorer of life), Vishalyakarani (remover of arrows), Sandhanakarani (restorer of the skin) and Savarnyakarani (restorer of skin colour) (Srimad Valmiki Ramayana, 74th chapter, Yuddakanda, Slokas 29-34).

Hanuman, not able to pick the four from the multitude, brought back the entire hill. And Lakshmana was revived from near death back to life, and to victory.

The important one

Of the 4 plants, Mruthsanjeevani or simply Sanjeevani is the most important since it is believed to bring one from near death back to life. What then is this plant, where does it occur, and does it do what the Ramayana describes?

Though many botanists and Ayurvedic physicians have suggested candidate plants, there has been no systematic approach or unanimity. We now seem to have zoned in on one of two plants, thanks to a focused approach taken by Drs. K. N. Ganeshaiah, R. Vasudeva and R. Uma Shaanker of the University of Agricultural Science, Bangalore and College of Forestry, Sirsi.I strongly recommend the reader to read this scholarly and eminently readable paper in the 25 August 2009 issue of Current Science (downloadable free on the net). What strikes us as we read the paper is the sharp, clinical logic behind the search. First, they say that before we eliminate it to be a purely imaginary plant that Valmiki wrote about with poetic flourish, let us ask what all qualities such a plant should have.