Over the last weekend, we travelled to Bellary in Karnataka to meet an Ayurvedic practitioner, Dr M Gopi Krishna, who was using herbo-mineral drugs to the extent of 70 per cent of the drugs he was dispensing.

He is also one of the few practitioners in India who prepares the four types of Rasa or herbo-mineral drugs—Kharaliya Rasayana, Parpati Rasayana, Pottali Rasayana and Kupipakwa Rasayana. These four preparations are not common and are not prepared routinely. There are around 600 books outlining different rasa preparations. It is not possible for a single person to document their efficacy and side effects in terms of Western requirements.

When I asked the physician in Bellary about the side effects of the drugs, he said, “Our Acharyas have indicated which preparations are safe and free from side effects, and which need to be administered only for a short period.”...................Read more

Source: The New Indian Express