THE science of Ayurved dedicates a shockingly vast body of research to the concept of Viruddha Ahaar, which does not seem to have a status of major thought in modern medicine. There may be some parts of modern medicine expending some energy on the issue, all right. But there can be no comparison between the superficial thought on the concept in modern medicine and the truly intensive and extensive research Ayurved has done over thousands of years on the idea of incompatibility of different foods. Book after ancient book -- starting from Charak Samhita, for example -- warns against Viruddha ahaar since it can damage individual health permanently if consumed in an unchecked manner for long periods. The afflictions that Viruddha ahaar can cause continual inflammation and subsequent distortion of molecular structure of human tissue in different inner or outer organs finally resulting into ailments as serious as impotency and cancer. Even a superficial consideration of the concept of Viruddha ahaar offers an amazing range of detailed research works done by various scholars whose timelines cannot be easily decided upon.

 

As this series is currently looking at the ahaar as one of the three pillars of human wellness (others being Nidra -- sleep -- and Brahmacharya -- right conduct), it is essential to dwell on the concept of Viruddha ahaar whose avoidance is prescribed as an essential aspect of well-maintained human health. Ayurved cautions against Viruddha ahaar as almost a final word whose violation is unacceptable. Charak Samhita identifies as many as 18 classifications of Viruddha ahaar covering every food that the civilised human communities those many thousands of years ago knew. Deep and detailed instruction, thus, is available in text after text upon how to identify Viruddha ahaar items and how to avoid those. Any modern researcher will feel absolutely flummoxed at the detailed work founding fathers of Ayurved had done on the ahaar and its compatibility and incompatibility. Suffice it may be to mention only a few classifications of Viruddha ahaar to bring home the meticulousness of thought of the founding fathers of Ayurved: 1. Veerya Viruddha -- dealing with potency incompatibility; 2. Sanskaar Viruddha -- dealing with process incompatibility; 3.

 

Matra Viruddha -- dealing with dose incompatibility; 4. Krama Viruddha -- dealing with order incompatibility; 5. Kaal Viruddha -- dealing with time incompatibility (that is, consuming pungent foods in summer-time, and cold foods in winter-time, for example); 6. Samyoga Viruddha -- dealing with combination incompatibility; 7. Parihar Viruddha -- dealing with contraindication incompatibility .... The list is long and does not seem to have left any foods from its consideration. As one delves deeper into this subject or concept of Viruddha ahaar as part of even a superficial thinking on food as the super-medicine -- Mahabheshajya (as discussed in the previous episode of this series titled ‘The Realm of Ayurved’) -- one feels astounded by its depth and spread. Ayurved treats food -- ahaar -- as a handle of maintenance of human health in its completeness. In converse, it treats Viruddha ahaar as an anathema to human wellness. Ancient texts insist that Viruddha ahaar disturbs and distorts the metabolism of human tissue and inhibits the process of its formation and strengthening. Unfortunately, modern medicine does not seem to have given such an extensive thought to food as a super medicine or Viruddha ahaar as an anathema (or antithesis) to wellness.

 

Ayurved insist that ahaar is one of the three critical pillars -- upastambhas -- of human health and needs to be used as a major area of treatment. Of course, old-school practitioners of modern medicine -- at least in India -- did enquire about the foods the patient was consuming, and made remedial advices. But their science -- modern medicine -- did not dwell much on food as core of human wellness. Ayurved has spent much of its energies over countless thousands of years on this subject. Ayurved, therefore, cautions people against Viruddha ahaar and urges them to avoid it for long durations. In fact, some segments of Viruddha ahaar are considered an absolute ‘no-no’ since their consumption can start having an immediate negative impact on human wellness. In other words, we realise that Ayurved is more of a science of handling of lifestyle for a healthy living. It does have its own extensive pharmacology and pharmaceutical science and technology perfected over lakhs of years. It also has its very vast repertoire of knowledge of surgery to handle any urgent and emergent affliction of human body out of disease or unhappy incident. (To be continued)