A REVIEW OF LITERATURE OF TARPANA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO AYURVEDA

Dr. Jayabhaye Mahesh Shrirang* and Dr. Sonam Rajeev Shah

ABSTRACT

Ayurveda is a science with a very rich legacy which describes various physicotherapeutic procedures in many clinical conditions. Akshi Tarpana is also one such procedure which is widely indicated in many ophthalmic conditions. It is found to be effective on anecdotal and clinical experience grounds. It is the foremost treatment procedure mentioned in Sushruta Samhita for eye disorders. But even then, neither proper acceptance nor precise scientific reasoning for the procedure is established. There are lots of discrepancies found in the whole process. Drug absorption and mode of action are also big riddles to understand & explain to modern as well as Ayurvedic physicians, so that its acceptance and significance could be understood by the masses. The word ‘Tarpana’ is derived from the root ‘Trup’ by adding the ‘Lyut’ Pratyaya. The literary meaning of the Tarpana is to give nourishment of the eye through Ghrita, Ghritamanda, medicated Ghritas, Vasa, Majja (bone marrow) etc. According to modern science The human eye is the organ which gives us the sense of sight, allowing us to observe and learn more about the surrounding world than we do with any of the other four senses. We use our eyes in almost every activity we perform, whether reading, working, watching television, writing a letter, driving a car, and in countless other ways. Most people probably would agree that sight is the sense they value more than all the rest. The eye allows us to see and interpret the shapes, colors, and dimensions of objects in the world by processing the light they reflect or emit. The eye is able to detect bright light or dim light, but it cannot sense an object when light is absent. Myopia is the commonest eye defect affecting the young eyes & also called near- or short-sightedness. It is a refractive defect of the eye in which Parallel rays of light coming from infinity are focused in front of the retina when accommodation is at rest. Those with myopia see nearby objects clearly but distant objects appear blurred. A brief anatomical & physiological consideration of the eye is followed by the in depth exploration of the details of myopia in the forthcoming pages.

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