The two main aims of Ayurveda are prevention of disease or maintaining health and treatment of diseases. Many suggestions are advised to maintain health like Ritucharya, Bhrahmcharya, Dincharya and for the prevention and treatment of diseases many ayurvedic formulations are prescribed which contain herbal drugs, organic or inorganic metals with and without different substances originated from plant and animal sources. Ayurveda has elaborate information on the medicinal use classified under Mootravarga.
Urine therapy
Researchers say that urine is a magic potion for ailments like diabetes, cancer, and tuberculosis and for diseases of eyes, ears, teeth and skin. Urine therapy was practiced widely in the interior villages to the extent that old grandmothers gave children to drink their own urine to prevail over fever, loose motion and many other ailments. Tibetan lamas (monks) used to drink their own urine to preserve their health, as it was believed that urine contained nutritious ingredients. According to ayurvedic medicine, a mixture of cow urine and human urine was an essential therapy for various ailments. In the past travellers and explorers drank their own urine when water was scarce in the desert. Urine contains volatile salts which are beneficial to the human body because these salts destroy acidity and get rid of pain in kidney, intestine, and womb; furthermore urine, a natural tonic, eliminates giddiness, tension in nerves, lazy feeling, hemicrama, paralysis, common cold, diseases of brain, nerves, joints and leucorrhea (a whitish discharge from vagina resulting from inflammation or congestion of the mucous membrane). Three hundred years ago a French dentist advised to wash the teeth with urine many times daily, so that those suffering from tooth ailment could get relief. By drinking urine, diseases of kidney, liver and bile, dropsy, jaundice, sinuses and plague could be cured. Monks in India, leading a solitary life in the jungles, called Naga Sadhus, remain naked throughout the year and drink their urine daily to maintain good health. The knowledgeable scientists describe urine as a product of the body's excretory system but contains chemical composition such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride and many more, all of which are essential for body health and hence concludes that urine is a natural tonic.
Cow urine therapy
In Charaka-Samhita, Sushruta Samhita and Vangbhatt, we can find there are eight types of animal urine that can be used in medicine. These can be divided in two groups:
1) Male - Elephant, Camel, Horse and Ass.
2) Female - Cow, Goat, Sheep, Buffalo.
But according to Sushruta Samhita and Ayurveda Samgraha for medicinal and other purposes cow urine is beneficial and better than all other animals. Cow, Bos indicus is most valuable animal in all Veda and it is called as the "Mother of all". The use of gomutra (cow urine) in India can be traced back to the Vedic times and probably it was used among the prevedic period also. In Vadas and Dharmashastras it has been well documented as a purifying substance and as an ingredient of the Panchayagavya (Milk, Urine, Dung, Ghee and Curd of Cow). Essentially Gomutra is a Kshara dravya and finds place in chemical preparation and also as a substance for purification. In India, Gomutra is used by the majority of rural population as folklore remedy in almost all the states. As per Ayurvedic literature gomutra has katu, Tikta, Kashaya rasa, Ushna-veerya (potency) kshra, laghu and deepana prabhav. It is useful in number of diseases particularly in gulma and kusta, ascitis, elephenthsis and aburda (cancer) etc.
The composition containing cow's excretions urine, dung, cow's milk, curd and ghee, the five ingredients together known as "Panchagawya" is given to women after she delivers a baby. Panchagawya is the main ingredient of many of our ayurvedic preparations. Cow urine is believed to have therapeutic value. From time immemorial, we have the practice of mopping the floors (clay buildings) in our villages with cow dung. Even today, we have the practice of sprinkling water dispersed with cow dung at the entrance of our houses and the belief is that it repels microbes from entering into the house. On religious occasions (ceremonial occasions), our grandparents use to rinse the utensils with the diluted cow dung solution/dispersion. All these suggest that our forefathers believed that cow dung has anti-microbial effect and cow urine works as a purifier. It is even believed that textiles especially the new ones treated with the ashes of cow dung before they are worn for the first time would have a beneficial effect, probably a hygiene benefit.
Ancient Indian Vedic Scriptures including Manu Smriti, Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita quoted the rational use of these animal products for diseases of the liver, gastro-intestinal systems, heart, lungs, cancer and many others.
Traditional uses of cow urine
The following are few traditional uses of cow urine and drugs used with cow urine.
Sr.No Diseases Combinations
1 Fever Urine, Pepper, Curd, Ghee
2 Leprosy Dhruhardi, Urine
3 Deformation condition in leprosy Nimbuchal, Urine
4 Chronic leprosy Vasaka leaves, Kuraila bark, Kaner leaves, Neem bark, Urine
5 Epilepsy Neem bark, Somapada bark, Mustard oil, Urine
6Anemia (Pandu) a) cow milk, urine, tripala b) loh bhasma, urine, milk
Agencies in Gujarat and elsewhere have been marketing the cow urine preparations from multiple outlets, advertising that they are sterilized and completely fresh, with prices ranging from Rs 20 to Rs 30 per bottle. Proponents of urine therapy quote sources to indicate that cow urine was not only used in India, but for several Centuries in many parts of the Globe. Roman emperors and several European physicians in the 18th Century, as well as the Chinese traditional healers used not only human urine, but also cow urine.
CSIR has developed drugs using cow urine for the treatment of asthma and blood clot dissolver. Institute of Microbial Technology in Chandigarh came out with a streptokinase, which is a blood-clot dissolver and thereby plays an important role in heart diseases and brain ailment. Even the poly-herbal formulation developed by Indian institute of Chemical Biology (Kolkata) that cures asthma contains cow urine. A Pharmaceutical Composition comprising an antibiotic and Cow Urine Distillate in certain amount is identified to enhance the anti-microbial effect of said Antibiotic. Let's hope this urine therapy could open doors for curing wide range of dreadful diseases.
(The author is Reader, B.R. Nahata College of Pharmacy and Research Center, Mhow Neemuch Road, Mandsaur-458001, Madhya Pradesh.)