The peepal is one of the best known trees of India. The tree grows to large proportions. It has a hard, cracked and greyish white bark and numerous offshoots. Its leaves are somewhat leathery, broadly oval in shape, which suddenly narrow at the apex and into a long tail.
The peepal is venerated by the Hindus and the Buddhists. The rishis of yore meditated under it. It was beneath a peepal that Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment, and that particular tree came to be called Bodhi, the 'tree of wisdom'. In the popular Indian folkore, the peepal is considered as the female to the male banyan.
The tree is found wild in the forests on the lower slopes of the Himalayas, Orissa and in Central India. It grows wild in most parts of India, especially on the banks of rivers and lakes.
The bark and leaves of peepal are useful in many common ailments. Its leaves are laxative and a tonic. They relieve feverish feeling and produce a feeling of coolness. They are also useful in arresting secretion or bleeding-about 50 ml of raw juice of the leaves or I teaspoon of powdered dried leaves can be taken with water in such cases.
The leaves of the peepal are used in the treatment of heart diseases. They are infused in water at night, distilled the next morning and then stored in white bottles. About IS mg of this infusion is administered thrice daily. It is highly effective in relieving palpitation of the heart and cardiac weakness.
The leaves of the tree are useful in constipation. They should be dried in the shade and powdered. Pills can be prepared by adding the required quantity of a solution of anise and jaggery with water. One pill taken with warm milk at bedtime ensures proper bowel movement the following morning. Likewise, its fruits can be dried in shade, powdered mixed with an equal quantity of sugar. This compound in &If of 4 to 6 grams, taken at bedtime with milk, serves the 51. function.
Its leaves are very effective in treating dysentery. Equal Ii' of tender leaves, coriander leaves and sugar are chewed slowly to relieve the condition.
Its leaves are also useful in bruises and wounds. They I ground fine, mixed with 25 grams of jaggery and made in~1 pills. One pill taken daily with milk can also relieve pain due to injury.
In Ayurveda, a peepal grown on a cemented wall, with. roots still in the masonry and not reaching the ground-III specific for scrofula- a serious disease of the neck, character by swollen lymphatic glands of the region. A plaster-like 1111 prepared by rubbing its root with water can be applied on It glands of the affected people.
Peepal leaves are used in the treatment of mumps. ~ should be smeared with ghee, warmed over a fire, and bandaged over the inflamed part to get relief.
The leaves are also used in boils. A leaf smeared with ghee can be bandaged lukewarm on the boil. If there is any of formation, it will burst, if it is in preliminary stages, the growth will subside.
A popular remedy for excessive urine output amongst jaundice patients is to soak a piece of tender bark of the pee~ in water overnight and allow the water to be taken the following morning.
Its fruits dried in shade and powdered are helpful in sex1II disorders like spermatorrhoea, nocturnal emissions, and premature ejaculations.
