Kola Kanda

 Kola Kanda is a kind of porridge made of cereals mainly raw rice and coconut milk as the liquid, with leafy vegetable. It is not generally prescribed as a healing medicine, but it is considered an important part of the morning meal.

In ancient Sri Lanka it was the special food taken before solids were taken for breakfast. The rice and the coconut supplied the carbohydrates while the leaves supplied the vitamins and minerals. Generally more than one kind of leaf was not added to the Kola Kanda.

 Today we consume many kinds of food for their taste rather than their nutritious value. Sometime these foods are actually harmful to the body. Ancient food habits on the other hand emphasised the importance of taking a balanced ,nutritious  diet.

         Much of the knowledge of our forefathers, of the right kind of food to eat was derived from their study of Ayurveda. The main theme in Ayurveda is keeping the body healthy, and preventing the onset of diseases by sane and rational living. This is something we have forgotten In the modern world.

        One of the methods chosen by our ancestors to keep healthy was in the choice of food. The selection of food was naturally dependent on seasonal and environmental changes, and the requirements of individual constitutions.

        In Ayurveda  cangee or rice water has an important place. Herbal kanda is Prepared with appropriate herbs in order to cure certain illnesses,this Kanda is Kola kanda called Beth Kanda or medicinal Kanda.

Kola KandaHow to prepare Kola Kanda?

Boil raw rice. Grind together some scraped coconut and the green leaves. Squeeze out the milk and leaf juice. Add to  the rice and keep stirring the Kanda when it is on the fire and add salt to taste.

Kinds of Kola Kanda

Gotukola

      Gotu kola (Centella- Asiatica) leaf is used frequently in indigenous medicine and it is a diuretic and alternative.Gotu kola is said to improve the power of the memory.It is general tonic and relies mental fatigue. It induces sound sleep. It can be taken regularly when person suffer from sinitis, Catarrh, Bronchitis, Diabetes,

Epilepsy. It is also a healing agent for eczema and other skin conditions, when it can be used both externally and internally.
 Read more:Gotu kola(Centella asiatica)

It is given as a home remedy to children they have bowel problems and when there is vomiting due to the presence of intestinal worms. It cures hoarseness, gives relief in urinary and rheumatic complaints. It is a plant which has a cooling effect on the body when taken regularly.

Polpala- Aerva lanata(Balipoovu)

Polpala is the common leaf used in Kola Kanda, which is botanically named Aerva lanata. It is small plant , and generally it has an erect stem,its branches are covered with cottony hairs. Polpala is effective in the treatment of cough and indigestion and is specially used in the treatment of diabetes and urinary troubles. It is a diuretic and is used as an antidote in case of arsenic poisoning. Polpala is used either by itself or in combination with other herbs to treat snake bites. Polpala can also be made in to paste  with cold water and used as an application for skin eruptions. It can be cooked as vegetable. It could be dried and preserved and used to make herbal tea.  

Penela wel (Cardiospermum  halicacabum) is a cheap and well known plant. It is very common in the law country and generally in the tropics.

It is delicate smooth wiry climber. The roots and leaves are commonly used in medicine.A decoction made of the roots is given in cases of bleeding piles.

The leaves are used as an infusion for rheumatism, nervous diseases, hemorrhoids, and chronic bronchitis. The juice of the leaves is put into the ear ache .Welpenela leaves are used externally for pain full  swellings. Ayurvedic physician treating fractures make use of the plant in their remedies.It relieves pain caused by sprains and contusion.

Read more:Wel-penela-Cardiosprm

Iramusu -Hemidesmus indicus (Indian sarsprilla)

 This herb is a diuretic. A fermentation with its leaves relieves rheumatic pains and it cures boils since it is a blood purifier. Its effect on the human system is cooling, so it can be taken as a cool drink. 

Read more:  Eramusu(Hemidesmus

Hatawariya-

Hatawariya is  cooling ,a diuretic, a tonic and an aphrodisiac. Apart from its use in Ayurvedic  medicine , its roots can be used a preservative. It is effective in the treatment of menstrual disorders and is said to help in overcoming barrenness in women. It is used in remedies for urinary complaints.

Mugunuwanna

Mugunuwanna (Alternanthera sessilis) is a leafy vegetable which is eaten very often in Sri Lanka people.It is used often in the preparation of medicinal oils. It can be made in to hair wash. In the treatment of mental patients a plaster of Mugunuwanna leaves is applied on the head for its cooling effect .It is very highly recommended for eye diseases.

      Kola kanda keeps the system cool and it promotes energy.It helps to balance the imbalance in the threeforces vata,pita kappa.Kola kanda is usually taken with a piece of jiggery. 

Let's conserve herbal plants

Sri Lanka is a tropical country full of herbal plants. We have an indigenous practice of medicine since ancient times. In this indigenous methods of medicine, different types of herbs are used to cure diseases. There had been special gardens for herbal plants in ancient times . This practice of medicine was passed from generation to generation.
But, the concern of the present society towards these practices is very less. Previous herbal plants are under risk of extinction. There are many reasons affecting this.
Main reason is the lack of knowledge on types of medicine and their properties.
There’s no special necessity among present society to protect the plant types. To get rid of this situation, school children should be taught of the conservation, cultivation and identification of herbal plants. These facts should be added to the school syllabuses.
If not, the destruction of important medicinal plants will be unavoidable. People should also be encouraged to cultivate these herbal plants.
At present, weedicides are added not only to cultivation , but also for the home gardens. Therefore important types of plants are destroyed unknowingly. And also toxic chemicals are added to soil and water. As a result many uncurable diseases like cancers have become common in the society.
Thus, people must pay attention to natural methods instead of weedicides and insecticides.
Lighting lamps is done in ancient times to chase away insects. And also growing plants with a odour is also done. Insecticides had been prepared using Margosa leaves and tobacco “ Maduruthala”(Ocimum sanctum) Amukkra(Withania somnifera) plants had also been used for this. These methods should be closely and further examined.
Deforestation is done for building constructions merely thinking of economical profits and without concerning about the adverse effects towards the environment. Due t0 clearance of forests, trees and vines of herbal value that are thousands of years old, are destroyed .Laws and legislation should be imposed on such matter.
Many herbal plants are destroyed due to droughts , too. Therefore herbal plant gardens should be established for conservation of medicinal plants. It’s our responsibility to protect these valuable medicinal plants.

Herbal plants in the home garden

The more  common home grown plants are Ginger , Saffron, Kuturumurunga, Plantain, Papaw ,Sugarcane and King coconut. Today many of these are grown on a commercial scale and even the cultivators themselves od not know their medicinal value.

 
Ginger is known as Mahausadi in Ayuverdic circles. Besides, it has 20 epithets when in the raw from and 24 when dry. The Ayurveda  books  describes it as acrid and digestive and ,as an ingredient in medicine for costiveness, nausea cough, colic, and palpitation of the heart.But dry ginger should not be used by those who are suffering from skin  diseases, anemia, kidney compliant and high fever. A person suffering from acute diarrhea and vomiting is generally liable to catch a chill. A piece of ginger, a piece of      equal size of the bark of the murunga tree, and a few bulbs 0f garlic all crushed and rubbed on the palms and sole of the foot and also a little of it tide on the two big toes would warm him up. For diarrhea and colic, the liquid extracted by crushing   together row ginger, Iriveriya and Undupiyali and mixed with at ablespoon  of lime juice and bee’honey is good .

   Iriveriya(Plectranthus zatarhendi var) is another plant found in gardens. It is aromatic and grows easly and is used in many    prescription for fever anddiarrhoea. The Ayurveda books gives details   of how to use Iriveriya in various stages of diarrhea .

      Sugarcane is another plant found in the back garden of some homes and now grown in large plantations. There are two  varieties – the yellow and black . the black variety has a lower sugar content and a higher mineral content than the yellow. Sugar cane   is considered indigenous to Sri Lanka ,and is the type used in medicine. In case of continued fever, except enteric fever, a drink made from  sugar cane syrup, King coconut water and powdered Bulu seeds keepsthe patient comfortable. Sugar cane  is also the chief ingredient for a decoction for bleeding piles when used in combination with kooratampala and the yam of the plantain tree.

   The ash plantain is another useful plant. Every parts of it has some

medicinal use. The juice extracted from yam , the trunk and flower is used in decoction for bleeding piles and female disorders. The unripe fruit has astringent properties and is used in case of dysentery and diabetes. The juice extracted from the trunk is generally the first thing given in case of poisonous snake bites. The ripe ash plantain is a sure rededy for constipation. The stem of the fruit burnt down to shh together with slacked lime is the treatment of gangrenous wounds.

   Ash pumkin is mainly water but it has many minerals in solution which

gives it good medical value. It has peculiar action on the circulatory system in that it rapidly stop   hemorrhage. Hence it has  been found very useful in the treatment of hemorrhage from the alimentary canal.

The root of the puhul creeper with that of the Komadu(which is also the pulul  family) made a paste by rubbing them on s stone can be applied on carbuncles. For severe burns a drink of puhul juice mixed with Kitul jaggery is the first thing to be given to the patient. Puhul is also applied on the burnt area of skin.

    Ripe papaw(carica papaya) will keep down enlargement of the spleen. Here is a word of advice to those who regularly take alcoholic beverages. Take papaw regularly and keep your liver happy. To those affected with enlarge prostate glands there is relief to be found in half boiled and eaten in the morning.