Oshadhi
Oshadhi · oshadhi, “plant, healing herb”
Grammar: feminine noun, often in the plural, oshadhayaḥ, “the plants”.
Meaning: a plant, a herb; above all the food plants and grains such as rice and wheat and the healing herbs. The oshadhis are also devatās, and Candra (Soma) is their king.
In the scriptures: Brahmā tells Nārada that from the sense of smell of the Virāṭ Purusha arose the Aśvinī devatās, the oshadhis, parimala (fragrance that gives delight) and sugandha (special fragrance) (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapter 6). Bhagavān Kapila tells Devahūti that in the Virāṭ form the skin appeared, and from it the hair, the moustache and the beard, and the Oshadhis, the presiding devatās of the skin; when the devatās entered the Virāṭ to rouse it, the Oshadhi-devatās entered the skin with the hair of the body, and still the Virāṭ did not rise (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 3, Chapter 26).
In the list of the avatāras of Śrī Hari, Sūta Maharshi says that in the ninth he was born as King Pṛthu at the request of the ṛshis and milked all the oshadhis from the earth, which had taken the form of a cow; that is why that avatāra is most auspicious (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 1, Chapter 3). Maitreya Maharshi tells Vidura the account in full. Pṛthu said to the Earth: “Svayambhū Brahmā at the beginning of creation created the seeds of the oshadhis such as rice and wheat. But you, dull-witted one, have pressed them down within you and do not release them; so you have insulted me, the ruler” (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 4, Chapter 17). Bhūdevī answered that the oshadhis Brahmā created were being enjoyed only by the wicked; the kings had neglected her and the people had turned thieves, so she had swallowed the oshadhis to keep them for yajña in the future. Over the long time they had dwindled within her, and she told Pṛthu to recover them by the means the ancients saw. Pṛthu made Svāyambhuva Manu the calf and milked all the oshadhis, in the form of milk, into his own hand (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 4, Chapter 18).
The Moon, who does good to the oshadhis, bears the meaningful name Somarāja, and Pṛthu, delighting his people, became the second true “rājā” after him (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 4, Chapter 22). When the Pracetas, rising from their tapas, burned the trees with wind and fire from their mouths, Candra, king of the oshadhis, the mahātmā, cooled their anger and gave them Mārishā, the maiden the trees had raised, as their wife (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 6, Chapter 4).
Before the churning of the ocean, Bhagavān Vishṇu told the devas: “Throw into the Ocean of Milk all the shrubs, grasses, creepers and oshadhis. Make Mount Mandara the churning rod and Vāsuki the rope, and churn hard without laziness” (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 8, Chapter 6).
Related terms: Vanaspati · Soma · Candra · Pṛthu · Bhūdevī · Annam · Āyurveda
Sources
- Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 1, Chapter 3; Skandha 2, Chapter 6; Skandha 3, Chapter 26; Skandha 4, Chapters 17–18, 22; Skandha 6, Chapter 4; Skandha 8, Chapter 6