Āyurveda mentions the four important pillars of treatment viz., physician, drug, nursing attendant and patient for successful management of any disease condition and drug (dravya) has been given second priority among these four factors. Nighaṇṭu not only offer comprehensive information on synonyms, properties, actions, indications of various drugs but also provides clarifications on their identity.

Paṇḍita Narahari, the author of celebrated work ‘Rājanighaṇṭu’ has rightly quoted 'A Physician without knowledge of Nighaṇṭu (lexicon), a scholar without the knowledge of Vyākaraṇa (grammar) and a soldier without Āyudha (weapon) are nothing but laughable stock in the world’; this popular quote echoes the importance of Nighaṇṭu (Lexicon) in every day clinical practice of Āyurveda.

Āyurveda being a Śāstra (technical treatise) and more so directly deals with human life is very meticulous in presenting the subject matter in a very structured, codified manner to ensure uniformity and effectiveness. In this lineage are the first group presenting the Knowledge in the form of proceedings, as a conversation between the teacher and disciple (Saṁhitā) and the second group in the form of Nighaṇṭu (Lexicon) format. The first group deals the subject in theme based manner whereas the second one provides the clarification and explanations to the words used in the first group. They complement each other and one cannot be well versed in Āyurveda without going through these materials together.

Since this is the era of advanced communications and e-learning, The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences has pioneered in bringing out electronic versions of Āyurvedic literary works and has already released Caraka Saṁhitā, Suśruta Saṁhitā in e-Book form for the benefit of Āyurvedic faculty. The present work in this category is “e-Nighaṇṭu (Collection of Āyurvedic Lexicons)”. The users of this module have the advantage of reading the Nighaṇṭu individually and also can search them by simply typing a key word in Phonetic English. I hope this work will bridge the gaps in the wide dissemination of Āyurvedic literature and will serve as a potential literary tool for the Research Scholars, Physicians and Scientists.

I appreciate the efforts of Dr. Ala Narayana, Director, National Institute of Indian Medical Heritage, Hyderabad and his team who worked very sincerely in bringing out e-Nighaṇṭu.

RAMESH BABU DEVALLA
Director General, CCRAS