Madhu—(
honey
Madhu
(honey) is
good for the
eyes
(Vision),
breaks up
hard masses,
relieves
thirst,
poison,
hiccup,
bleeding
diseases,
diabetes,
leprosy (and
other skin
diseases),
worms,
vomiting,
dyspnoea,
cough,
diarrhoea;
cleanses,
unites and
heals
wounds,
aggravates
väta, is
nonunctous
and slightly
astringent
and sweet in
taste.
Honey, kills
( ie poison
to our body
), if used
after
heating it,
and by those
suffering
from great
heat, used
during hot
season, hot
country or
with hot
foods.
But honey does not cause any
harm when
used warm
(mixed with
warm water)
for
producing
vomitting or
for
administration
of nirüha
(decoction
enema)
because it
comes out of
the body
before it
undergoes
digestion.
Honey is the sweet liquid prepared by
bees for
their own
use but
robbed by
man. There
are many
varieties of
bees,
different in
Size, colour
and habitat.
Some dwell
in forests
and build
their home
(hive)
attached to
the branches
of tall
trees, some
build them
inside the
crevices of
the trees,
roofs of
tall
buildings,
inside the
cracks of
the walls
etc.,
genteelly
large and
medium
sized, brown
coloured
bees build
big hives
while small
sized,
slightly
blackish
bees build
their home
inside the
crevices,
hollows of
trees and
buildings.
The bees hop
from flower,
suck the
sweet
nectar,
store them
for some
time in a
special sac
inside their
mouth. they
come back to
their hive
in the
evening,
they bring
out the
sweet nectar
and deposit
it inside
the small
chambers of
the hive,
thus they
build up a
store of
food for
their own
use in rainy
season. Man
lured by the
sweetness of
honey,
drives away
the bees
forcibly and
collects the
honey,
daring even
the strong
poisonous
sting of the
enrage
Nowadays bee keeping has
come into
practice,
wooden hives
are provided
to them in
side the
garden and
honey
collected
periodically
without
harming the
bees or
being harmed
by them.
Honey is a
very sweet,
thick
liquid,
varying in
colour from
dark brown
to light
yellow The
sweetness
and
thickness
show
variations
depending
upon the
region, type
of flowers
bees feed
on, the
season and
the variety
of the bees.
Honey is a
mixture of
nectar and
pollen of
flowers. It
contains
20.06% of
water, 71 4
% of
carbohydrate
(in the form
of two
sugars—dextrose
and lavulose
), 0.38% of
protein,
small
quantities
of formic
acid, and
vitamin B.
it is used
as a
sweetening
agent along
with foods
and drinks,
it is also
used as a
vehicle for
administration
of
medicines,
as a
supplementary
diet and as
a medicine
in many
diseases. It
can be used
daily by
all,
irrespective
of age, or
sex, but in
httle
quantities
either as
such without
adding
anything, or
along with
other
articles of
food. It is
necessary to
use genuine
honey always
and reject
the spurious
and
adulterated
honey which
are sold
cheap in the
market.
Genuine
honey is
slightly
transparent,
clear liquid
without any
precipitate
at the
bottom of
the bottle,
and forms a
uniform
solution
when poured
into clean
water.
