Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c5.s2.t7.4

v1.c5.s2.t7.4

In the medical books of ancient ayurveda system, such as *Caraka-samhita*, *Susruta-samhita* and *Astanga-hrdaya-samhita*, bhallataka is one of the common medicines. The prescriptions prepared with it, such as bhallataka crisp and bhallataka oil, are mainly used for *rasayana-tantra* and hair blacking. Bhallataka is also used in many *sadhana* drubtabs of Esoteric Buddhism. It can be found from the unearthed documents that *The Bower Manuscript* excavated in Kuqa and *Jivaka-pustaka* and *Siddhasara* excavated in Dunhuang all include prescriptions of bhallataka. This medicine was used by doctors of the main stations of Silk Road including Tochara (present-day Sinkiang), Khotan (located at the south edge of Tarim Basin), Tubo (present-day Tibet) and Uygur (present-day Sinkiang) and transmitted to Dunhuang and central China. The use of it undoubtedly influenced traditional Chinese doctors of Tang and Song Dynasties. They used bhallataka for hair blacking, which reflected the general mood of society of Tang and Song Dynasties namely pursuing longevity.