CONCEPTUAL REVIEW OF ROLE OF KARAN SANSKAR IN AYURVEDA AND ITS EFFECTS ON FOOD.

Ayurveda, being a science of life, consists of wide range of description about food and its various aspects. Food has been referred to as one of the three upastamb has (pillars) of life, viz. Aahar (food), Nidra (sleep), Brahmacharya (abstinence). The details about the food elements have been narrated thoroughly right from fruits, vegetables up to krutanna varga (cooked or prepared food). As the food has major impact on health, whether it may be staying fit or in production of diseases. A large portion regarding food, its properties, cooking methods is available in samhita granthas (Ayurvedic texts) like Charaksamhita, Sushrutsamhita, Ashtanghruday, Ashtangsangrah and Bhavprakash. Apart from the individual characteristics of any food, cooking or preparation method also plays a significant role in the digestion of that food without loss of its nutritive value. Karana sanskar has been described mainly in Charaksamhita in context to the cooking method or the various processes applied while cooking the food. The traditional cooking methods and their impact on food related to karana sanskar have been reviewed in this paper with a few examples of food elements from samhita granthas.