Encyclopedias & Dictionaries | Monier-Williams: A Sanskrit-English Dictionary (p. 781) madhuka, (ifc.) = madhu g. ura-ādi; mfn. honey-coloured (only in -locana, "having honey-coloured eyes", N. of Siva) MBh.; sweet (in taste) W.; mellifluous, melodious ib.; m. a species of tree R. Var. (Bassia Latifolia or Jonesia Asoka L.); Parra jacana or Goensis L.; liquorice L. (cf. n.); a kind of bard or panegyrist L.; the son of a Maitreya and a married Āyogavī L.; (madh-) N. of a man ŚBr.; (ā) f. Menispermum Glabrum L.; Glycyrrhiza Glabra L.; black Panic L.; N. of a river VP.; n. liquorice Suśr. (cf. m.); old honey L.; tin L. Monier-Williams: A Sanskrit-English Dictionary (p. 781) madhūka, m. (fr. madhu) a bee ŚāṅkhGṛ.; Bassia latifolia (from the blossoms and seeds of which arrac is distilled and oil extracted) ib. MBh. Kāv. &c.; n. the blossoms or fruit of Bassia latifolia, L.; liquorice, L.; bees-wax, L. Tamil Lexicon, University of Madras (p. 75) atimaturam: 1. Liquorice plant, Glycyrrhiza glabra; 3. Crab’s eye Dymock, Warden, Hooper: Pharmacographia Indica (vol. I, pp. 491-492) Glycyrrhiza glabra, Leguminosae Fig.- Liquorice (Eng.) Liquorice grows wild in Arabia, Persia, Turkistan and Afghanistan, and has been introduced into the Punjab and Sind. Kinneir observed it growing abundantly near Basra, and Aitchison found it growing abundantly all over the Badghis and throughout the Harirud and Khorasan districts. In Persia glass-bottle-makers use the wood for melting their materials, as they say it gives a greater heat than any other kind of fuel. The root, in Sanskrit called Yashtimadhu and Madhuka, must have been known to the Hindus from a very early date, as it is mentioned by SuĹruta. Hindu works describe it as demulcent, cooling and useful in cough, hoarseness, &c. It is also recommended as flavouring agent, and enters into the composition of many external cooling applications. Abu Hanifeh describes Sus as a well-known plant, the expressed juice of which is an ingredient in medicine. He says the roots are sweet and the branches bitter. El Mutarrizi in the Mughrib states that the leaves are put into the beverage called nabid to make it strong. The modern Arabs call the root Irk-es-sus, and make a strong infusion of it which they drink. The dried juice is called Rab-es-sus; it is made by the Arabs, Turkomans, and Persians at Yezd. In Persia the liquorice plant is called Mehak and Mazhu. The author of the Makhzan-el-Adwiya gives a lengthy description of the plant, and directs the root to be decorticated before it is used. He says that the Egyptian is the best, next that of Irak, and then Syrian. The root is considered hot, dry and suppurative, demulcent and lenitive, relieving thirst and cough, and removing unhealthy humours, also diuretic and emmenagogue, useful in asthma and irritable conditions of the bronchial passages. Ibn Sina recommends the decoction in cold colic; it is also dropped into the eyes to strengthen the sight. (Conf. Dios. -*- iii., 5; and Plin. 22, 11; Celsus 5, 23, calls it Dulcis radix.) A poultice made of the leaves is said to be a cure for scald head, and stinking of the feet and or arm pits. Muhammad bin Ahmad and Yohanna bin Serapion recommend the seeds as being the most active part of the plant. For an account of the history and cultivation of liquorice in Europe, the Pharmacographia may be consulted.
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