Difference Between Ghanvati and Tablet in Ayurveda
Ghanvati, a medicinal concoction in Ayurveda, is often available in the size of small peas. However, the Ayurvedic tablet is similar to an allopathic medicine tablet both in size and shape.
The Tulsi is one good example for ghanvati. The Tulsi leaves, well-known in India for its medicinal properties that remedy gastric distention, asthma and several other ailments, are cut up and prepared into pea sized concoctions of Ghanvati medicine.
Another distinction between the two types of medicinal preparations is the fact that Ghanvati must not be swallowed, but chewed, whereas the Ayurvedic tablet must be swallowed along with a glass of water. Another obvious difference is that the two are prepared in very different ways and conditions.
For example, when we prepare Kutaj Ghanvati and another Ayurvedic tablet from the same plant, the Kutaja, we also employ two different set of processes in preparation. The Kutaja, according to myth, was sprung out of the nectar spilled from bodies of the monkeys that saved Lord Rama’s wife, Sita, and were later brought back to existence by another Lord Indra. This plant is also said to aid in digestive ailments.
When preparing Ghanvati from Kutaja roots, we first wash in clean water and boil it repeatedly up to 16 times. Halfway through, the solution should be filtered through a piece of cloth and boiled again until the 16 repetitions are completed. This makes the solution thick. When done the solution is allowed to dry under the sun and then prepared into the standard pea sized Ghanvati concoctions.
The Ayurvedic tablet from the same plant, however, is prepared by first soaking the roots in water. This solution should then be placed under a hundred thousand pound pressure, separating the liquid for the solid parts of the concoction. And finally, you have your tablet.