A 92-year-old ascetic, Yugal Saran Maharaj, who underwent a special 45-day kayakalpa treatment in seclusion, now has black strands sprouting in his otherwise grey beard and also confesses to feeling “youthful stirrings”.
Saran Maharaj underwent the treatment in the three-chambered trigarbha graham at Ottappalam in Palakkad district as part of an attempt to create a “miracle” of rejuvenation using kayakalpa rasayana which is extolled in ayurveda texts.
Besides achieving a haemoglobin count of 15.5, uncharacteristic among people of his age, the ascetic has also started experiencing “amorous feelings” that he abandoned 60 years ago. Likewise, the swelling on his feet and hands vanished and a few shaking teeth have now become firmer.
An ayurveda practitioner himself, Saran Maharaj came down from Mount Abu in Rajasthan to go through the rigorous kayakalpa process.
“I did this not to become younger but to prove a point ancient ayurveda can do wonders,” he told this newspaper. “I was associated with a similar treatment for social reformer Madan Mohan Malaviya in 1933.”
The trigarbha was built by ayurveda physician Dr Sethumadhavan as described in ancient texts spending Rs 32 lakh. “In the chamber, one undergoes the process of change like an embryo in the womb,” he said.
However, Saran Maharaj cautions that the treatment is not for the fickle-hearted: “Imagine sitting inside a dark chamber with no water or food,” he said. “Think about having only medicines supplemented with a glass of milk.”
Perhaps many would undergo the same ordeal, if they can regain their youth for at least a few years.