Selaginella bryopteris
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Selaginella bryopteris (L.) Baker, popularly known as Sanjeevani, is a lythophytic plant with medicinal properties.¹ The popular name "Sanjeevani" which translates as "One that infuses life" derives from the medicinal properties. Sanjeevani grows on the hills of tropical areas, particularly the Arawali mountain terrains from east to west in India. The dry plants have traditionally been used as an effective remedy for several human health complications for centuries in India^{citation needed}, particularly in the tribal areas. Traditionally plants have been used: (i) relief from heat stroke and the burning sensation during urination; (ii) restorating menstrual irregularities to normal and applied topically to pregnant women, aids easy delivery; and (iii) for treating jaundice, however whether such treatments have any factual basis is unknown.¹

History

In Hindu mythology, Sanjeevani is a magical herb which has the power to cure any malady. It is believed that medicines prepared from this herb can even revive a dead person. This herb is mentioned in the Ramayana when, during the battle with Ravana, Lakshmana was wounded and was nearly killed by Ravana's son Indrajit. Hanuman was called upon to fetch this herb from the mount Dronagiri in the Himalayas. Upon reaching mount Sumeru, Hanuman was unable to identify the herb and decided to lift the entire mountain and brought it to the battle-field.

While some references in scientific literature list Selaginella bryopteris as the Sanjeevani mentioned in Hindu mythology, a search of ancient texts currently underway in CSIR laboratories has so far not revealed any plant that can be totally certified as Sanjeevani.²

Discovery

Acharya Balkrishna, a key associate of Swami Ramdev told the Hindustan Times³:

We have found two plants of sanjeevani group after roaming at a height of nearly 15,000 feet in the Dronagiri hills. NDTV a popular Indian news channel also reported that the " health department of India is also consulting the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), which has done lot of research on the sanjivini booti. In the wake of the claims, the health department, which is also pursuing to find the herb, are unsure whether it would continue its research programme to find the sanjivini in the Himalayas. Sanjivini booti (biological name Selaginella bryopteris) belongs to the carboniferous period, which existed about 300 million years ago. It took less than a week for a team of Ramdev's Divya Yog Trust to find the herb from the Himalayas."

References

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080067723