ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICITY IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF AGAD TANTRA: A CONCEPTUAL CORRELATIVE REVIEW

Environmental toxicity has emerged as one of the most significant public health challenges of the modern era due to rapid industrialization, chemicalization of agriculture, urban expansion, environmental pollution, and ecological imbalance.[1] Continuous exposure to environmental pollutants such as heavy metals, pesticides, industrial effluents, air pollutants, and synthetic chemicals has resulted in increasing incidence of chronic diseases affecting multiple organ systems.[2] Modern toxicology mainly focuses on identification, quantification, and symptomatic treatment of toxic agents, but it often lacks a comprehensive preventive, regenerative, and holistic framework. Ayurveda, through the specialized branch of Agad Tantra (Ayurvedic toxicology), offers a systematic and integrated approach to understanding toxins (Visha), their biological behavior, accumulation patterns, chronic persistence, and long-term disease manifestation. Classical concepts such as Visha, Gara Visha, and Dushi Visha demonstrate strong conceptual similarity with contemporary ideas of chemical mixtures, bioaccumulation, and chronic toxicity. Classical texts describe environmental degradation under the concept of Janapadodhwamsa (destruction of communities), emphasizing that disturbance in natural elements inevitably results in mass illness. This conceptual review correlates environmental toxicity with Agad Tantra principles and presents a structured integrative framework combining classical Ayurvedic toxicology with modern environmental health science. The study elaborates on classification of toxins, pathogenesis, diagnostic approaches, therapeutic strategies, detoxification procedures, rejuvenation therapies, preventive models, and public health relevance, highlighting the contemporary importance of Agad Tantra in addressing environmental health challenges.