The Srimad Devi Bhagavatam gives the story of Bhramari Devi (Devi with Bees) who destroyed the Asura (Demon) Arun. As the story goes, Arun did penance for many years to Lord Brahma (the creator) in order to overcome death and to achieve dominance over all. Pleased with his sacrifices, Lord Brahma appeared before Arun and wished to grant him a boon. On hearing Arun’s request, Lord Brahma informed him that all who are born must die, and he should ask for something else. Thinking that he could outsmart Lord Brahma and circumvent death, Arun asked that he should not die by any biped (two legged creature including man and woman) or any quadraped (four legged creature). With his wish granted, and thinking that he was virtually indestructible, Arun began a reign of terror.
He attacked the Devas with his army of Asuras in a bid to rule the world. The Devas, overcome with fear, appealed to the Divine Mother for her intervention. Pleased with their prayers, Devi appeared before them resplendent and bedecked with black bees about her body. She promised to destroy the Demon Arun and his army, and so saying, streams of black bees emanated from her body. The sky grew black as it was covered with bees, and they descended on the army of Asuras. Arun did not include insects (which are six legged creatures) in his request to Brahma, and thus he and his army perished. Thus Devi fulfilled her promise to the Devas without violating Brahma’s boon.
Hindu scriptures encode solutions to life’s problems at multiple levels, and here, suggested by this mythological account, is a possible solution to the treatment of disease and injury. Asuras can be considered to be a disease condition aiming to affect or destroy healthy organs in the body (the Devas). Of all six legged insects, Devi appeared with the bee. Thus there should be special properties of the Bee’s venom and honey that have medicinal properties.
The active component in bee venom is called mellitin, and it has been proven to have anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial effects. It has also been shown by researchers that when coupled with a targeting mechanism, mellitin can be used to kill cancer cells while remaining less toxic than conventional treatments [1]. This can lead to new immunotoxin drugs that can kill cancer cells while minimising the impact on healthy surrounding cells. Honey has also successfully been used as an antibacterial agent in the treatment of wounds [2], and it features as a key therapeutic ingredient in the science of Ayurveda (ancient Hindu system of medicine). There may be more uses for constituents of bee venom and honey, and further research in this area is strongly encouraged.
References
[1] Bees: Latest Weapon in Cancer Fight
[2] Harnessing honey’s healing power (BBC News)
