INCOME TAX RATES

The following INCOME TAX RATES ARE applicable for the Financial Year
ending March 31, 2015(Financial Year 2014-15)-Assessment Year 2015-16):
Every year the income tax rates are changed and it is important to get the latest
income tax rates. We give below the Income Tax Rates and Slabs applicable for
the FY 2014-15 or AY 2015-16.
Income Range

General
(non-senior
citizens)
Category

Upto Rs. 2,50,000

Nil

Women (Below 60 years of

Senior Citizens
Very Senior
age)
(Men and Women Citizens (Men
(This category is abolished above 60 years of and Women
from this year and is thus is age), but below 80 above 80 years
same as that of General
years
of age)
Category
Nil

Nil

Nil

Rs. 2,50,001 to Rs. 3,00,000 10% *

10% *

Nil

Nil

Rs. 3,00,001 to Rs. 5,00,000 10% *

10% *

10% *

Nil

Rs. 5,00,001 to Rs. 10,00,000 20%

20%

20%

20%

Above Rs. 10,00,000

30% **

30% **

30%**

30% **

* A tax rebate of Rs 2,000 from tax calculated will be available for people having
an annual income upto Rs 5 lakh. However, this benefit of Rs2,000 tax credit
will not be available if you cross the income range of Rs 5 lakh. Thus we can say
that tax payable in 10% slab will be maximum Rs23,000 (taking into account Rs
2000 tax credit), but for people who fall in income range of Rs5 lakh and above,
the tax will be Rs25,000 + 20% tax on income above Rs 5 lakh;
The education cess to continue at 3 percent.
** Surcharge of 10% will be payable, if income is above Rs 1 crore

The following IT RATES WERE applicable for the Financial Year ending March
31, 2014 (Financial Year 2013-14)-Assessment Year 2014-15):
Income Range

General

Women (Below 60 years of age) Senior Citizens (Men Very Senior

(non-senior
citizens)
Category
Upto Rs. 2,00,000
Rs. 2,00,001 to Rs. 2,50,000
Rs. 2,50,001 to Rs. 5,00,000
Rs. 5,00,001 to Rs.
10,00,000
Above Rs. 10,00,000

Nil
10% *
10% *
20%

(This category is abolished from and Women above 60 Citizens (Men

this year and is thus is same as years of age), but
and Women
that of General Category
below 80 years
above 80 years
of age)
Nil
Nil
Nil
10% *
Nil
Nil
10% *
10% *
Nil
20%
20%
20%

30% **

30% **

30% **

30%**

* A tax rebate of Rs 2,000 from tax calculated will be available for people having
an annual income upto Rs 5 lakh. However, this benefit of Rs2,000 tax credit
will not be available if you cross the income range of Rs 5 lakh. Thus we can say
that tax payable in 10% slab will be maximum Rs28,000 (taking into account Rs
2000 tax credit), but for people who fall in income range of Rs5 lakh and above,
the tax will be Rs30,000 + 20% tax on income above Rs 5 lakh;
** Surcharge of 10% will be payable, if income is above Rs 1 crore

We were drawn to compose an epistle on the kaTuka herb (genus Picrorhiza) on

account of what we learned during our studies in the atharvan tradition. Extant tantric
tradition records a rite directed towards a deity known as the Asuri durgA . It is
mentioned in it is common form in the mantra-mahodadhi of mahidhara. The formula
given here is of the form:

oM kaTuke kaTukapattre subhage Asuri rakte raktavAsase atharvaNasya duhite

aghore aghorakarmakArike amukasya gatiM daha daha upaviShTasya gudam daha
daha suptasya mano daha daha prabuddhasya hR^idayaM daha daha hana hana pacha
pacha tAvad daha tAvat pacha yAvan me vasham Anayasi svAhA ||
The plant mentioned by mahidhara as being used for the oblation in this rite is the
AsurI plant, with the whole herb including roots, stem, leaves, flowers and fruits
being ground into a meal and used as a oblation.
Its roots go back to atharvan tradition, where a rite known as the AsurI rite is
practiced. It occurs in two variants which are respectively attributed to the shaunaka
and paippalAda schools. These variants are respectively found in parishiShTa 35
(AsurI kalpa) and the paippalAda A~Ngirasa ShaTkarma kalpa respectively. As we
have discussed beforethese mantra-s associated with the atharvan tradition are
potential precursors of the later tantric mantra shAstra. This supported by the presence
of a third stand alone text termed the AsurI kalpa which contains both the atharvanic
as well as a tantric form of the mantra. This tantric form also used by practicing
atharvans is specified as:
OM klIM hrIM shrIM kshauM kshauM shrIM hrIM klIM OM kaTupattre subhage
AsurI raktavAsase .atharvaNasya duhite ghore .aghore svAhA OM klIM hrIM shrIM
kshauM kshauM shrIM hrIM klIM OM |
There are two features that suggest a close link between the AsurI rite to the older
vedic aspect of the atharva tradition: 1) The use of specific plant that is very typical of
various atharvanic deployments and 2) The use of the term atharvanasya duhite. This
connection supported by the atharvan tradition which mentions two oShadhi-s AsurI
and kaTuka: the former is mentioned in sUkta-s of both AV-S and AV-P, whereas the
latter is mentioned only in the AV-P in sUkta 7.19.3 on medicinal herbs.
In contrast to the version of the rite from the mantra-mahodaddhi , atharvan tradition
records that in the proper atharvan form not just the AsurI plant but also several other

plants are also deployed. Three of this are directly mentioned in the mantra itself :
kaTuka, AsurI and subhaga, which is a synonym of priya~Ngu. Several others too are
deployed as per tradition. I was initially interested in possibility of one or more of
these having some psychoactive properties as suggested by the effect on the targeted
woman mentioned in the AsurI kalpa: Sexual arousal, burning of the mind and
heart. However, given the positive deployments of the plants of the AsurI rite I
broadened the study to include other pharmacological properties. kaTuka amongst
these seem to have been biochemical explored to a certain degree, so I considered it in
greater detail. In course of this, I became aware of an independent work on it by a
Dutch scholar HS Smit. Combining his studies with mine inspired this whole piece.
Both charaka and sushruta mention kaTuka as an important oShadhi required for the
preparation of many of the drugs in their saMhita-s. In particular charaka recommends
it in preparations against helminths and skin infecting agents, whereas sushruta
recommends it against wound infection, skin infection and dental sinuses. This is in
line with the ancient mention of it in the AV-P 7.19.3 where kaTuka is said to block
the body-harming ArAti-s. While HS Smit observed that kaTuka does not play major
role in modern anti-arthritis treatments, the classical Hindu medical text, the
dhanvantri nighaNThu describes kaTuka as AmaghnI i.e a treatment for AmavAta
arthritis. The ancient and medieval Hindu medical theorists had studied arthritis in
considerable detail and realized that one of the elements of its pathology was the
substance they termed Ama, which corresponds to protein or urate deposits in modern
parlance. Thus, the recognition of kaTuka as AmaghnI by the DN suggests that
medieval Hindu physicians had already discovered its potential in Arthritis treatment.
This appears to be related to the earlier inclusion of kaTuka in preparations against
rakta-vAta in sushrutas saMhitA raktavAta being a precursor to AmavAta in
Hindu descriptions of the pathology of arthritis.
So are any of these effects of kaTuka for real? Several groups
have INVESTED effort in studying the role of kaTuka and extract compounds from
them. At least some of these modern experiments seem to support the Hindu theories
regarding kaTuka:
1) Smits experiments on rodent models showed that di-ethylether kaTuka extracts
potently inhibited the complement pathway, had anti-inflammatory effects and
delayed onset of auto-immune arthritis, though it was not useful once arthritis was
already established.
2) Experiments also showed that it inhibited lymphocyte proliferation.
3) Just published experiments by Maheshwaris group, again in rodent models,
showed that kaTuka extracts favor epithelialization and angiogenesis during wound
healing.
The results 1 & 2 support the Hindu theory of it is use in inflammatory disease and as
a protective against arthritis. Result 3 again supports the Hindu claim of its use in
conditions like wound-healing and skin infections. Several interesting compounds are

found in this plant like cucurbitacins, iridoid glucosides and phenolic derivatives like
apocyanin, but the specific pharmacology of few of these are properly known. An
iridoid glucoside aucubin might give rise to potent protein cross-linkers and has been
implicated to have an immuno-modulatory role.
Thus, it is possible that
the VENERATED kaTuka, like gulgulu
and haridra, was a notable discovery of the bhR^igu-a~Ngiras of yore.

Meditation:Attaatthaasintramatighorroopaam |
Vyaaghraambraam Shashidhraam Ghanneelvarnaam,
Katreerkpaalkamlaasikraam Trinetraam---Maaleedhpaadshvagaam pranmaami Taaraam ||