Saptasaram Kashayam

            by Sheela Rani Chunkath

The first time somebody mentioned this Kashayam to me I wondered what the Saptaswarams had to do with it? The actual name of the Kashayam is saptasaram. It is made up of seven herbs and hence the same.

This kashayam may well become a staple as it can treat hip pain, lower back pain, constipation and menstrual pain. Half the young girls and women I meet seem to have one or more of the above complaints and therefore a knowledge of this kashayam would be very worthwhile. This kashayam also helps to relieve constipation as it is vata hara in that it decreases vata. Some of the seven herbs would be known to many.

The first is Boerhavia diffusa (called mukkarata in Tamil, punarnava in Sanskrit and thazhuthama in Malayalam). This plant grows wild everywhere even in urban cities and can be seen in cracks of sidewalls with it small pretty pink flowers. It grows in abundance in my college and it makes a tasty side dish of greens.

The second herb is Aegle marmelos or Bilva- the sthala vriksha of many Siva temples and one of the group of the dasamoola dravyas. If you go to a Siva temple, this leaf is often given to the devotees as prasadam.

The third dravya is Macrotyloma uniflorum - popular as a horse feed. Horse gram or kulatha is ushna veerya and hence drives out the vata and relieves pain. In some households they make horse gram soup or rasam and even horse gram sundal. I would not advocate eating horsegram during the summer especially if you have pitta prakriti.

The fourth ingredient is Ricinus communis or Eranda as it is known in Sanskrit. This is our very own castor which our grandmas used to such good effect. Every once in three months it was time for the periodic clean up or detox as we like to call it fashionably now. Children would be lined up on an early Sunday morning and given 5 to 15 ml of castor oil depending on the age and koshta of the recipient. Then it would be few visits to the toilet and all the accumulated wastes and ama (toxins) would be flushed out. The dravya plays the same role in the kashaya and is effective in relieving constipation.

Barleria cristata or sahachara is something that I grew up with. In December you would see the flower ladies with their beautiful thick strands of mauve flowers called appropriately December poo. It used to be available in various shades of purple and pink, there even used to be a variegated variety with a beautiful white and purple combination. There is a yellow variety as well. The flower is very soft in touch and yet grows on an extremely prickly shrub. For me the flower always spells nostalgia.

Zingiber officinalis or dried ginger is the sixth ingredient and we are all familiar with its digestive properties as a deepana and pachana dravya which helps in the downward movement of gases and thus relieves pain.

The last ingredient is Premna corymbosa (called agnimantha in Sanskrit and munnai in Tamil). It is again one of the dasamoola group of drugs.

This felicitous combination of drugs helps women during their monthly menstrual cycle. The kashayam is available ready made. Most vaidyars prescribe 12-24 ml with equal quantity of water before food. I am an advocate of making these kashayams freshly as most store bought kashayams contain preservatives. And they don’t mention it on the labels. I have raised this issue with many of the reputed companies who are for now taking advantage of low consumer awareness. So if you have the time and inclination, you may want to make your own kashayams. It could well be the start of an interesting journey.

--- The writer is retired Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu. She can be reached at Sheelarani.arogyamantra@gmail. com. Earlier articles can be accessed at http://arogyamantra.blogspot.com/