Ayurvedic Herbs

Ayurvedic herbs are one of the many chikitsas or treatments used in Ayurvedic medicine. These herbs are used as part of an herbal protocol recommended by an Ayurvedic professional. Thusly, all the Ayurvedic herbs should not be self-administered and Ayurvedic herbs should only be taken under-advisement of your Ayurvedic Counselor/Practitioner/Doctor and approved by your Primary Care Physician. The information on the Ayurvedic herb of Haritaki is only meant to educate you on the ways in which it is traditionally used in Ayurveda and is presented for educational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for the diagnosis, treatment, or advice of a qualified, licensed medical professional. The facts presented are offered as information only, not medical advice, and in no way should anyone infer that we are practicing medicine. Seek the advice of a medical professional for proper application of this material to any specific situation. Do not use the information found within this post to self-diagnose any medical conditions or treat any health problems or diseases. The information provided is not intended to prescribe or be taken as medical advice. If you have or suspect that you have a medical condition please contact your health care provider immediately.

“The essence of all beings is Earth. The essence of Earth is Water. The essence of Water is plants. The essence of plants is the human being.

Esam bhutanam prthivi rasha, prthivya apo raso-pam osadhayo rasa, osadhinam puruso rasah.”

— Chandogya Upanishad I.1.2

Haritaki

Latin Name: Terminalia chebula
Plant Family: Combretaceae
English Name: Chebulic Myrobalan
Sanskrit Name: Haritaki - Hara was scared to Shiva and Harate means “to carry away” like disease
Part Used: fruit
Botanical Description: tree is 25-30 meters high and the wood is hard; leaves are pointed and have 6-8 pairs of veins; the flowers are white or yellow; the fruit starts green but once ripened it is yellowish brown, each fruit contains one seed
Taste (Rasa): pungent, sweet, sour, predominantly astringent & bitter
Energetics (Virya): heating
Post-Digestive Effect (Vipaka): sweet
Quality (Guna): light, dry
Dosha: VPK=
Tissues (Dhatu): all plasma (rasa), blood (rakta), muscle (mamsa), fat/adipose tissue (meda), bone (asthi), nerve/bone marrow (majja), reproductive tissue (shukra [male]/artava [female])
Systems (Srotamsi): respiratory (prana vaha srotas), digestive (anna vaha srotas), nervous (majja vaha srotas), excretory (purisha vaha srotas)
Constituents: tannins (tannic acid up to 45%, gallic acid, chebulic acid); mucilage; anthraquinones (sennoside A); triterpenoid glycosides (chebulosides, arjunin)
Actions: rejuvenative, tonic, astringent, laxative, nervine, expectorant, anthelmintic
Ayurvedic Actions: increases appetite (dipaniya); rejuvenative (rasayana), nourishing (brimhana); catalyst enhancing the action of other herbs (yogavahi); digestive (pacana); absorbs fluid from the intestines (grahi); scrapes accumulations from the tissues and channels (lekhaniya); improves the eyesight (caksusya); corrects the flow of vata downwards (anulomana); purifies breast milk (stanyasodhana); purgative (recana); alleviates constipation (vibandhahara); antitussive (kasahara); improves intellect (medhya); increases longevity (ayurvardhaka); antihaemorrhoidal (arsoghna)
Biomedical Actions: laxative, astringent, anthelmintic, nervine, expectorant, tonic
Indications: digestion, cholesterol, lungs, eyes, mucous membranes
Precautions: pregnancy, dehydration, severe exhaustion or emaciation; in excess or high Pitta
Preparations: decoction, powder, paste
Formulations: abhayadi modak, abahayarishta, pathyadivati, pathyadikadha, vyaghriharitaki leha, agastharitaki leha, gandharvaharaitaki churna

Haritaki is one of the three fruits of triphala (amalaki, haritaki, bibhitaki). Triphala is considered tridoshic or balancing to all dosha. Amalaki is the herb for pitta dosha, haritaki is the herb for vata dosha, and bibhitaki is the herb for kapha dosha.