LAISHA · AYURVEDA

Bhaishajya Kalpana

22 kalpana · 102 yogas · 8 processes

How a yoga is actually made. Each kalpana below carries the method the texts set down, the matra, the shelf life, and the siddhi lakshana — the test by which it is judged finished, which is the half of the answer most sources leave out.

Panchavidha Kashaya Kalpana

Swarasa स्वरस

The expressed juice of a fresh drug, taken without heat.

How it is made

Take the fresh drug, clean it and pound it in a mortar.
Squeeze through a clean cloth and collect the juice.
Where the drug is dry or yields no juice, putapaka swarasa is used instead: the drug is wrapped in leaves, coated with clay, roasted, and the juice then expressed.

How you know it is done

It should be the colour and smell of the fresh drug, with no fermentation.

Matra: 10–20 ml

Shelf life: Prepared fresh and used at once. It does not keep.

First of the five. The most potent kashaya kalpana, because nothing is added and nothing is boiled away.

Yogas of this kalpana

Yoga	What is particular about it
Amritadhara	Not a swarasa in the classical sense: equal parts of the three volatile crystals — karpura, ajwain satva and peppermint satva — ground together, which liquefy on contact. Dose is in drops.
Ikshu Rasa	The expressed juice of the sugarcane, taken fresh. It ferments within hours, which is why the texts insist it is drunk at once and never kept.
Arka Gulab	An arka is a distillate, not a juice: rose petals are distilled with water and the condensate collected. Arka kalpana has its own vidhi and its own yantra.

Sharangadhara Samhita — Madhyama Khanda, chapter 1

Kalka कल्क

A fine paste of the drug, ground with a little water.

How it is made

Grind the fresh drug alone, or the dry drug with a little water, to a smooth paste.
Kalka is also the form in which drugs enter sneha kalpana, and there the proportion is fixed: one part kalka to four parts sneha to sixteen parts liquid.

How you know it is done

Smooth between the fingers, holding together when pressed.

Matra: 5–10 g

Shelf life: Used fresh.

Second of the five.

Sharangadhara Samhita — Madhyama Khanda, chapter 2

Kwatha क्वाथ

A decoction: the drug boiled in water and reduced.

How it is made

Take one part of the coarsely powdered drug to sixteen parts of water. For a hard drug, eight parts; for a soft one, four.
Boil on a mild fire until reduced to one eighth of the original volume.
Strain while warm through a clean cloth.

How you know it is done

Reduced to one eighth, as measured, not as judged by eye.
Kwatha is not boiled in an iron vessel where the drug is tannin-rich, because the two react and the preparation blackens.

Matra: 50–100 ml

Shelf life: One day. It is not kept overnight.

Third of the five. The most used kalpana in practice, because it keeps a day and can be made in quantity.

Yogas of this kalpana

Yoga	What is particular about it
Dashamoola Kwatha	The ten roots — five brihat and five laghu panchamula. The roots are hard, so eight parts of water rather than sixteen, and it still takes the longest boil in the pharmacy.
Aragvadhadi Kwatha	A bitter kwatha for kushtha and for shodhana preparation.
Bharangyadi Kwatha	Bharangi-led, for kasa and shwasa. Bharangi root is the pradhana dravya and the kwatha is taken warm; cooled and re-heated it loses the kaphaghna edge the yoga is used for.
Nyagrodhadi Kwatha	The kashaya-rich tree barks. Boiled in an earthen or steel vessel, never iron — these barks are tannin-rich and blacken on contact with it.
Bhunimbadi Kwatha	Kirata-led, for jwara. Among the bitterest kwatha in use and the taste is the point, not a fault.
Brihati Kwatha	Brihati-led, for kasa. Brihati and kantakari are the two laghu panchamula members most often confused, and the wrong one gives a different kwatha under the same name.
Arkadi Kwatha	Arka-led. Arka is a visha dravya and its latex is handled as one — shodhita before use, and the kwatha is not given to a child or in pregnancy.
Jivaniya Gana Kwatha	The ten jivaniya drugs of Charaka's first mahakashaya, boiled together. A brimhana kwatha, so it is taken with milk rather than water where the text allows.
Arjuna Ksheerapaka	Not a water kwatha: arjuna bark boiled in milk and water until only the milk remains. Ksheerapaka is its own vidhi — one part drug, eight parts milk, thirty-two parts water, reduced to the milk.

Sharangadhara Samhita — Madhyama Khanda, chapter 2

Hima हिम

A cold infusion, made without any heat.

How it is made

Take one part coarse powder to six parts cold water.
Leave overnight, or for a yama, then strain.

How you know it is done

Clear, with the colour drawn out and no cloudiness of fermentation.

Matra: 50–100 ml

Shelf life: Used the same day.

Fourth of the five. Used where the active matter is destroyed by heat, and where a cooling action is wanted.

Yogas of this kalpana

Yoga	What is particular about it
Shadanga Paniya	Six drugs steeped in water — musta, parpataka, ushira, chandana, udichya and nagara. It is a cold water preparation for jwara, and boiling it makes it a different medicine.

Sharangadhara Samhita — Madhyama Khanda, chapter 4

Phanta फाण्ट

A hot infusion: boiling water poured over the drug, not boiled with it.

How it is made

Take one part coarse powder to four parts hot water.
Pour the water over the drug, cover, leave to stand, then strain.

How you know it is done

The drug must not be boiled; if it boils it is a kwatha and not a phanta.

Matra: 50–100 ml

Shelf life: Used at once.

Fifth and least potent of the five, and the quickest to make.

Sharangadhara Samhita — Madhyama Khanda, chapter 4

Churna Kalpana

Churna चूर्ण

A powder of one or more dried drugs.

How it is made

Dry each drug separately and completely; a drug with any moisture left will not powder and will spoil the whole batch.
Powder each one separately, then sieve.
Where the yoga has several drugs, mix only after each has been sieved, and mix in ascending order of quantity so the smallest is distributed evenly.
Sugar, where the formula has it, is added last.

How you know it is done

Passes the prescribed mesh.
Free flowing, with no lumps and no smell of damp.

Matra: 1–6 g, by the yoga

Shelf life: One year, in a closed container away from moisture.

Yogas of this kalpana

Yoga	What is particular about it
Triphala Churna	Haritaki, bibhitaki and amalaki. The classical proportion is 1:2:4 by Sharangadhara, which is the part most often got wrong — equal parts is the commoner modern practice and is not what the text says. Each fruit is deseeded and powdered separately, sieved, then mixed.
Trikatu Churna	Pippali, maricha and shunthi in equal parts, each powdered separately and sieved before mixing.
Hingvashtaka Churna	Named for eight drugs. Hingu is fried in ghrita before it is added, which both purifies it and takes the rawness off the smell.
Sitopaladi Churna	Sita (sugar), vamshalochana, pippali, twak and ela, in descending proportion 16:8:4:2:1. The proportion is the examinable part.
Talisadi Churna	Built on the same descending proportion as Sitopaladi, with talisa patra added.
Avipattikara Churna	Twenty-one drugs with trivrit as the rechaka. The sugar and the trivrit are the largest parts by weight and go in last; the whole point of the yoga is a mild rechana that also settles amlapitta, so a coarse trivrit that has not been sieved makes it gripe.
Ajamodadi Churna	Ajamoda, vidanga, saindhava, pippali and the rest, with vibhitaki. A deepana-pachana churna; every drug is dried hard before powdering because the ajamoda and the chavya hold moisture and will cake the batch.
Ashwagandha Churna	The dried root only, never the leaf, and the root is scraped of its outer bark before powdering. Taken with milk, which is the anupana named in the text and not an optional addition.
Dadimashtaka Churna	Eight drugs on a dadima base, with sugar the largest part. A grahi churna, so it is kept very fine — a coarse powder does not hold in atisara.
Pushyanuga Churna	A long formula for pradara. Kept extremely fine and absolutely dry; the ambashtha and the rasanjana in it spoil the batch if any moisture is left.
Balachaturbhadra Churna	Four drugs for the child: musta, ativisha, pippali and karkatashringi. The dose is in ratti, not grams, so the powder must be fine enough to measure at that size.
Ativishadi Churna	Ativisha-led, for the child's grahani. Ativisha is one of the few visha-named drugs that needs no shodhana, and saying so is half the question.
Chaturjata Churna	Twak, ela, patra and nagakesara in equal parts. All four are aromatic, so they are powdered last and the container closed at once, or the volatile oil that is the whole medicine is lost.
Eladi Churna	Ela-led aromatic churna. Same rule: powder cold, close immediately.
Bilvadi Churna	Bilva as the pradhana dravya, for grahani. The unripe fruit, never the ripe — the ripe bilva is the opposite medicine and loosens the stool.
Amra Beeja Churna	The mango stone kernel, dried hard and powdered fine. A single-drug grahi churna for atisara, and the kernel must be from a ripe fruit.
Bhumyamalaki Churna	The whole plant, dried in shade. Sun drying destroys the bitter principle that is the reason for using it.
Chakramarda Churna	The seed, for kushtha, used both internally and as a lepa ground with a liquid. The leaf is a different medicine and is not a substitute.
Apamarga Kshara	Not a churna in the ordinary sense: the whole plant is burnt to ash, the ash steeped in water, filtered repeatedly and the filtrate evaporated. Kshara kalpana has its own vidhi and its own tests, and the strength depends entirely on how many times the filtrate was passed.
Guduchi Satva	Satva, not a churna: the fresh guduchi stem is crushed in water, left to stand, and the starch allowed to settle. The settled satva is dried and used. Yield is small and the fresh stem is essential — a dried stem gives almost none.
Dhatri Lauha	Amalaki (dhatri) with loha bhasma and honey. The loha must be fully marita and pass apunarbhava before it enters, and honey and ghrita are never used in equal weight together.
Kshara Sutra	Not an internal medicine at all. A surgical thread coated by repeated dipping in snuhi latex, apamarga kshara and haridra, air-dried between coats, to a stated number of coatings. Shalya Tantra, not Bhaishajya Kalpana.

Sharangadhara Samhita — Madhyama Khanda, chapter 6

Avaleha Kalpana

Avaleha अवलेह

A semi-solid confection, made on a sugar or jaggery base.

How it is made

Prepare the kwatha of the drugs and strain it.
Add the sugar or jaggery and heat until it reaches the right paka.
Add the fine powders (prakshepa dravya) after the fire is taken off, never while it boils, or their volatile matter is lost.
Add honey last of all, and only when the mass is no longer hot, because honey heated is held to be harmful.
Add the ghrita or taila where the formula calls for it.

How you know it is done

Tantu formation: a thread forms between two fingers.
It sinks in water without dispersing.
It does not stick to the fingers when rolled.

Matra: 6–12 g

Shelf life: One year.

Yogas of this kalpana

Yoga	What is particular about it
Chyavanaprasha	Amalaki is the base and the pradhana dravya; the dashamula and the other drugs are made into a kwatha in which the amalaki is boiled. The fruit is then rubbed through, fried in ghrita, and the sugar or jaggery brought to paka. The prakshepa powders go in off the fire and the honey last, when it is cool. The Ashtavarga belong to the classical formula, and most commercial preparations omit or substitute the group and say so on the label.
Kutajavaleha	Kutaja kwatha as the base, taken to avaleha paka and tested by the thread.
Vyaghri Haritaki	Haritaki cooked in the kwatha of kantakari, then brought to avaleha paka.
Aragvadha Leha	Aragvadha pulp brought to avaleha paka; a mild rechana lehya safe in the child and the pregnant woman by the classical indication.
Ashwagandhadi Lehyam	Ashwagandha with sugar, brought to thread paka, ghrita and honey added off the fire.
Chitraka Haritaki	Haritaki cooked in chitraka kwatha then brought to avaleha paka; for pratishyaya.
Agastya Haritaki Rasayana	Haritaki cooked in the dashamula kwatha, then in ghrita and jaggery to avaleha paka. For kasa and shwasa.
Brahma Rasayana	A long rasayana avaleha on an amalaki and haritaki base.
Amalaki Rasayana	Amalaki given bhavana with its own swarasa, repeatedly, then dried — the bhavana count is the preparation and skipping it makes it an ordinary churna.
Abhayadi Modaka	A modaka is an avaleha rolled into a ball once it reaches paka, so the paka test is the avaleha test and the rolling comes after.
Chyawanprash	The commoner spelling of Chyavanaprasha. Amalaki is the base and the pradhana dravya; the fruit is boiled in the kwatha of the other drugs, rubbed through, fried in ghrita, and the sugar brought to paka. The prakshepa powders go in off the fire and the honey last, when it is cool.
Haridra Khanda	A khanda is an avaleha on a sugar-crystal base. Haridra churna is added to the sugar paka off the fire, with the aromatic prakshepa last, and the mass is spread and allowed to set rather than rolled.
Gulkand	Rose petals layered with sugar and left in sunlight for weeks rather than cooked. Sandhana by sunlight, not by fire — a cooked version is not gulkand.
Amritabhallataka	Bhallataka is upavisha and its shodhana is not optional — the fruit is rubbed to remove the acrid oil before it goes anywhere near the paka. Brought to avaleha paka with ghrita and honey.

Sharangadhara Samhita — Madhyama Khanda, chapter 8

Sneha Kalpana

Ghrita घृत

Medicated ghee: the drug's properties carried into ghee.

How it is made

The proportion is fixed: one part kalka, four parts sneha, sixteen parts drava. Where no drava is stated, four parts of water are used.
Murchana first: the ghee is treated with haridra, amalaki and the prescribed drugs to remove its raw smell.
Heat the sneha with the kalka and the drava together, on a mild fire, stirring, until the water has gone.
Stop at the prescribed paka.

How you know it is done

The paka stages are ama, mridu, madhya, khara and dagdha, and each has its own test.
Madhyama paka: the kalka rolls into a wick that burns without crackling — the wick test, varti paka.
Froth appears in ghrita and subsides in taila, which is how the two are told apart at the same stage.

Matra: 6–12 g

Shelf life: Sixteen months for ghrita.

Yogas of this kalpana

Yoga	What is particular about it
Panchatikta Ghrita	The five bitters as kalka, in the one to four to sixteen proportion, taken to madhyama paka.
Mahatiktaka Ghrita	A large bitter formula taken to madhyama paka, tested by the varti.
Brahmi Ghrita	Brahmi swarasa as the drava, with vacha, kushtha and shankhapushpi as kalka. A medhya ghrita; the swarasa is used fresh or the medhya principle is lost.
Ashoka Ghrita	Ashoka bark kwatha as the drava, in the one to four to sixteen proportion, taken to madhyama paka and tested by the varti.

Sharangadhara Samhita — Madhyama Khanda, chapter 9

Taila तैल

Medicated oil, prepared as ghrita is, on a base of tila taila unless another oil is named.

How it is made

The same one to four to sixteen proportion as ghrita.
Heat with the kalka and the drava until the water has gone and the prescribed paka is reached.
Strain while warm.

How you know it is done

Varti paka, as for ghrita.
Froth subsides in taila where it appears in ghrita.

Matra: As the use directs; most taila are for external use.

Shelf life: Sixteen months.

Yogas of this kalpana

Yoga	What is particular about it
Chandanadi Taila	Chandana kalka in tila taila, one to four to sixteen, taken to madhyama paka.
Dashamoola Taila	Dashamula kwatha as the drava with the kalka in tila taila.
Bala Taila	Bala kalka and bala kwatha; a vata-pacifying abhyanga taila.
Nalpamaradi Taila	The four ficus barks in coconut oil rather than tila, which is the Kerala practice and is stated in the formula.
Bhringaraja Taila	Bhringaraja swarasa as the drava; for the hair, applied to the scalp.
Chakramardadi Taila	Chakramarda seed kalka in tila taila, for kushtha. External use only, and the taila is applied to a clean dry skin because the seed acts on contact.
Apamarga Taila	Used for karna purana; apamarga kshara is not the same preparation and must not be substituted.
Atibala Taila	Atibala kalka in tila taila, one to four to sixteen. A vata-pacifying taila for external use, taken to madhyama paka.
Arka Taila	Arka latex in taila. Arka is upavisha — the latex is shodhita before use and the taila is external only.

Sharangadhara Samhita — Madhyama Khanda, chapter 9

Sandhana Kalpana

Asava आसव

A self-generated alcoholic preparation made from the raw drug, without boiling.

How it is made

Dissolve the jaggery or sugar in water in the sandhana patra.
Add the coarse powders of the drugs.
Add dhataki pushpa, which carries the wild yeast and is what makes the preparation ferment at all.
Close the vessel, seal it, and leave it for the prescribed period in a warm place.

How you know it is done

The scum settles and the liquid clears.
A burning splinter held over it is not extinguished.
The characteristic smell of fermentation, without sourness.

Matra: 12–24 ml, usually with an equal quantity of water

Shelf life: Improves with age; there is no fixed expiry in the classical account.

Yogas of this kalpana

Yoga	What is particular about it
Kumaryasava	Made from kumari swarasa rather than a kwatha, which is what makes it an asava and not an arishta.
Bhringarajasava	Bhringaraja, used raw and unboiled — that is what makes it an asava and not an arishta. Dhataki pushpa carries the fermentation.
Amrasava	Made from the expressed juice of the amra fruit, unboiled, with dhataki pushpa to ferment it. Being unboiled is what makes it an asava.
Chandanasava	Chandana-led, unboiled, for mutrakricchra and daha. The chandana is used as the heartwood shavings, never the oil.
Lohasava	Carries loha bhasma in an asava; the bhasma must be fully marita before it enters, or it settles and is dosed unevenly.

Sharangadhara Samhita — Madhyama Khanda, chapter 10

Arishta अरिष्ट

A self-generated alcoholic preparation made from a kwatha, that is, from boiled drugs.

How it is made

Prepare the kwatha of the drugs and strain it.
Dissolve the jaggery in the warm kwatha and let it cool.
Add the prakshepa dravya and the dhataki pushpa.
Seal and leave for the prescribed period.

How you know it is done

As for asava.

Matra: 12–24 ml, usually with an equal quantity of water

Shelf life: Improves with age.

The single difference from asava is the kwatha. Asava is made from the raw drug and arishta from a decoction, and that is the whole distinction a paper asks for.

Yogas of this kalpana

Yoga	What is particular about it
Ashokarishta	Ashoka bark kwatha as the base, with dhataki pushpa as the fermenting agent. The dhataki is what makes it ferment at all, and old dhataki that has lost its wild yeast will simply not work however correct the rest is.
Dashamularishta	The kwatha of the ten roots is the base. It is among the longest preparations in the pharmacy because of the quantity of root involved.
Kutajarishta	Kutaja bark kwatha as the base, with dhataki.
Draksharishta	Draksha is the principal dravya and contributes its own sugars to the fermentation.
Abhayarishta	Haritaki kwatha as the base, with mridvika and vidanga. For arsha and vibandha.
Amritarishta	Guduchi kwatha with dashamula. For jirna jwara.
Arjunarishta	Arjuna bark kwatha with draksha and dhataki. For hridroga.
Ashwagandharishta	Ashwagandha kwatha base; the root is boiled, not fermented raw, which is what makes it an arishta.
Balarishta	Bala kwatha with ashwagandha. A brimhana arishta.
Jirakadyarishta	Jiraka kwatha base, given after delivery.

Sharangadhara Samhita — Madhyama Khanda, chapter 10

Vati Kalpana

Vati and Gutika वटी

A tablet or pill.

How it is made

Prepare the churna of the drugs.
Add the binding agent — guggulu, jaggery, a kwatha, honey or water, as the formula says.
Mash to a mass that holds together, roll into pills of the prescribed weight, and dry in shade.

How you know it is done

Uniform in weight and size.
Hard enough not to crumble, and it should not float.
Dried in shade, never in direct sun, which cracks them.

Matra: 1–2 vati, by the yoga

Shelf life: Two years where no fresh drug is in it.

Yogas of this kalpana

Yoga	What is particular about it
Chandraprabha Vati	A guggulu-bound vati with a long ingredient list including shilajatu and the loha bhasma; the guggulu is shodhita before it is used.
Bilvadi Gutika	A gutika bound and rolled from the churna of bilva and the other drugs.
Arogyavardhini Vati	Carries parada, gandhaka and loha bhasma among the mineral components, and katuki as the largest herbal part; the mineral components must each be shodhita and marita before they enter.
Agnitundi Vati	Carries shuddha parada, gandhaka and the visha dravya; every mineral and every visha in it is shodhita before it enters, and the dose is in small vati for that reason.
Chitrakadi Vati	Chitraka-led deepana vati, bound with kanji or a kwatha. Chitraka is an irritant in quantity, which is why the vati is small and the course short.
Brahmi Vati	A medhya vati; the version carrying rasa dravya and the herbal-only version are two different medicines sold under one name, and the label must say which.
Khadiradi Vati	A small vati held in the mouth and dissolved, not swallowed, so it is rolled smaller than usual and dried harder. For mukha roga and kantha roga.
Bilwadi Gutika	A gutika of bilva and the other drugs; used internally and as a lepa in visha.
Sanjivani Vati	Carries shuddha vatsanabha — a visha dravya — so the shodhana and the dose are the whole safety of the yoga.
Anandabhairava Rasa	A kharaliya rasa kalpana — ground in a khalva, not fired. Carries shuddha parada, gandhaka and vatsanabha.
Tribhuvana Kirti Rasa	A kharaliya rasa for jwara; kajjali with the herbal churna, bhavana given with adraka and tulsi swarasa.
Lakshmivilasa Rasa	Kajjali with abhraka bhasma and the herbal drugs, bhavana with bhringaraja.
Ayush 64	A modern compound of four drugs — saptaparna, katuki, kutaja and chirata — developed by the CCRAS. It is a tablet, and unlike a classical yoga its composition is fixed by the developing institute rather than by a samhita.

Sharangadhara Samhita — Madhyama Khanda, chapter 7

Guggulu Kalpana गुग्गुलु कल्पना

A vati in which shuddha guggulu is both an ingredient and the binder.

How it is made

Guggulu is first subjected to shodhana, classically by boiling in triphala kwatha, gomutra or dugdha in a dola yantra.
The shuddha guggulu is pounded until soft, and the churna of the other drugs is added a little at a time.
A little ghrita on the pestle keeps it from sticking.
Roll and dry in shade.

How you know it is done

The mass is glossy and does not stick to the vessel.
Uniform pills.

Matra: 1–2 vati

Shelf life: Two years.

Yogas of this kalpana

Yoga	What is particular about it
Triphala Guggulu	Shuddha guggulu with triphala and pippali. The guggulu must be shodhita, classically in triphala kwatha by the dola yantra.
Yogaraja Guggulu	A guggulu kalpana with a large churna component; the churna is added to the pounded guggulu a little at a time.
Kaishore Guggulu	Guggulu with guduchi and triphala; used where the classical indication is vatarakta.
Panchatikta Ghrita Guggulu	The panchatikta ghrita is itself made first, and then used in a guggulu kalpana. Two kalpana in sequence, which is why it is a long preparation.
Kanchanara Guggulu	Shuddha guggulu with kanchanara bark and triphala; for granthi and gandamala.
Simhanada Guggulu	Guggulu with triphala and gandhaka, cooked with castor oil; for amavata.
Gokshuradi Guggulu	Shuddha guggulu with gokshura and triphala, for mutrakricchra. The guggulu is shodhita in triphala kwatha by the dola yantra before anything is added.
Punarnavadi Guggulu	Shuddha guggulu with punarnava, for shotha. Punarnava is the pradhana dravya and the fresh root is preferred where it can be had.

Sharangadhara Samhita — Madhyama Khanda, chapter 7

Rasa Kalpana

Kupipakwa Rasayana कूपीपक्व रसायन

A mercurial preparation made in a glass bottle over a graded fire.

How it is made

Prepare the kajjali — parada and gandhaka ground together until black and lustreless, with no globules visible.
Give it the prescribed bhavana.
Fill a kachakupi to about half, wrapped in seven layers of cloth and clay (kapadmitti), and dry it.
Place in a valuka yantra and heat by a graded fire: mridu, madhyama then tivra agni, each for the prescribed hours.
Test with a cold rod and by the flame at the mouth of the bottle to know when to close it.
Cool completely before breaking the bottle.

How you know it is done

The product is kanthastha (at the neck) or talastha (at the bottom), and the two are different medicines.
Rasa sindura is the classic kanthastha kupipakwa. Makaradhwaja is a kupipakwa with swarna added.

Matra: As the yoga directs, in milligrams

Shelf life: Long, in a closed container.

Yogas of this kalpana

Yoga	What is particular about it
Rasa Sindura	The classic kanthastha kupipakwa: the product forms at the neck of the bottle, not the bottom.
Makaradhwaja	A kupipakwa with swarna added to the kajjali, which is what distinguishes it from rasa sindura.

Rasa Ratna Samuccaya — The chapters on rasa kalpana

Parpati पर्पटी

A flake preparation of kajjali, melted and pressed.

How it is made

Prepare the kajjali.
Melt it in an iron ladle over a mild fire.
Pour onto a leaf-lined pit made in fresh cow dung and press with another leaf so it sets as a thin flake.
Lift, cool and powder.

How you know it is done

A thin, brittle, shining flake that breaks cleanly.

Matra: 125–250 mg

Shelf life: Long, closed.

Yogas of this kalpana

Yoga	What is particular about it
Rasa Parpati	Kajjali melted and pressed into a flake on a cow dung pit lined with leaves.

Rasa Ratna Samuccaya — The chapters on rasa kalpana

Bhasma भस्म

A metal or mineral reduced to an absorbable ash.

How it is made

Shodhana first: the prescribed purification for that metal or mineral, which is never skipped.
Bhavana with the prescribed liquid, then the material is made into a cake (chakrika) and dried.
Puta: sealed in two earthen saucers luted together (sharava samputa) and fired with a measured quantity of cow dung cakes.
Repeated for the prescribed number of puta, which for some bhasma runs to a hundred.

How you know it is done

Varitara: it floats on still water.
Rekhapurnata: it enters the lines of the finger.
Apunarbhava: heated with the prescribed materials it does not return to the metal.
Niruttha: silver heated with it gains no weight, which shows no free metal is left.

Matra: 15–250 mg, by the bhasma

Shelf life: Long.

Yogas of this kalpana

Yoga	What is particular about it
Chapala Bhasma	A bhasma of the mineral, judged finished by varitara, rekhapurnata and finally apunarbhava and niruttha, not by the number of puta counted out.

Rasa Ratna Samuccaya — The chapters on marana and bhasma pariksha

Kharaliya Rasa खरलीय रस

A mercurial preparation made by grinding alone, with no fire.

How it is made

Prepare the kajjali from shuddha parada and shuddha gandhaka.
Add the other shodhita minerals and the herbal churna.
Give bhavana with the prescribed liquids for the prescribed number of times.
Roll into vati and dry in shade, or keep as a powder.

How you know it is done

No fire is used at any stage; a kharaliya rasa that has been heated is a different preparation.
The bhavana count is the medicine. Tribhuvana Kirti, Anandabhairava and Lakshmivilasa are all kharaliya rasa.

Matra: 125–250 mg, by the yoga

Shelf life: Long, closed and dry.

Rasa Ratna Samuccaya — The chapters on kharaliya rasayana

Mandura मण्डूर

A preparation of iron rust, treated like a bhasma.

How it is made

Take mandura that has lain in the earth for years; fresh iron scale will not do.
Shodhana by repeated nirvapa in gomutra, heated red hot and quenched, seven times.
Bhavana with triphala kwatha and gomutra, then puta, repeated for the prescribed number.

How you know it is done

The same bhasma pariksha as any other: varitara, rekhapurnata, and finally apunarbhava and niruttha.
Mandura and loha bhasma are not interchangeable — mandura is milder and is the one used in pandu with a weak agni.

Matra: 250–500 mg

Shelf life: Long.

Rasa Ratna Samuccaya — The chapters on mandura

Bahya Kalpana

Lepa लेप

A paste applied to the skin.

How it is made

Grind the drugs to a fine kalka with the prescribed liquid — water, a kwatha, a swarasa, gomutra or taila, and the liquid is named in the formula.
Apply against the direction of the hair, so it reaches the roots and the srotas mukha.
Apply to the thickness of a wet cloth; the texts give three thicknesses for the three purposes.

How you know it is done

It is removed when it dries, because a dried lepa stops acting and begins to absorb from the skin instead.

Matra: External use only.

Shelf life: Made fresh and applied at once. A lepa that has dried is removed, not re-wetted.

Sharangadhara Samhita — Uttara Khanda, chapter 11

Anjana अञ्जन

A preparation applied to the eye.

How it is made

Three forms by consistency: pindi (a bolus), rasakriya (a semi-solid) and churna (a powder), in descending order of thickness.
Every drug is levigated to an impalpable fineness — the eye is the one place a gritty particle is an injury and not a fault.
Prepared and stored so that nothing can contaminate it.

How you know it is done

Fineness is the whole test: rubbed between the fingers it must leave no grit at all.
Anjana is contraindicated at night for some types and after a meal for others, and the texts name the times.

Matra: One shalaka, applied to the lid margin.

Shelf life: Short. An anjana is never kept once opened for long.

Sushruta Samhita — Uttara Tantra, the netra chapters

Kshara Kalpana

Kshara क्षार

An alkali made from plant ash.

How it is made

Burn the whole dried plant to a white ash.
Steep the ash in six or eight parts of water and stir.
Filter, and filter again — twenty-one times in the classical account, and the number is what decides the strength.
Evaporate the filtrate on a mild fire until the kshara remains.

How you know it is done

It should be white, fine, and dissolve without residue.
Kshara is classed mridu, madhyama or tikshna by strength, and the class is decided by the filtration count, not by the plant.

Matra: Very small internally; mostly external.

Shelf life: Keeps well if kept absolutely dry — kshara is hygroscopic and a damp container ruins it.

Sushruta Samhita — Sutrasthana 11, Kshara Paka Vidhi

Ahara Kalpana

Ahara Kalpana आहार कल्पना

Food prepared as medicine — the pathya preparations.

How it is made

Manda: rice boiled in fourteen parts of water, and only the liquid taken.
Peya: the same with a few grains of rice left in.
Vilepi: thick, with more rice than liquid.
Yavagu: a thin gruel, with drugs cooked into it where the formula says so.
Odana and Saktu: cooked rice, and roasted grain flour.
Mantha: saktu stirred into a liquid without cooking.

How you know it is done

The difference between them is the proportion of water, and that is what is asked.
Samsarjana krama after shodhana runs manda, peya, vilepi, then odana — the order is the treatment, not a suggestion.

Matra: As food, by appetite.

Shelf life: Made and eaten the same day.

Sharangadhara Samhita — Madhyama Khanda, chapter 2

The processes behind them

Shodhana शोधन

Purification. The step that makes a metal, mineral or poisonous drug fit to enter a medicine at all.

Removes the physical impurities and the adhering earth.
Removes the blemishes the texts call doshas of the dravya.
Makes the material brittle, so the later marana succeeds.
For a visha dravya, reduces the toxicity to the point where it is usable.

Usually swedana in a dola yantra, or repeated nirvapa — heating the material and quenching it in a prescribed liquid, seven times being the common number. The liquid is specified per dravya and is not interchangeable.

The rule that matters: Shodhana is never skipped and never substituted. An ashuddha dravya used in a medicine is the single commonest cause of harm attributed to Ayurvedic preparations.

Shodhana names two different things and the context decides which. In Rasashastra it is the purification of a metal, mineral or poisonous drug before use. In Panchakarma it is the purificatory group of therapies — vamana, virechana, basti, nasya and raktamokshana — as against shamana, the pacifying treatments. This entry is the Rasashastra sense.

Rasa Ratna Samuccaya — The chapters on shodhana

Marana मारण

Incineration. The process that converts a shuddha metal or mineral into bhasma.

Destroys the metallic form, so the material can no longer act as a metal.
Reduces it to a particle fine enough to be absorbed.
Is carried out by repeated puta, each one a measured firing.

The shuddha dravya is ground with the prescribed bhavana dravya, made into chakrika, dried, sealed in a sharava samputa and fired. Repeated for the number of puta the text prescribes, which for some bhasma runs to a hundred.

The rule that matters: Marana is finished when the bhasma pariksha are satisfied, not when the prescribed number of puta has been counted out. The count is a guide; the tests are the answer.

Rasa Ratna Samuccaya — The chapters on marana

Puta पुट

A single measured firing, named for the quantity of cow dung cakes used and so for the heat and duration it gives.

Maha puta, gaja puta, kukkuta puta, kapota puta, govara puta and bhanda puta, in descending order of heat.
Gaja puta is the common one for metals; kukkuta puta for most minerals.
The material is sealed in two earthen saucers luted together with cloth and clay — the sharava samputa.

A pit of the prescribed size is filled with cow dung cakes, the samputa placed in the middle, covered with more cakes and fired. It is left to cool on its own; opening it hot ruins the batch.

The rule that matters: Self-cooling is part of the puta. The heat curve on the way down matters as much as the one on the way up.

Rasa Ratna Samuccaya — The chapters on puta

Bhavana भावना

Levigation. Grinding a material with a prescribed liquid and drying it, repeated a prescribed number of times.

Carries the properties of the bhavana dravya into the material.
Reduces particle size with every cycle.
Is counted: one bhavana is one wetting ground to dryness, not one wetting.

The liquid is added just enough to make a paste, ground until it dries, and the cycle repeated. The liquid is named in the formula and is part of the medicine, not a processing aid.

The rule that matters: The bhavana dravya is an ingredient. Substituting it changes the medicine.

Rasa Ratna Samuccaya — The chapters on samskara

Kajjali कज्जली

The black sulphide of mercury made by grinding shuddha parada and shuddha gandhaka together without any liquid.

Is the starting material of most rasa kalpana — kupipakwa, parpati and many vati.
Is made dry; adding a liquid at this stage makes rasa parpati impossible later.

Equal parts or the prescribed proportion of shuddha parada and shuddha gandhaka are ground in a khalva yantra for hours until the mixture is uniformly black, smooth and lustreless.

The rule that matters: Nishchandratva is the test — no glitter. If a single globule of mercury is visible under light, the kajjali is not made, however black it looks.

Rasa Ratna Samuccaya — The chapters on parada

Bhasma Pariksha भस्म परीक्षा

The tests by which a bhasma is judged finished and safe.

Varitara — it floats on still water.
Rekhapurnata — rubbed between the fingers it enters the lines of the finger.
Nishchandratva — no lustre remains.
Apunarbhava — heated with the prescribed materials it does not return to the metal.
Niruttha — silver heated with it gains no weight, which shows no free metal is left.
Nirdhuma — no fumes on heating.
Slakshnatva — smooth and tasteless.

Applied in order. Varitara and rekhapurnata are done at the bench after every puta; apunarbhava and niruttha are the final tests and are what decide the marana is complete.

The rule that matters: Apunarbhava and niruttha are the ones that matter. Varitara alone is satisfied by a bhasma that still holds free metal, and a bhasma with free metal is the one that harms.

Rasa Ratna Samuccaya — The chapters on bhasma pariksha

Satvapatana सत्वपातन

Extraction of the metallic essence from an ore or mineral.

Yields the satva, the metal itself, from a mineral such as abhraka, makshika or vaikranta.

The shuddha mineral is ground with the prescribed drugs — usually a combination of tankana, guda and the kshara dravya — made into balls, dried and fired in a musha (crucible) at high heat. The satva collects at the bottom.

The rule that matters: Abhraka satva is the classic example and is among the hardest operations in the pharmacy; the yield is small and the fire must be sustained.

Rasa Ratna Samuccaya — The chapters on satvapatana

Mana Paribhasha मान परिभाषा

The classical table of weights and measures, on which every dose in every text depends.

Ratti or gunja — about 125 mg.
Masha — 8 ratti, about 1 g.
Karsha or tola — 12 masha, about 12 g.
Pala — 4 karsha, about 48 g.
Kudava — 12 karsha; Prastha — 4 kudava; Adhaka — 4 prastha; Drona — 4 adhaka.

Read the measure in the text and convert by the table. A dose stated in ratti and read as grams is a hundredfold error.

The rule that matters: There are two schools, Magadha mana and Kalinga mana, and they differ by a factor of two in the larger units. Sharangadhara follows Magadha. A text is useless without knowing which it uses.

Sharangadhara Samhita — Purva Khanda, chapter 1

What this is not

These are the classical methods as the texts set them down, with the tests by which each is judged finished. They are a description of what the tradition prescribes, not a manufacturing specification, and they carry no batch quantities. Anything made for sale is governed by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and its schedules, not by this page.

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