Gairika

TRADITIONAL VIEW, WITH SAFETY LIMITS

Hindi name: Geru

What the texts say Gairika does

• Raktastambhana — checks bleeding (haemostatic)
• Daha prashamana — relieves burning
• Vranaropana — heals wounds
• Chakshushya — good for the eyes

What the evidence says. No modern clinical evidence establishes an effect on any named condition.

Side effects and limits

Iron oxide is poorly absorbed and is among the least toxic mineral dravya. Natural ochre can carry lead and arsenic from its source, which is a sourcing question.

Avoid or ask first: Iron overload states, as a precaution.; Unsourced or industrial pigment.

A traditional classification, not a recommendation. The full safety record is below.

AS THE CLASSICAL TEXTS AND THE API PRESCRIBE

The classical raktastambhana mineral, used internally in raktapitta and externally on burns.

Reported from Sharangadhara Samhita and the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India. Laisha states what the texts prescribe; it does not recommend. No quantity here is adjusted for a particular person — not for agni, koshtha, bala, age, pregnancy, kidney or liver function, or anything already being taken.

Gairika is classed among the Uparasa.

Rasa, guna, virya, vipaka and karma are recorded as the classical texts give them, with the text and section named so a student can open the book and check.

Swarna gairika is the finer golden-red variety the texts prefer; ordinary geru sold for floors is the coarse one.

Ferric oxide, Fe2O3, with clay. The red earth pigment.

A WAY TO REMEMBER IT

Gairika is from giri, a mountain — the earth that comes off the hill. Ochre is from the Greek ochros, pale yellow, for the unburnt form.

Gairika is used in raktapitta and in burns, and is one of the oldest pigments and medicines in continuous use anywhere.

Constituents. Ferric oxide, Fe2O3, with clay. The red earth pigment.

• This is a study and clinical reference for practitioners and students. The matra and anupana it records are what the classical texts and the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India PRESCRIBE — Laisha reports them, it does not recommend them. They are not a prescription for any particular person, and they are not adjusted for your age, agni, koshtha, bala, pregnancy, kidney or liver function, or anything else you are already taking. Only a qualified practitioner who has examined you can do that.
• Traditional classification is recorded as what the classical texts say, with the text and the place in it named. It is not restated as a finding about a human body.
• Nothing here replaces a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner or a doctor.