Healing guggul

It has been over three years, but my honeymoon with those bombastic names still continues.

It has been over three years, but my honeymoon with those bombastic names still continues. Names like Maharasnayogarajaguggul and Kottam-chukkadi, which need to explode from your mouth when pronounced correctly. To manage them, they need to be broken up in bits, as in maha-rasna-yogaraja-guggul.

These and dozens of others are herbal oils and potions according to ayurveda. They have seen me gradually come out of the burning pains in knees, shoulders and indeed all joints, following an attack of rheumatoid arthritis. They were the alternative as compared to the strong pain-killers that allopathy would prescribe. In fact, modern medicine, not having yet found a cure for rheumatoid arthritis, would have me sit in a wheelchair all my life, gobbling those pain-killer pills and vegetating.

And thus began my tryst with ayurveda. Arya Vaidyan P.K. Ezhuthacchan, whose name was as bombastic as the procedures and decoctions that he prescribed, specified my temperament as vata, and said there are medicated oils like Ksheerabala, Balaguluchyadi and Karpasastyadi that8217;s karpas-astyadi for it.

Even stanyadhara requiring breast milk was considered. It was to be combined with Pacchhakarpoora or Gorochana. Anyway, with or without Pacchhakarpoora, the proposal of that treatment was dropped. But Kuzhampu for the body was considered, including oils like Prabhanjanavimardhana that8217;s prabhanjan-vimardana and Bala-swa-gandhadi.

There are treatments for other ailments 8212; with equally bombastic names. There is Madhu-snuhira-sayanam-brihat, effective for wounds, fistula, scabies, itch and so on. For the same troubles, Mani-bhadra-gudayogam is also a possibility. Then there is Madana-kameshwaram, also known as Sarva-rogachikitsa-ratnam, which preceded Viagra by centuries. It helps digestion to boot, stops diarrhoea and vomiting, even makes one hungry.

If you have fever, you could ask your vaidya if you should take Chukkum-tippalayadi gulika, with ginger juice. The upshot is that ayurvedic bombs have helped me cock a snook at modern medicine: I am not vegetating, not in a wheelchair. In fact I drive my two-wheeler and car, don8217;t need pain-killers and go for my morning walk, albeit with a bit of doddering. I even use my stationary cycle for 10 minutes 1,200 strokes. Hooray for Kottam-chukkadi oil for joint massage and with it, to be taken inwards, is Maha-yoga-raja-rasnadi-guggul.

Yes, guggul.