Amritarishta

What it is

Amritarishta is an arishtam, a gently fermented Ayurvedic preparation. An arishtam is made by leaving a sweetened herbal liquid to ferment slowly. As it ferments, a small amount of natural alcohol forms, and this both preserves the preparation and helps it carry the qualities of the herbs into the body. What you end up with is a dark, keeping liquid, taken by the spoonful and usually diluted with water.

The name points to its foundation. Amrita is one of the classical names for Guduchi, the climbing herb whose Latin name is Tinospora cordifolia, and the preparation is built on it. The word amrita means the nectar of long life, and the herb earned the name in the tradition for the regard in which it was held. Around this base the classical formula, recorded in the Bhaishajya Ratnavali tradition, gathers the Dashamula, the ten roots, together with a group of bitter and aromatic herbs including Musta (nut grass), Saptaparna (the bark of the seven-leaved tree) and Kutaja. The whole is fermented with jaggery and the flowers of Dhataki, and then strained clear.

What Ayurveda uses it for

• Vishama Jwara (the intermittent fevers, its foremost use)
• Jirna Jwara (long-standing fever)
• Jwara (fever generally)
• Agnimandya (weak digestion)
• Aruchi (loss of appetite)
• Daurbalya (the debility that follows fever)

These are the traditional textual indications recorded in the classical literature. They set out how Ayurveda has long understood the preparation and are given for reference and study, not as statements of medical effect or as advice to treat any condition.

What is in it

The preparation is built on Guduchi, and Guduchi carries much of its character. In Ayurvedic terms the herb is bitter, warming and light, and the tradition counts it among the Rasayana herbs, those held to sustain strength over time. This is why the character of the whole preparation leans bitter and drying rather than sweet and heavy, and it sets Amritarishta apart from the sweeter members of the fermented family such as Draksharishtam.

To Guduchi the formula adds the Dashamula, the ten roots, a classical group used broadly across the tradition. Alongside them stand the bitter and aromatic herbs: Musta, the nut grass, warming and drying; Saptaparna, the bark of the seven-leaved tree, a bitter of long standing in the treatment of fever; Kutaja, another established bitter; and further supporting herbs of the same cast. The bitterness is the theme that runs through the blend, and it is the taste the tradition most associates with fever and with a weak digestive fire.

The fermentation is set going with jaggery, which gives the sugars the process needs, and with the flowers of Dhataki, whose wild yeasts the tradition relies on to start an arishtam turning.

How it is taken

Amritarishta is taken in a small measure, classically a spoonful or two, and diluted with an equal part of water. It is taken after food, so that the digestion is already awake to receive it, and it is used as a course over a stretch of days rather than as a single dose.

Because of the alcohol and the sugars formed in fermentation, a well-made arishtam keeps for a long time, and the tradition holds that it settles and improves with a little age. The dilution with water is the usual and expected way to take it.

Good to know

Amritarishta belongs to the bitter, fire-kindling side of the fermented preparations, and this is what marks it out. Where a preparation such as Draksharishtam is sweet and nourishing, Amritarishta is bitter and drying, and the tradition’s picture of it is of a preparation for the long, low, returning fevers and the weak digestion and want of strength that follow in their wake. The small amount of alcohol that forms in fermentation is part of how an arishtam works and keeps, and the preparation is taken in small, measured amounts, diluted with water.

This entry describes the classical Ayurvedic understanding of the preparation. It is not medical advice, and anyone with a health condition should speak to a qualified practitioner.

Frequently asked

Why is it called Amritarishta? Amrita is a classical name for Guduchi, the herb the preparation is built on, and arishta names the fermented form. Put together, the name marks it as the fermented preparation of Amrita, that is, of Guduchi. The word amrita itself means the nectar of long life, a name the tradition gave the herb for the regard in which it held it.

Does it contain alcohol? A small amount, yes. It forms naturally during fermentation and is part of how an arishtam is preserved and how it carries the qualities of the herbs. The preparation is taken in small, measured doses, usually diluted with an equal part of water.

How does it differ from a sweet tonic like Draksharishtam? The two sit at opposite ends of the fermented family. Draksharishtam is sweet, heavy and nourishing, built on raisins. Amritarishta is bitter, light and drying, built on Guduchi, and the tradition associates it above all with the long-standing and intermittent fevers rather than with rebuilding a depleted body.