Arimedadi Thailam Uses

Arimedadi Thailam uses cluster almost entirely around one part of the body, the mouth, and this is what sets the oil apart from the many general massage oils in the Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia. It is a medicated taila, a sesame-oil preparation cooked around the bark called arimeda together with a company of astringent and aromatic herbs, and the classical texts keep it firmly within the treatment of Mukharoga, the disorders of the mouth and teeth. Where most named oils are rubbed into the limbs and joints, this one is warmed and held in the mouth.

What Arimedadi Thailam is

The oil takes its name from arimeda, a bark long recorded in the Ayurvedic care of the mouth for its astringent, cleansing quality. Around this leading herb the classical formula gathers a group of supporting dravyas chosen for the same direction of action: substances that are drying to excess moisture, firming to slack tissue and pleasant to the breath. These are cooked into a base of sesame oil, the sneha the tradition prefers for its warming, Vata-settling nature and its ability to carry herbal qualities into the tissues.

The result is a thick, aromatic, warming oil. It is not a light cosmetic preparation but a bhaishajya, a medicine, and it is used by gargle and local application rather than swallowed.

The classical source

Arimedadi Thailam appears in the mouth-disease chapters of the classical and later compendia, and versions of the formula are carried in the Bhaishajya Ratnavali under Mukharoga Chikitsa, among the oils and gargles for the teeth and gums. The method of cooking follows the general rules for taila-paka set out in the Sharangadhara Samhita, where the herbal decoction and paste are cooked with the oil until only the oil remains, carrying the qualities of the herbs.

The herbs and their direction

Although the oil is named for arimeda, the formula gathers a company of herbs that all pull in the same direction, and this shared direction is the key to its action. The classical roster brings together astringent barks and herbs that firm and dry slack, moist tissue; aromatic dravyas that sweeten the breath and cleanse the mouth; and substances the tradition connects with the health of the teeth and gums. Ingredients such as lodhra, jati, musta, the two turmerics haridra and daruharidra, and other astringent and cleansing herbs appear in versions of the formula, the exact list varying across sources. Their combined profile is astringent (kashaya), aromatic and warming, the qualities directed at laxity, cold, heaviness and excess moisture in the mouth. Held in a warming sesame base, these qualities stay in long contact with the gums and teeth, which is the whole purpose of an oil-holding preparation.

Gandusha and kavala explained

The two practices at the heart of Arimedadi Thailam’s use deserve a fuller word, since the classical texts distinguish them. In gandusha, the mouth is filled completely with the warmed oil and the oil is held still, without moving it about, for as long as is comfortable, until the eyes water or the nose runs or the mouth fills, at which point it is spat out. In kavala, a smaller, more manageable quantity is taken and gently moved and swished about the mouth before being spat out. The Ashtanga Hridayam and the Sharangadhara Samhita treat both as regular practices of the daily routine, valued for keeping the mouth clean, the teeth firm, the voice clear and the breath fresh, and they name oils, decoctions and other liquids suited to each purpose. Arimedadi Thailam is one of the oils named where the intention is to firm and cleanse the mouth. The tradition places the practice in the morning, after the teeth have been cleaned and the tongue scraped, as part of a well-ordered start to the day.

How the oil is made

The preparation follows the standard sneha-paka, the classical cooking of medicated oils, with three components brought together. First is the kashaya, a water decoction of the herbs. Second is the kalka, a fine wet paste of arimeda and the supporting herbs. Third is the taila itself, the sesame oil. These are combined and cooked slowly over a measured fire until the water has gone entirely and only the oil is left, at which point the tradition holds that the dravyaguna, the qualities and virtues of the herbs, have passed into the oil.

The finished oil is tested by the classical signs of a well-cooked taila, chiefly the kalka forming a soft, unbroken mass and the froth settling, and is then strained and stored. A properly cooked medicated oil keeps its potency well, which is one reason the tradition favours this dosage form.

The classical uses

The uses fall into a small, clear set, all local to the mouth.

Gandusha and kavala. The two central applications are gandusha, holding a full mouthful of the warmed oil still for several minutes, and kavala, taking a smaller amount and gently moving it about the mouth. Both are described in the Ashtanga Hridayam and the Sharangadhara Samhita as daily practices that keep the mouth clean, the teeth firm and the breath fresh. Arimedadi Thailam is one of the oils named for this purpose.

Care of the gums and teeth. The astringent, firming direction of arimeda and its companions is aimed at slack, moist, heavy conditions of the gums, read in the classical framework as Kapha settling in the mouth, and at the looseness or discomfort of the teeth read as a Vata disturbance. The oil is used in the traditional support of firm gums and steady teeth.

Freshness of the breath and mouth. The aromatic herbs lend the oil its use in the general freshening of the mouth, part of the Dinacharya, the daily routine, in which oral cleansing has an established place beside tongue-scraping and cleaning the teeth.

Local application. Besides the gargle, the oil may be applied locally to the gums by trained hands as part of a fuller course of mouth care.

Which dosha it suits

The herbs of Arimedadi Thailam are chosen for an astringent, aromatic, drying and warming profile, and their combined direction is against Kapha and Vata as these lodge in the mouth. Laxity, cold, heaviness and excess moisture in the gums belong in the classical reading to aggravated Kapha; looseness, sensitivity and the drying, receding quality of the tissue belong to Vata. The sesame base is itself Vata-shamaka and warming.

Because the leading herbs are warming and drying, the oil is used with more care where there is marked heat or inflammation in the mouth, a picture the tradition would read as aggravated Pitta, and a practitioner adjusts accordingly.

How it is used and the cautions

In practice the oil is warmed gently to a comfortable temperature before use, never made hot. For gandusha a mouthful is held for the several minutes the texts describe and then spat out; for kavala a smaller quantity is swished and likewise spat out. The tradition places this in the morning routine, after cleaning the teeth and scraping the tongue. The oil is not swallowed.

Several plain cautions attend it. It is a medicated preparation, not a food, and the used oil is discarded rather than taken in. Suitability varies with the constitution and with the actual state of the teeth and gums, and the drying herbs are not the first choice where the mouth is very inflamed or ulcerated. Anyone under dental treatment, or with bleeding gums, mouth ulcers or a diagnosed condition, should use it only with the agreement of a dentist and a registered Ayurvedic practitioner, who will also confirm the dose and how long to continue.

Its place in the tradition

Arimedadi Thailam sits within a small family of Ayurvedic oils and powders devoted to the mouth, alongside the tooth-cleaning powders and the medicated gargles named in the Mukharoga chapters. Its value in the classical view lies in gathering an astringent, firming, aromatic action into a stable oil that can be held in the mouth, so that the qualities of the herbs are in long contact with the gums and teeth. This is the logic behind oil-holding therapies in general, and Arimedadi Thailam is one of their best-known vehicles.

This article describes the classical Ayurvedic understanding of Arimedadi Thailam and its traditional uses, and is not medical advice. Speak to a qualified doctor, dentist or registered Ayurvedic practitioner before using it, especially if you have a dental or mouth condition, are pregnant or are taking medication.