Palasha

What is Palasha?

Palasha is a medium-sized tree of the legume family, Butea monosperma, found across the open forest and scrub of India. For most of the year it is unremarkable, with a crooked trunk and broad three-part leaves. Then, in the leafless weeks of spring, it bursts into masses of curved, claw-shaped flowers in a vivid orange-red, so that a stand of the trees looks as though it has caught fire. This display gives it its best-known English name, Flame of the Forest.

The Sanskrit tradition knows it by several names. Palasha is the common one, while Kimshuka points to the flower, whose shape was likened to a parrot’s beak, and English speakers echo this with the name parrot tree. In the plains of northern India the tree is called Dhak, and its flowers, gathered for a bright dye, are known as Tesu. Ayurveda draws on more than one part of the tree: the seed, the flower, the bark, and the red gum that oozes from cuts in the trunk, a substance the tradition calls Palasha niryasa and which trade once knew as Bengal kino.

What Ayurveda uses it for

In the classical texts Palasha is best known for its seed, which the dravyaguna writers count among the foremost Krimighna herbs, those understood to act against intestinal worms. Its pungent, bitter and piercing nature was read as unwelcome to worms, and the seed powder is the part the tradition names most often for this purpose. Beyond the seed, the plant as a whole is described as Grahi and Sangrahi, binding and retaining, qualities the texts connect with its astringent taste and its use where the tradition sought to hold and firm rather than to loosen.

Within that role the classical literature describes Palasha, and chiefly its seed, as traditionally indicated in a set of conditions, each named here in its classical Sanskrit term with a plain gloss:

• Krimi: the classical category of intestinal worms, the seed’s foremost and best-attested use.
• Arsha: haemorrhoids, where the plant’s binding, astringent quality is called upon.
• Gulma: the class of abdominal masses and distensions described in the texts.
• Kushtha: the broad classical category of skin disorders.
• Mutraghata: obstruction or difficulty in the passing of urine.
• Bhagna: broken bone, where the bark and gum are described as a support to healing.
• Pravahika: dysentery with straining, for which the astringent, retaining action was used.

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

Its qualities, in plain words

Ayurveda describes every herb by a short list of qualities, and for Palasha they sit closely behind its reputation as a piercing, binding remedy.

Its taste is pungent, with a bitter edge and an astringent finish, and in Ayurveda that astringency is the taste of things that draw together and hold. The plant is broadly light and dry, while the seed is described as unctuous and piercing, a sharp, penetrating quality the tradition calls tikshna, which is the sense in which the seed was understood to reach and unsettle worms. It is warming, and it finishes pungent after digestion, a profile that leans away from the heavy and cooling. Put together, these qualities describe a warm, sharp, drying herb, and the tradition holds that it settles the Kapha and Vata doshas, the two it is best placed to reduce. Because the same warmth and pungency can add to Pitta, it is Kapha and Vata that the sources agree it quietens.

How it is taken

The commonest classical form is the seed powder, or churna, prepared from the ripe, dried seed and given for its action against worms, often with a suitable vehicle such as warm water or honey to carry it. Because the seed is strong and sharp, the classical writers used it in measured, short courses rather than as a standing tonic.

Palasha appears by name in named preparations. Palasha Beeja Churna, the seed powder, is the plain form used against worms. The tradition also prepares Palasha Kshara, an alkaline preparation made by burning parts of the plant and drawing off the salts, used where an alkaline, penetrating action was sought. The red gum of the trunk was valued separately for its marked astringency, and the bright flowers were steeped to yield both a dye and a mild, cooling infusion. As with many of the sharper herbs, the choice of part and vehicle was matched to the aim.

Good to know

Palasha is one of the sharper, more active herbs rather than a gentle daily tonic, and the classical texts reserve its seed for defined purposes, chiefly its long-standing use against worms, taken in short, measured courses. It is worth keeping in mind that several distinct parts of the tree, the seed, the flower, the bark and the gum, carry different qualities in the classical descriptions, so the tradition is careful to name which part is meant.

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

Frequently asked

Why is it called Flame of the Forest? Because of its spring flowering. For a few weeks the leafless tree is covered in curved, claw-shaped flowers of a vivid orange-red, so that a group of the trees seems to blaze. The Sanskrit name Kimshuka refers to the same flower, whose shape was likened to a parrot’s beak, which is why English also calls it the parrot tree.

Which part of the plant is used? Several. The seed is the part the classical texts single out, above all for its use against worms. The flower, the bark and the red gum of the trunk are each described as well, carrying their own qualities, so the tradition names the specific part for each preparation.

What is the red gum of Palasha? It is the reddish resin that seeps from cuts in the trunk, called Palasha niryasa in the texts and once known in trade as Bengal kino. Ayurveda valued it chiefly for its strong astringency, the binding, drawing-together quality of the kashaya taste.