Formulations
Chandanasavam
Chandanasavam is a sweet, fermented liquid whose chief ingredient is sandalwood. Ayurveda has long reached for it when the body feels overheated and the passage of water feels hot and uneasy.
- Part used
- Sandalwood heartwood with supporting herbs, sugar and honey, fermented
- Taste (rasa)
- Bitter, astringent and sweet (tikta, kashaya, madhura)
- Quality (guna)
- Light and a little dry (laghu, ruksha)
- Energy (virya)
- Cooling (shita)
- After digestion (vipaka)
- Pungent after digestion (katu)
- Action (karma)
- Cools heat, settles Pitta, eases the water passage (pittahara, mutrala)
What it is
Chandanasavam is an asava, a medicine made by fermentation. In Ayurveda the fermented preparations form two close families, the asavas and the arishtas. Both are made by steeping herbs in water with sugar or honey and letting the mixture ferment slowly in a sealed vessel. The faint trace of natural alcohol that forms is not the aim of the work. It is the carrier. It draws the qualities of the herbs into the liquid and keeps the medicine sound for a long time.
The name points straight to the heart of the formula. Chandana is sandalwood, and sandalwood is the chief herb here. Ayurveda counts it among its most cooling substances, the wood the tradition turns to when the body is running hot.
What it is used for
Ayurveda reads the body through the three doshas, and Chandanasavam is a Pitta medicine. Pitta is the principle of heat and transformation. When it climbs too high, the classical texts describe a person who feels a burning quality, who is flushed and easily irritated, and whose water passes hot and scant.
The tradition reaches for Chandanasavam in just that picture: heat that has settled low in the body, with a burning, uneasy feeling in the passage of water. Cooling sandalwood holds the centre, and the supporting herbs carry the same cool, settling nature. Together the formula is meant to take the edge off the heat and let the water pass more freely.
How it is made
The making follows the old method of the asavas, set down in the classical pharmacy texts. Sandalwood heartwood and the supporting herbs are coarsely powdered and steeped in water sweetened with sugar and honey. The vessel is sealed and set aside in a warm, dark place.
Over the weeks that follow, a slow, natural fermentation takes hold. This quiet stage is the real work of the preparation. As the ferment runs, the qualities of the herbs pass into the liquid, the medicine gathers strength, and it learns to keep. When the fermentation has finished its course, the liquid is strained clear and stored. A well made asava is fragrant, sweet and clear, and unlike many medicines it is held to improve with keeping.
Its qualities, in plain words
Chandanasavam is, before anything else, cooling. That one quality explains most of what the tradition says about it. It is a formula for heat, not for cold, and the texts are plain that it suits a hot, Pitta picture rather than a cold, sluggish one.
It is also sweet with an astringent edge. The sweetness, carried by the sugar and honey of the ferment, softens the medicine and makes it nourishing rather than harsh. The astringent edge lends a settling, firming quality. Put together, this is a gentle, cooling tonic, taken to calm heat rather than to stir the body.
Good to know
Chandanasavam is a liquid taken by mouth, usually in a small measure mixed with an equal part of water, after food. Being a Pitta medicine, it belongs to the warm season and to the hot, fiery constitution, and the tradition would not reach for it in someone already cold and damp.
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
Is Chandanasavam an oil? No. It is a fermented liquid, an asava, taken by mouth. The name sometimes causes confusion, but it is not a medicated oil.
Why is sandalwood the main ingredient? Because Ayurveda regards sandalwood as one of its most cooling substances. The whole formula is built to cool the body, and sandalwood sets that tone.
Why is it fermented rather than simply brewed? The slow fermentation draws the qualities of the herbs into the liquid and lets the medicine keep for a long time. The tradition holds that a well kept asava grows more, not less, effective with age.
When heat gathers in the body and the passage of water burns, the cooling ferments are given.
After the Sahasrayogam, on cooling preparations
Frequently asked questions
What is Chandanasavam used for?
Chandanasavam is a gently fermented Ayurvedic tonic (asava) built on Chandana, sandalwood. The tradition classes it as pittahara and mutrala, cooling to the body and easing the water passage. It is reached for when heat runs high, with burning sensations and a hot, scanty flow of urine. Use it under a qualified practitioner.
Which dosha does Chandanasavam balance?
Chandanasavam mainly settles Pitta, the fiery Dosha of heat and sharpness. Its bitter, astringent and sweet tastes (tikta, kashaya, madhura) and cooling nature make it a Pitta-pacifying preparation, traditionally taken when the body feels overheated and the urinary passage is irritated.
How do you take Chandanasavam?
Being an asava, Chandanasavam carries its own gentle self-generated alcohol, so it is usually taken in a small measured dose after food, often diluted with an equal part of water. Exact dose and duration should be set by an Ayurvedic physician, who fits it to your constitution and the strength of the heat being addressed.
Is Chandanasavam good for a burning sensation while passing urine?
Traditionally, yes. Chandanasavam is one of the classical cooling tonics the texts associate with a hot, burning urinary passage, since it is described as pittahara and mutrala. It is used as supportive care in the classical sense, not as a cure for any named modern condition, and is best taken under professional guidance.
Does Chandanasavam contain alcohol?
Yes, in the way every asava does. During its slow fermentation a small amount of natural alcohol forms, which helps carry the sandalwood and herbs into the body and preserves the tonic. It is not a distilled spirit but a self-generated, gentle content typical of the arishtam and asava class.
Can Chandanasavam be taken every day?
In the tradition it is taken as a measured course rather than casually, and daily use should follow a practitioner's direction. Because it acts on Pitta and the urinary channel, the physician decides how long to continue. Speak with your doctor before using it alongside other medicines.
References
- Sahasrayogam, Asava-Arishta Prakaranam, on Chandanasavam and the cooling ferments.
- Bhaishajya Ratnavali, on Pitta-pacifying fermented preparations.
- Sharangadhara Samhita, Madhyama Khanda, on the method of the asavas and arishtas.