Gandha Thailam

What it is

Gandha Thailam is a medicated oil. The name is plain: gandha means fragrance, and thailam means oil. So the name tells you the first thing you notice about it, which is that it smells of the aromatic herbs cooked into it.

Like most classical Ayurvedic oils, it starts from sesame oil. Sesame oil is the oil the tradition trusts most as a base, because it is warming and it carries the qualities of herbs deep into the body. Into that base a set of fragrant, warming and steadying herbs is slowly cooked, among them Patala, Kushtha, Tagara and Devadaru. What comes out is an oil that is no longer just oil. It carries the warmth and the scent of the herbs, and it is meant to be rubbed into the body rather than swallowed.

What it is used for

In Ayurvedic terms, Gandha Thailam is a vatahara oil, which means it settles Vata. Vata is the dry, cold, light, restless quality the tradition holds responsible for movement in the body, and when it rises too high it shows as stiffness, aching and unease in the limbs and joints.

So this is an oil the tradition reaches for when the body feels stiff, tired or wound up. It is worked into the neck, the shoulders, the back and the legs, the places where stiffness gathers. The warm oil and the rhythm of the massage are meant to loosen what has tightened and to steady a restless body. It belongs to the long Ayurvedic habit of meeting dryness and stiffness with warmth and oil rather than with anything sharp.

How it is made

The making of a classical thailam is slow and careful, and the old texts describe it stage by stage. First the herbs are made into a strong water decoction, the kashaya, by boiling them and reducing the liquid down. Some of the same herbs are also ground with a little water into a smooth paste, the kalka.

Then the real work begins. The sesame oil, the decoction and the paste are cooked together over a gentle fire, stirred without rush, until all the water has slowly steamed off and only the oil and the herbal goodness remain. The classical writers judged this by eye and hand: by the colour of the oil, the smell rising from the pot, and the feel of the herb paste when it is rubbed between the fingers. When it is ready, the oil is strained clear and stored away from light and heat. Made this way, the oil holds the warmth and fragrance of the herbs for a long time.

How it is used

Gandha Thailam is for the outside of the body, not the inside. The classical way to use it is abhyanga, the warm oil massage. The oil is gently warmed first, because warmth helps it sink in, and then it is worked into the skin with steady strokes, often along the back, the neck, the shoulders and the legs. It is usually left on the skin for a while to soak in before a warm bath.

It is the same oil used in the deeper treatments of an Ayurvedic centre, where warm medicated oil is poured and rubbed over the body in a long, unhurried session. In all of these the idea is the same: warmth, oil and touch, meeting the dry stiffness of Vata.

Good to know

This entry describes the classical Ayurvedic understanding of the oil. It is a traditional preparation for external use, not medical advice, and anyone with a health condition should speak to a qualified practitioner. The strength of a classical oil rests on how it is made, so the slow, traditional method matters.

Frequently asked

What does the name mean? Gandha is fragrance and thailam is oil, so Gandha Thailam is simply the fragrant oil. The name comes from the aromatic herbs cooked into the sesame base.

Is it taken by mouth? No. Like other thailams of this kind, it is a massage oil for the body, worked into the skin and not swallowed.

Why sesame oil? Because the tradition holds sesame oil to be the best base for a medicated oil. It is warming and it carries the herbs deep into the tissues, which suits an oil meant to settle Vata.