Karpasasthyadi Thailam

What it is

Karpasasthyadi Thailam is a medicated oil, a thailam. In Ayurveda that means sesame oil slowly cooked with herbs and a herbal decoction until the oil has taken on their qualities and the water has been driven off. The result is an oil that carries the virtue of the herbs and can be warmed and worked into the body.

The name tells you the chief herb. Karpasa is the cotton plant, Gossypium herbaceum, and adi means “and others”, so the name reads as “the oil of cotton and the rest”. Cotton plant gives the formula its name; around it the texts gather warming, strengthening herbs such as Rasna, Bala and Ashwagandha, all cooked into a base of tila taila, sesame oil, the oil Ayurveda turns to first for Vata.

What it is used for

In Ayurvedic terms this is a Vata oil with an interest in the muscles and joints. Vata is the principle of movement, and its qualities are cold, dry, light and rough. When Vata rises in the limbs the texts describe stiffness, aching, dryness and a loss of easy movement. The oil meets that picture with its own opposite qualities: it is warming, oily and nourishing, and it is built on herbs the tradition values for strengthening muscle and freeing stiff joints.

So it is reached for where the body feels stiff, cold and tired in the limbs, and where warmth, oil and a little strengthening are wanted. Its main use is in abhyanga, the oiling and massage of the body that the texts name as the chief practice for settling Vata, and it is also used in the warm oil treatments of the same family.

How it is made

The making follows the classical method for oils. The herbs are handled in two ways at once. Some are boiled in water and reduced to a strong decoction, the kashaya. Others are ground into a soft paste, the kalka. The sesame oil, the decoction and the paste are brought together and cooked over a slow, steady heat.

As it cooks, the water boils away and the qualities of the herbs pass into the oil. The cook watches for the classical signs of a finished oil: the froth settling, the paste rolling into a soft wax-like bead between the fingers, and a clean herbal smell with no trace of burning. The oil is cooled, strained clear of all herb matter and stored away from light. A well made thailam keeps for a long time.

Good to know

Karpasasthyadi Thailam is a warming, oily preparation, and the tradition matches it to cold, dry, stiff Vata states rather than to heat. It is classically warmed before use, since gentle warmth helps the oil sink in and adds to its settling action. After massage the oil is usually left on the skin a while before a warm bath.

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

Frequently asked

Why is it named after cotton? Because the cotton plant is its lead herb. The cotton plant gives the formula its name and much of its character; the warming and strengthening herbs around it complete the oil.

What is the base oil? Sesame oil. Ayurveda regards sesame oil as the first oil for Vata, both for its own warming, nourishing nature and for how well it carries the herbs cooked into it.

Is it taken by mouth? No. It belongs to the oils used on the body, chiefly in abhyanga (massage). It is an external preparation.