Formulations
Mahanarayana Thailam
Mahanarayana Thailam is one of the great classical medicated oils of Ayurveda. It is a sesame-oil preparation cooked with a long list of herbs, and the tradition uses it above all to settle Vata in the joints, muscles and bony framework.
- Part used
- Sesame oil base (tila taila)
- Taste (rasa)
- Bitter, astringent and sweet (tikta, kashaya, madhura)
- Quality (guna)
- Oily and penetrating (snigdha, sukshma)
- Energy (virya)
- Warming (ushna)
- After digestion (vipaka)
- Sweet (madhura)
- Action (karma)
- Settles Vata, warms and strengthens the framework (vatahara, balya)
What it is
Mahanarayana Thailam is a medicated oil. In Ayurveda an oil of this kind is not simply scented or infused; it is slowly cooked, so that the qualities of a long list of herbs pass into a base of sesame oil. The finished oil is then used on the body, most often warmed and massaged in.
The name carries some weight. It is named for Narayana, a name of Vishnu, which in the old habit of titling a formula tells you the tradition held it in high regard. At its heart sit the ten roots known together as Dashamoola, the classical group reached for whenever Vata, the dry and moving quality, has gathered in the joints and muscles. Around those roots the recipe adds strengthening herbs such as Bala and Ashwagandha, and the whole is cooked in sesame oil with a little milk.
What it is used for
In Ayurvedic terms Mahanarayana Thailam is a Vata oil, and it is warming. Vata is the quality the texts associate with dryness, cold and movement, and when it builds up in the body it is felt in the framework: the joints, the muscles, the back and the limbs. This is the situation the oil is made for.
So the tradition reaches for it for the ageing or hard-worked body, where the framework has grown stiff, dry and easily tired. It is the classic oil for Abhyanga, the full-body oil massage, and it is used in the same way in the deeper cleansing therapies of Panchakarma, where a warming oil is rubbed in before treatment. The aim, in Ayurveda’s own language, is to feed and warm the dry tissues and to coax Vata back into balance, rather than to act on any one part alone.
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.
How it is made
The method is the classical one for any medicated oil, called Taila Paka. First a decoction is made by simmering the herbs in water and reducing it down. Separately a fine herb paste, the Kalka, is ground. The sesame oil, the decoction, the paste and the milk are then combined and cooked together over a slow, watched heat.
The cooking is judged by eye and hand, not by the clock. The oil is considered finished when the herb paste has turned waxy and rolls between the fingers, when a drop does not crackle in a flame, and when the colour and smell have settled. It is then strained and stored. The tradition holds that a well-made oil keeps for a long time, and that age improves it rather than spoils it.
Frequently asked
What is the base of Mahanarayana Thailam? Sesame oil. The tradition treats sesame oil as the natural carrier for a warming Vata preparation, because it is itself warming, penetrating and nourishing, and because it carries the action of the herbs cooked into it.
How is it used? Most often warmed gently and massaged into the body, which is the practice called Abhyanga. It belongs to the warming, strengthening side of Ayurveda and is used as a course over time rather than as a single application.
The oil named for Narayana is cooked with the roots and the milk, and it is the oil reached for when Vata has settled in the limbs.
After the Sahasrayogam, on the preparation of medicated oils
Frequently asked questions
What is Mahanarayana Thailam used for?
Mahanarayana Thailam is a classical sesame-oil preparation built on the ten roots of Dashamoola, traditionally reached for to settle Vata in the joints and the framework of the body. The texts class it as vatahara and balya, so it is understood to settle Vata and to warm and strengthen the framework, mainly through Abhyanga.
How do you apply Mahanarayana Thailam?
Mahanarayana Thailam is used for Abhyanga, warm-oil massage: gently warmed and massaged into the body or the affected joints and limbs, then left to absorb. It is a classic oil for stiff, aching, Vata-affected joints. For therapeutic use on the joints, applying it under a qualified practitioner's guidance is best.
Is Mahanarayana Thailam good for joint pain and stiffness?
Yes, settling Vata in the joints and framework is exactly what Mahanarayana Thailam is reached for. Built on Dashamoola and cooked in sesame oil, its warming, vatahara, balya nature suits the cold, dry Vata the tradition reads behind stiff, aching joints. It is offered as traditional support for the joints, not a treatment for any diagnosed condition.
What is Dashamoola in Mahanarayana Thailam?
Dashamoola means the ten roots, a classical group of ten Vata-settling roots that forms the base of this oil. Their combined warming, vatahara action is the reason Mahanarayana Thailam is so associated with Vata in the joints and the framework of the body, and gives the oil its strengthening character.
What is the difference between Mahanarayana and Dhanwantharam Thailam?
Both are classical sesame-oil massage oils for Vata, but they differ in emphasis. Mahanarayana Thailam is built on Dashamoola and leaned on for Vata in the joints and framework, while Dhanwantharam Thailam is built on Bala and is the foremost general Vata-settling and nourishing oil. A practitioner can advise which suits your needs.
References
- Sahasrayogam, Tailaprakarana (chapter on medicated oils), entry on Mahanarayana Tailam.
- Bhaishajya Ratnavali, section on Vatavyadhi, on Mahanarayana Tailam.
- Ashtanga Hridayam, on snehana (oleation) in Vata conditions.