Formulations
Murivenna
Murivenna is a classical Ayurvedic medicated oil. It is cooked from a group of herbs in a sesame oil base and used warm on the body, valued for soothing tired, stiff limbs and joints.
- Part used
- A group of herbs cooked into sesame oil
- Taste (rasa)
- Bitter and astringent, with sweet notes (tikta, kashaya, madhura)
- Quality (guna)
- Light, penetrating and oily (laghu, tikshna, snigdha)
- Energy (virya)
- Warming once cooked (ushna)
- After digestion (vipaka)
- Pungent (katu)
- Action (karma)
- Settles Vata, eases the joints and limbs (vatahara, shothahara)
What it is
Murivenna is a Thailam, a medicated oil. The word names a sesame oil that has been slowly cooked with herbs until it takes on their qualities. Unlike the oils built around a single root, Murivenna is a polyherbal oil: a fair number of herbs go into it together, fresh leaves among them, which gives it a green, lively character.
The finished oil is warm in nature, penetrating and light for an oil, and it is used on the body rather than taken by mouth. It belongs to the family of oils used to settle Vata in the limbs and joints, and it has long been a household oil in the south of India for tired, aching, stiff bodies.
What it is used for
Ayurveda reaches for Murivenna when the dry, light, restless quality it calls Vata has risen in the limbs and joints. That shows as stiffness, aching, a feeling of strain in the muscles, and a loss of easy movement in the joints. It is the oil traditionally kept at hand after a wrench, a long day’s work, or the slow stiffening that comes with cold and with age.
The thinking is the usual one for these oils. Vata is dry, light, cold and rough. The oil is oily, warm, penetrating and smooth, the opposite qualities, and so it meets the disturbance with its remedy. Worked warm into the body, it is understood to loosen the stiff limbs, ease the joints, and quiet the restlessness that comes with strained or depleted tissue. It is most often used in Abhyanga, the warm oiling and massage of the body, and in the deeper oil therapies carried out by trained hands.
How it is made
The method is the classical one for all medicated oils, slow and patient. First a decoction is made: the herbs are simmered in plenty of water and reduced down, so the water draws out what it can. A fine paste of herbs is ground separately, fresh leaves often going into this part. Then sesame oil is warmed gently in a heavy pan, and the decoction and paste are stirred in together.
The pan is kept over a low, steady heat for hours. As the watery part slowly cooks off, the oil takes up the qualities of the herbs. The maker watches for the classic signs that the oil is ready, the paste forming a soft ball, the froth settling, the smell turning from raw to refined. When the cooking is judged complete, the oil is strained clean through cloth and stored away from light and heat. Well made and well kept, a medicated oil holds its qualities for a long time.
Good to know
Murivenna is used warm, over a stretch of days, not as a one-off. It is classically suited to the colder, drier times and to bodies that have grown stiff with work or with age. The tradition uses it warmed to a comfortable temperature, worked in gently, and followed by rest in a warm place so the oil has time to settle into the body, with a warm bath afterwards to take off the excess.
This entry describes the classical Ayurvedic understanding of the oil. It is not medical advice, and any therapy of this kind should be carried out under the guidance of a qualified practitioner.
Frequently asked
Is Murivenna taken by mouth? No. It is an external oil, used in warm massage and in the oil therapies of the body. It is not swallowed.
Why sesame oil? Because the tradition holds sesame oil to be the finest base for settling Vata: it is warm, penetrating and nourishing in its own right, and it carries the qualities of the herbs deep into the tissues.
When is it traditionally used? In the cold, dry seasons and whenever the limbs and joints have grown stiff and aching, the state the tradition reads as risen Vata, when warm oiling is the classical answer.
The oil of many herbs, worked warm into the limbs, loosens the stiffness and quiets the wind in the joints.
After the Sahasrayogam, on the medicated oils for the limbs
Frequently asked questions
What is Murivenna used for?
Murivenna is a classical medicated oil of many herbs in a sesame oil base, used warm on the body in massage to ease the limbs and joints. The texts class it as vatahara and shothahara, so it is traditionally used to settle Vata, ease stiff and painful joints and limbs, and soothe minor strains, sprains and swelling.
How do you apply Murivenna oil?
Murivenna is warmed gently and rubbed into the affected joints, muscles or limbs in Abhyanga, massage, often over sprains, strains and stiff joints. The warmth and the herbs are held to settle Vata and ease the part. For a fresh injury, apply it carefully; for a lasting or severe complaint, use it under a qualified practitioner.
Is Murivenna good for joint pain and sprains?
In the classical tradition Murivenna is a well-known oil for stiff, painful Vata-type joints and limbs and for minor sprains, strains and swelling, worked through its vatahara and shothahara action. Applied warm, it is held to loosen and ease the part. It is an external, supportive measure; a serious injury still needs medical attention.
Which dosha does Murivenna balance?
Murivenna chiefly settles Vata, the dosha behind stiffness, pain and dryness in the joints and limbs, while its shothahara action eases swelling. Its bitter and astringent taste, with sweet notes in a warming sesame base, suits cold, stiff, painful Vata conditions. Being warming, it fits Vata complaints better than hot, inflamed Pitta states.
Can Murivenna be used on wounds?
Murivenna is traditionally associated with minor injuries, sprains and the healing of the affected part, and some classical accounts note its use around minor wounds. However, for any open wound or serious injury, medical care comes first, and the oil should be used only as advised by a qualified practitioner rather than applied to deep or infected wounds.
References
- Sahasrayogam, Taila Prakarana, on Murivenna and the oils of the joints.
- Sharangadhara Samhita, Madhyama Khanda, on the method of cooking medicated oils.
- Ashtanga Hridayam, on the use of oils in the settling of Vata.