Narasimha Rasayanam

What it is

Narasimha Rasayanam is a lehyam, a thick herbal jam taken by the spoon. The word comes from a root that means to lick, because the old way of taking these preparations was to lick a little from the spoon and let it soften in the mouth. A lehyam sits between two other forms: it is concentrated like a herbal decoction, but soft and carried in fat like a medicated ghee.

The name carries an image. Narasimha is the lion form, and the classical writers gave the formula that name for the strength and vigour they hoped it would lend the body, the strength of a lion. That reputation is what the preparation is built around.

As a rasayana, it belongs to the patient, rebuilding side of Ayurveda. It is not a remedy for a single day but a preparation taken over time, by the spoon, to settle and then to rebuild the body.

What it is used for

The whole shape of this jam points at the frame, the muscle, the bone and the strength that the body’s structure rests on. The tradition reads it above all as a Vata medicine. Vata is the dry, cold, restless principle the texts link to movement and to the wearing-down of the body, and it is the dosha most often blamed for trouble in the joints and the frame.

So the tradition reaches for Narasimha Rasayanam in depletion of the structural tissues, when the body feels weak, stiff or worn, especially after a long taxing stretch or in the slow rebuilding of strength the texts call for in later age. It is counted among the balya preparations, meaning strengthening, and the rasayana preparations, meaning it is taken as a course to build the body back up. The jam settles the restless quality and feeds the frame at the same time.

What goes into it

The recipe is built on strengthening, nourishing herbs, carried in fat.

Ashwagandha is the keynote, the great rebuilding root the tradition reaches for when the body is run down. To it the formula joins Bala, whose very name means strength, and Shatavari, a broadly nourishing root suited to all constitutions. Supporting herbs such as Brahmi and Gokshura round out the blend. The whole is cooked into ghee, and often sesame oil as well, both of which the texts prize for settling Vata and for carrying the action of herbs deep into the body. The fat is not only a vehicle here; in Ayurvedic thinking it is itself among the most rebuilding of substances.

Its qualities, in plain words

Ayurveda describes every preparation by a short list of qualities, and for this jam they read straight across from its purpose.

It is heavy and oily, the very opposite of the light, dry quality of Vata, which is why it settles that dosha so directly. It is warming, which the tradition holds answers the coldness of Vata and helps the preparation move rather than sit. And carried in ghee and the sweet roots, it finishes sweet after digestion, and in Ayurvedic thinking a sweet finish means a preparation builds tissue rather than wearing it down. Put together: a jam that is heavy, warm and rebuilding, made to meet the dry, cold, depleting quality of Vata with its contraries.

How it is made

The making follows the classical method for a lehyam. The herbs are first simmered in water and reduced to a concentrated decoction, the kashaya, while certain soft herbs are ground into a fine paste, the kalka. The decoction and paste are then brought together with the ghee and sesame oil in a wide vessel and cooked slowly, with steady stirring, through the graded stages of heat the texts call paka, until the mixture thickens to a jam that holds its shape on a cool surface. It is then cooled and kept in a clean, dry jar.

How it is taken

The classic way is the simplest. A small spoonful is taken once or twice a day, usually in the morning, let to soften in the mouth, and often followed by a cup of warm milk, which the tradition sees as carrying the nourishing side of the preparation and softening its warmth.

Like the other rebuilding preparations, it is taken as a course, over weeks rather than as a single dose for a single day. The texts hold it most useful in the colder season and in the second half of life, when the dry, depleting quality of Vata naturally rises.

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

Why is it named for Narasimha? Narasimha is the lion form, and the classical writers named the formula for the strength and vigour they hoped it would lend, the strength of a lion. The name signals its place among the strengthening preparations.

What kind of preparation is a Rasayanam? It is a rasayana, a rebuilding preparation taken as a course over time to feed and restore the body, rather than a quick remedy. In jam form it is a lehyam, taken by the spoon.

Why is it carried in ghee? Because ghee both settles Vata and carries the action of the herbs deep into the body, and because the tradition counts ghee itself among its most rebuilding substances. It is a vehicle and a nourishing ingredient at once.