Shankhapushpi

What is Shankhapushpi?

Shankhapushpi is a small, sprawling herb that grows low to the ground in the dry, open country of India. It is unassuming to look at, a branching creeper with a woody base and slender stems. The name tells you to look at the flower. Shankha means conch shell, and pushpi means flowering: the conch-flowered herb, named for its pale, trumpet-shaped bloom. Unusually, the whole plant is used, root, stem, leaf and flower together, what the tradition calls panchanga.

A word on identity is needed, because more than one plant has been sold under this name over the centuries. The one most widely accepted as Shankhapushpi, and the one this entry follows, is Convolvulus pluricaulis. Where a herb matters as much as this one, the tradition is careful to use the right plant.

What Ayurveda uses it for

Shankhapushpi belongs to a small and honoured group of herbs the tradition calls medhya, the ones that nourish the intellect. The Charaka Samhita singles out only a handful of herbs by name as medhya rasayana, the rejuvenating tonics of the mind, and Shankhapushpi is among them. That naming alone places it in the first rank of the materia medica.

The texts reach for it to support what they call medha, the capacity to learn and understand, and smriti, memory and recall. Beyond the intellect, it is described as calming and settling, used where the mind is restless or sleep is broken because the light, mobile quality of Vata has risen in it. It is also taken more broadly as a rasayana, a tonic of slow rejuvenation.

Its qualities, in plain words

Ayurveda reads every herb through a short list of qualities, and Shankhapushpi’s explain its gentle, steadying reputation.

It is cooling, which is why the tradition uses it where the mind runs hot, agitated or overworked. It is slightly oily and flowing, so rather than drying it nourishes and carries. It begins bitter and astringent on the tongue but finishes sweet after digestion, and a sweet finish, in Ayurvedic thinking, builds and steadies rather than depletes. The texts add that its action on the mind is a prabhava, a special effect that goes beyond what its tastes and qualities alone would predict. Put simply: a cool, soft, settling herb the tradition trusts with the mind.

How it is taken

The classical forms are simple. The fresh juice, swarasa, is considered an especially direct way to take it. More commonly it is dried and ground into a powder, a churnam, and taken in small measure with honey, ghee or warm milk. It is also a leading herb in named preparations for the mind, including the gently fermented tonic Saraswatarishtam and medicated ghees of the intellect-nourishing group.

As a medhya rasayana, it is taken steadily over time. The tradition holds that the herbs of the mind work by patient, regular use, not by a single dose.

Good to know

Shankhapushpi belongs to the slow, building side of Ayurveda, the side concerned with rejuvenation rather than quick effect. Its cooling, settling nature suits states of heat and restlessness in the mind. Because several plants have gone by its name, the tradition is careful about correct identity, and a qualified practitioner will know which plant is meant.

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

Frequently asked

What does the name mean? The conch-flowered herb. Shankha is the conch shell and pushpi means flowering, a reference to the shape of its pale bloom.

Is it the same as Brahmi? No, though both are medhya herbs used for the mind and are sometimes combined. They are different plants, and the classical texts name them separately.

Which part of the plant is used? The whole plant, root, stem, leaf and flower together, which the tradition calls panchanga.