Turmeric: The Ayurvedic Spice of Life

Great Healers, in one form or another they are sought out by all of us. Somewhere inside we all seek balanced happy lives and so we seek that which will grant us health and joy.

This article is about Turmeric, one of the planet’s great healers. This healer is not obscured in some esoterica and not distanced by a cosmic price tag.

As usual with great healers, it is very close to you and readily accessible, in fact, it is probably in your house right now, though it may be hard to believe that such a common item is one of the world’s best all around herbs.

Energetics Summary:

· Gana: Kusthaghna, Haridradi, Shirovirechana
· Guna: Laghu (light) & Ruksha (rough)
· Rasa: Katu (pungent) & Tikta (bitter)
· Virya: Ushna
· Vipaka: Katu (pungent)
· Dosha: Tridoshic at normal dosages
· Prabhava: Purifies the skin and complexion
· Manas Tri Guna: Sattva

Because it is pungent and warming it pacifies Kapha and Vata.

It is also bitter and astringent and so it pacifies the Pitta dosha. Being 70% carbohydrates lends a sweetness that can balance Vata and Pitta. In my experience Turmeric is predominantly Sattvic but leans toward being Rajas,
sort of like a combination of a playful monk with a job to do and a calm noble warrior.

Healing Properties Overview:

Besides flavoring food, to purify the blood and remedy skin conditions is probably the most common use of Turmeric in Ayurveda.

The principle organs that it treats are the skin, heart, liver and lungs. Sushruta recommended it for epilepsy and bleeding disorders. Charaka recommends it for skin diseases, to purify the bodymind, and to help the lungs expel Kapha.

Activities of Turmeric include:

alterative, analgesic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-allergic, antioxidant, antiseptic, antispasmodic, appetizer, astringent, cardiovascular, carminative, cholagogue, digestive, diuretic, stimulant, and vulnerary.

Therapeutic uses include:

AIDS/HIV, anemia, cancer, diabetes, digestion, food poisoning, gallstones, indigestion, IBS, parasites, poor circulation, staph infections, and wounds.

Turmeric helps regulate the female reproductive system and purifies the uterus and breastmilk, and in men it purifies and builds semen, which is counterintuitive for a pungent bitter.

It reduces fevers, diarrhea, urinary disorders, insanity, poisoning, cough, and lactation problems in general.

It is used to treat external ulcers that respond to nothing else. Turmeric decreases Kapha and so is used to remove mucus in the throat, watery discharges like leucorrhea, and any pus in the eyes, ears, or in wounds, etc.

Names of Turmeric:

Every Ayurvedic herb typically has dozens of names that point to different aspects of the herb including its appearance, it's mythology, and it's healing ability.

I feel that learning an herb’s names is an essential way to study the herbs.

The most common of the dozens of Sanskrit names for Turmeric is Haridra, which can be translated to mean ‘the yellow one.’ Other Sanskrit names are Aushadhi, Gauri, and Kanchani.

Gauri means ‘the one whose face is light and shining,’ and Kanchani means the ‘Golden Goddess.’

To me the most interesting name is Aushadhi, which usually simply means ‘herb.’

However, it is used in the Vedas as a name of Turmeric. This makes me think they considered Turmeric to be thee herb,
the most outstanding herb, the one herb above all others.

The Hindi name is Haldi, which means ‘yellow,’and the Latin binomial is Curcuma longa, a member of the Ginger family, Zingiberaceae.