Photo: Didier Descouens / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Amaltas अमलतास
Cassia fistula
Part used: Fruit, Seed
| Rasa (taste) | Tikta (Bitter), Kashaya (Astringent) |
|---|---|
| Guna (qualities) | Laghu (Light), Ruksha (Dry) |
| Virya (potency) | Ushna (Hot) |
| Vipaka | Katu (Pungent) |
| Dosha | Balances Kapha & Vata |
| Prabhava | Classical systemic action |
Key takeaways
- Botanical name: Cassia fistula
- Part used: Fruit, Seed
- Dosha action: Balances Kapha & Vata
- Typical dose: Fruit pulp 5–10 g at night with warm water or milk.
Amaltas in other languages
Introduction
Amaltas (Cassia fistula) is the golden shower tree, unmistakable in summer for its hanging racemes of yellow flowers and long cylindrical pods. The pulp between the seeds in those pods is the drug.
Ayurveda calls it Aragvadha and rates it the gentlest of all purgatives — mild enough for children, the elderly and in pregnancy where a laxative is genuinely needed.
Classification
Family Fabaceae. The fruit pulp is officinal; root, leaf and flower are used in some preparations. Rasa: Madhura. Guna: Guru, Snigdha, Mridu. Virya: Sheeta. Vipaka: Madhura. Doshaghnata: pacifies Vata and Pitta.
Uses & benefits
Given in constipation as a gentle Virechana drug, and in fever with a bound bowel. Classical texts also list it in skin disease and as a Kushtaghna drug. It appears in Mahamanjishthadi Kwath and Maha Rasnadi Kwath in this catalogue.
Amaltas as the mildest purgative
Its sweetness and Mridu quality make it the drug the texts choose where a strong purgative would be unsafe — in the weak, the old and in children.
Amaltas for the skin
Used in chronic skin disease on the classical principle that clearing the bowel clears the blood, and applied externally as a leaf paste for itching.
Dosage — how much to take
Fruit pulp 5–10 g at night with warm water or milk. For children, proportionately less as a physician directs.
Dosage varies with age, constitution and condition — confirm with a qualified Vaidya.
Traditional uses — questions answered from the classical texts
Answers are drawn from the citations and properties recorded for this drug. No chapter-and-verse reference appears that the record does not carry.
Which classical texts describe Amaltas?
The citations held for Amaltas in this catalogue are: Charaka Samhita (Sutrasthana 4 — Kushtaghna group); Bhavaprakasha Nighantu (Guduchyadi Varga — Aragvadha).
What does the Charaka Samhita record about Amaltas?
Listed among drugs used in skin disease. Reference: Charaka Samhita — Sutrasthana 4 — Kushtaghna group.
What does the Bhavaprakasha Nighantu record about Amaltas?
Madhura rasa, sheeta virya, mridu virechana. Reference: Bhavaprakasha Nighantu — Guduchyadi Varga — Aragvadha.
What is Amaltas traditionally used for in Ayurveda?
Given in constipation as a gentle Virechana drug, and in fever with a bound bowel. Classical texts also list it in skin disease and as a Kushtaghna drug. It appears in Mahamanjishthadi Kwath and Maha Rasnadi Kwath in this catalogue.
What are the Ayurvedic properties of Amaltas?
Rasa Tikta (Bitter), Kashaya (Astringent), Guna Laghu (Light), Ruksha (Dry), Virya Ushna (Hot), Vipaka Katu (Pungent). Dosha action: Balances Kapha & Vata. Prabhava: Classical systemic action.
Why is Amaltas classified the way it is?
In dravya-guna a drug's dosha action follows from its taste, qualities, potency and post-digestive effect. Amaltas carries Ushna (Hot) virya and Katu (Pungent) vipaka, which together give the recorded action: Balances Kapha & Vata.
Which part of Amaltas is used medicinally?
The part used is Fruit, Seed.
How much Amaltas is taken, and how?
Fruit pulp 5–10 g at night with warm water or milk. For children, proportionately less as a physician directs. Dosage varies with age, constitution and condition — confirm it with a qualified Vaidya.
When should Amaltas be avoided?
One of the safest purgatives, but any laxative used habitually creates dependence and should not be a daily measure. Excess causes griping and loose stool. In pregnancy use only on a physician's advice. Persistent constipation needs its cause investigated.
Where does Amaltas grow?
A deciduous tree of forest and roadside throughout India, flowering spectacularly in the hot season before the monsoon.
Classical references
- Bhavaprakasha Nighantu — Guduchyadi Varga — Aragvadha
Madhura rasa, sheeta virya, mridu virechana. - Charaka Samhita — Sutrasthana 4 — Kushtaghna group
Listed among drugs used in skin disease.
Safety & precautions
One of the safest purgatives, but any laxative used habitually creates dependence and should not be a daily measure. Excess causes griping and loose stool. In pregnancy use only on a physician's advice. Persistent constipation needs its cause investigated.
Where it grows
A deciduous tree of forest and roadside throughout India, flowering spectacularly in the hot season before the monsoon.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Amaltas called the gentlest purgative?
Because its action is Mridu — soft — and it works without the griping of the drastic purgatives. That is why the texts allow it where stronger drugs are contraindicated.
Which part of the pod is used?
The dark sticky pulp between the seed partitions, not the woody pod wall or the seeds themselves.
