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- Latin:
Terminalia chebula
- Sanskrit:
Haritaki
- Hindi:
Hardh
- English:
Chebulic Myrobalans, Indian Gallnut
Parts
Used:
Fruit (not a nut). Each plant and part
has a different therapeutic value and must be prepared in its own way
for maximum benefits. This tree is found wild in the forests of northern
and central India, Bengal, Madras, Mysore, and the southern Bombay Presidency.
- Traditional
Ayurvedic Uses:
- Haritaki
is known as a top-notch rasayana fruit in ayurveda. It is traditionally
said to be as safe and nurturing as mother's milk.
- It
detoxifies and nourishes all the dhatus (body tissues).
- In
combination with Emblic Myroblans and Beleric Myrobalans, it forms
the famous ayurvedic remedy Triphala.
- There
are six tastes in ayurveda -- sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent
and astrigent. Haritaki contains five out of the six tastes -- all
except salty. So it is a rasayana suitable for everyone.
- There
are seven varieties of Haritaki, and Vijaya is considered the superior
variety of this fruit. Maharishi Ayurveda formulations are all prepared
with the Vijaya variety for the best rasayana value.
- Haritaki
is considered good for constipation and has antioxidant properties.
It has positive effects on the hair, skin, eyes and liver.
Combinations
are Best
The ayurvedic physicians of Maharishi Ayurveda do not recommend the use of single herbs for self-care due to several important reasons.
One of the specialties of ayurveda is the science of herb combining that has been perfected over thousands of years of clinical practice. From this ayurvedic perspective, the study of herbs from scientific research which is based on single ingredient formulas is not very practical. This is because an herb can give a number of different effects depending on the other herbs it is combined with as well as a number of other factors such as dosage, how the herb was processed, etc. If one focuses just on the results of a study based on one ingredient, while it may be interesting, it does not give the full insight into the complete range of effects available from that particular herb.
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