Energy & Vitality

What rasayana means, and what it does not

Charaka gives rasayana a chapter of its own, and the framing is unfamiliar to a modern reader: these are preparations for someone already well, taken to hold strength, appetite and resilience over time. They are not remedies. A rasayana sits closer to a daily habit than to a course of treatment.

The shelf is deliberately small. A good many products elsewhere carry rasayana qualities as a secondary property; those stay on the shelf that matches what they are principally for, so that this one means something. The traditional starting point, if you want one, is Chyawanprash.

Three ways in

1. Chyawanprash — The classical rasayana, a spoonful daily. The most established preparation in the group and the usual first purchase.
2. Single herbs — Ashwagandha, Shatavari, Safed Musli. Well known outside India, and simple to take as a capsule.
3. Njavara rice — A medicinal food rather than a medicine. Cooked and eaten — a different way into the tradition, and a slower one.

See also Breathing & Immunity, Tablets & Capsules. Kairali has made Ayurvedic formulations in Kerala since 1908.

Always read the label and directions on the pack you receive, and speak with your physician before starting anything new — particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, managing a health condition or taking prescription medicine.