Ayurveda Glossary
The words on the labels
Thailam, kashayam, choornam — what each one actually means
Kerala pharmacy names a preparation by how it is made, not by what it is for. Once you know the eight or nine words, most of the catalogue reads itself.
Why the names describe the method
An Ayurvedic label rarely tells you what a preparation is for. It tells you what it is: which herbs, and what was done to them. Dhanwantharam Thailam is the Dhanwantharam formula made as a medicated oil; Dhanwantharam Kashayam is the same formula made as a decoction. Same herbs, different preparation, different route into the body, different instructions.
That is why the format shelves on this site are organised the way they are, and why it is worth ten minutes learning the words. They are not decoration. They are the most reliable information on the pack.
Thailam (also tailam, taila)
A medicated oil
Herbs cooked into a base oil — usually sesame, sometimes coconut — until the oil carries them. The oil is the vehicle; the herbs are the medicine. Almost always applied to the skin rather than swallowed. Where a coconut base is used the name often becomes kera thailam, which sits lighter and matters in a hot climate. See Thailams.
Kashayam (kwatha, decoction)
Herbs boiled in water and reduced
The oldest preparation in the classical literature and still the reference form: when a text says kashayam, the decoction is what it means. Taken by mouth, measured and diluted as the label directs, usually before food. Genuinely bitter — which is why the same recipes now also exist as tablets. See Kashayams.
Gulika and vati
A pill, in the original sense
Preparations designed as pills from the start — herbs ground, bound and rolled. Yogaraja Guggulu and Kaishora Guggulu are of this kind. Not a modern convenience: gulikas are as old as the decoctions. Distinct from the kashayam tablet, which takes a preparation the texts describe as a liquid and presses it into tablet form so a course can be finished. See Gulikas.
Choornam (churna)
A powder
A herb or combination dried and milled. The most flexible form and the one that most needs reading: the same powder might be taken with an anupana, tied into a cloth bolus and pressed on warm, or rubbed over dry skin. Several choornams are external only and must never be swallowed. See Choornams.
Leham (lehyam, avaleha)
A herbal jam, taken by the spoon
Herbs cooked into jaggery or ghee. This does two things at once: it preserves them without refrigeration, and it makes bitter material palatable enough to keep taking daily. Chyawanprash is the one most people have met. See Lehams.
Arishtam and asavam
Fermented preparations
Herbs left to ferment, which generates a small amount of alcohol as part of the process and preserves the preparation. Long-keeping and traditionally taken diluted after food. Not currently stocked on this store: alcohol-containing preparations face import and shipping rules that differ by country.
Rasayana
Taken steadily, over a long period
Often translated as "rejuvenation", which oversells it. In the classical literature a rasayana is something taken consistently as part of a way of living, not a course with an end date and a result. That framing sets a fairer expectation: rasayanas are daily habits, judged over seasons.
Anupana
What you take it with
Warm water, milk, honey, ghee. Specified on the label because the classical texts regard the vehicle as affecting how a preparation behaves — it is part of the instruction, not a suggestion for making it pleasant.
Abhyanga
Oil massage
Warm oil worked into the skin, classically before a bath. The technique most of the thailams on this site are made for. See Herbal Oils & Balms.
Kizhi and udvartana
Poultice and dry rub
Kizhi binds herbs or powders into a cloth bolus, warms it, and presses it against the body — a therapy-room technique rather than something you rub on. Udvartana is a dry powder massage worked upward over the skin. Both use choornams, and neither is taken by mouth.
Dosha — vata, pitta, kapha
A framework, not a diagnosis
The three principles classical Ayurveda uses to describe tendencies: vata for movement and dryness, pitta for heat and transformation, kapha for structure and moisture. It is a reasoning tool for a physician assessing someone in person, and it translates badly into a self-assessment quiz — which is why there isn't one on this site. See the dosha guide.
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. Nothing on this page is medical advice or a diagnosis.