Dhara with ksheera

When we look at medical procedures, panchakarma has got a huge variety of remedial treatments held by the hands of mother nature. Shirodhara, the one of most known process of panchakarma when done with specially prepared medicated milk (i.e. ksheera kwatha) is called as Ksheeradhara. In this video to prepare ksheera kwatha we have used the ingredient Dashamoola which is a combination of ten herbal roots prescribed as per ayurvedic text. This ayurvedic preparation strengthens the muscles and calms the nerves. Other drugs that could be used in ksheeradhara are chandan, usheera, yashti madhu, bala, kupilu, shatavari, amalaki, musta etc as per requirement.

Procedure

Before starting the process on the patient, ksheera kwatha is prepared by mixing 200g dashamoola powder with 3 litres of milk and simmering it till the quantity of the mixture is reduced to half. Dashamoola powder is available from the market easily and cow milk is preferred (can be done on other milk too) for making the tonic.

As lukewarm medicated milk is poured on the forehead of the person so in the meanwhile our prepared ksheera kwatha loses heat we will start our pre-operative procedure i.e. abhyanga of head with medicated oil. Abhyanga means massage and here in this video we have used ksheerabala oil.

After massaging with light pressure for approximately 5-10 mins, the person is made to lie down in supine position on the panchakarma table. A small pillow could be placed under the head to relax, ears plugged, forehead tied with gauze to avoid leakage towards eyes and eyes covered with cotton pads dipped in rose water. Now ensuring that ksheera kwatha is lukewarm, it is allowed to fall from a height of 4 angulas(fingers) in a continuous stream on forehead and gently oscillated in between. This continuous flow falling down is called dhara in hindi and the dhara pot should be kept in such a way as to allow steady flow of the liquid over the forehead of the patient. The total time for the procedure is said from 30-40 mins including oscillation period of 16-20 mins. After the procedure patient’s head is wiped out with the towel and asked to stay inside the room for ten minutes. Hot water bath can be taken after an hour.

Ksheeradhara is highly beneficial in neurological conditions, burning neuropathy, psychological diseases, stress, insomnia, headache, migraine and vata-pitta disorders. Morning hours between 6-10 am or evening hours between 4-6 pm is the best suggested for the procedure and could be done regularly for a period of 7-21 days. It could be done with variety of drugs like chandan, usheera, yashti madhu, bala, kupilu, shatavari, amalaki, musta etc. according to the patient’s requirement.