Witnessed by: Ayurveda
Saptala spurge (Euphorbia dracunculoides), of the Euphorbiaceae family. Small erect annual spurge of dry ground with narrow leaves and milky latex; native range: dry open ground, fallow fields and sandy waste across India, Pakistan and west into Arabia and Africa. Globally recognized as saptalā · satalā · carmakaṣā in Sanskrit, and saptala spurge in English. The part used is whole plant, and the latex. A slender herb bleeding a white acrid latex at every break, biting on the tongue and lip.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
SAPTALA SPURGE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- saptala spurge
- Scientific name
- Euphorbia dracunculoides Lam.
- Family
- Euphorbiaceae
Form
- Part used
- whole plant, and the latex
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- pungent (katu) · bitter (tikta)
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- virechana (purgative, of the mild class — mridu virechana), bhedana (breaks up and moves obstruction), krimighna (anthelmintic), kushthaghna (acts on the skin), deepana (kindles digestion)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- pregnancy and breastfeeding, children, the aged and the debilitated; vata disorders, an irritable or ulcerated bowel, haemorrhoids
- Toxicity
- the latex of the spurges is a sharp irritant — it blisters the skin, inflames the eye and, swallowed unpurified, brings burning, vomiting and violent purging. Shodhana is required before internal use.
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