Witnessed by: Ayurveda
Red ochre, of the iron-oxide earth (ochre) family. A soft, earthy red to reddish-brown ferruginous clay in friable lumps and powder; native range: weathered, iron-stained earths and lateritic beds — the classical texts name the ochre of the mountain (giri), and the Indian trade draws it from the ferruginous soils of the peninsula. Globally recognized as gairika, gerumati in Sanskrit, geru in Hindi, and red ochre, ruddle in English. The part used is the purified (shodhita) ochre. Dull to brick red, sometimes with a golden sheen; soft, earthy and unctuous, staining the fingers freely, adhering to the tongue and gritless when good; odourless, and giving a clayey smell when breathed on.
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.
RED OCHRE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- red ochre
- Family
- iron-oxide earth (ochre)
Form
- Part used
- the purified (shodhita) ochre
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- sweet (madhura) · astringent (kashaya)
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- cooling (sheeta)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- raktastambhaka (stops bleeding), raktapittahara, chakshushya (benefits the eyes), vranaropana (heals wounds), grahi (binds), vishaghna, kaphapittahara, dahaprashamana (allays burning)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- constipation; the unpurified earth is not given internally
- Toxicity
- an inert iron-bearing earth, and safe in ordinary use; but its composition is variable, and crude ochres have carried clay, sand and whatever else the bed held — only the purified, levigated article is taken
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