Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Orpiment, of the sulfide mineral family. A soft, foliated to earthy mineral in lemon- to golden-yellow masses and flexible flakes; native range: low-temperature hydrothermal veins, hot-spring and fumarole deposits, often with realgar. Globally recognized as haritala, tala in Sanskrit, hartal, zarnikh asfar (yellow arsenic) in Arabic/Urdu, and orpiment, yellow arsenic in English. The part used is the purified (shodhita) mineral. Bright golden-yellow, pearly to resinous where it flakes, sectile and soft, with a faint garlic-like arsenical odour when heated.
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.
ORPIMENT
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- orpiment
- Scientific name
- Orpiment (arsenic trisulfide, As₂S₃)
- Family
- sulfide mineral
Form
- Part used
- the purified (shodhita) mineral
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- pungent (katu) · bitter (tikta)
- Unani
- acrid
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
- Unani
- hot & dry (4th degree)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- kushthaghna (heals skin disease), krimighna (antiparasitic), kaphavatahara, romanashaka (depilatory), rasayana (in properly prepared bhasma)
- Unani
- muhallil (resolvent), akkal (escharotic/caustic), jali (detergent), musqit-e-sha'r (depilatory)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- pregnancy, children, debility; never the raw unpurified mineral internally
- Toxicity
- a soft arsenical — the raw mineral is a cumulative poison causing arsenicosis, and even the prepared form is unsafe in excess or long use
- Sourcing status
- legally-restricted
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