Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda
Realgar, of the sulfide mineral (arsenic sulfide) family. Soft, resinous, orange-red to ruby-red crystalline masses and grains, crumbling to an orange powder in light; native range: low-temperature hydrothermal veins, hot-spring and fumarole deposits, characteristically alongside orpiment. Globally recognized as 雄黃 xiong huang in Chinese, manahshila, manahsila in Sanskrit, and realgar, red arsenic, ruby sulphur in English. The part used is the purified (shodhita) mineral, levigated — never heated. Orange- to ruby-red and resinous where it breaks, soft and sectile, leaving an orange-red streak, with a garlic-like arsenical smell when struck or heated; it dulls and falls to orange powder on long exposure to light.
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.
REALGAR
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- realgar
- Scientific name
- Realgar (arsenic sulfide, As₄S₄)
- Family
- sulfide mineral (arsenic sulfide)
Form
- Part used
- the purified (shodhita) mineral, levigated — never heated
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- pungent · bitter
- Ayurveda
- pungent (katu) · bitter (tikta)
Temperature
- TCM
- warm
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Liver · Large Intestine · Stomach
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- kills parasites and resolves toxicity, dries dampness and expels wind, and transforms phlegm to settle wheezing and check seizure
- Ayurveda
- krimighna (antiparasitic), kushthaghna (heals skin disease), kaphavatahara, shvasahara and kasahara (settles asthma and cough), and vishaghna (counters poison and bite)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- pregnancy, lactation, children, debility, and liver or kidney disease; never given over long periods, and never heated or given raw and unpurified
- Toxicity
- an arsenic sulfide and a cumulative poison — heating converts it to arsenic trioxide; excess or long use causes arsenicosis, with skin and nerve disease, liver and kidney damage, and death
- Sourcing status
- legally-restricted
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