Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Ashoka (Saraca asoca), of the Fabaceae (Caesalpinioideae) family. Small evergreen tree with drooping foliage and dense orange-red flower clusters; native range: the evergreen forests of the Indian subcontinent and the lower Himalaya. Globally recognized as ashoka (the sorrowless one) in Sanskrit, ashok, sita-ashok in Hindi, ashok in Arabic, and ashoka tree, sorrowless tree in English. The part used is stem bark. Rough grey-brown bark, hard and fibrous, with a strongly astringent, bitter, mouth-puckering taste and little scent.
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.
ASHOKA
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Ashoka
- Scientific name
- Saraca asoca (Roxb.) Willd.
- Family
- Fabaceae (Caesalpinioideae)
Form
- Part used
- stem bark
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- astringent · bitter
- Unani
- astringent · bitter
Temperature
Ayurveda: cooling (shita)
Unani: cold & dry (2nd degree)
convergence: both {witness_count} witnesses read it cold — a cooling, arresting astringent
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- uterus · intestines
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- garbhashaya-balya (uterine tonic), stambhana (astringent and haemostatic), vranaropana and varnya (complexion)
- Unani
- qabiz (astringent), habis-ud-dam (styptic) and muhallil for the womb
Cautions
- Contraindications
- constipation and marked dryness; not to be leaned on alone in heavy bleeding needing diagnosis
- Toxicity
- well tolerated in customary dose; large amounts may bind the bowel
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