Witnessed by: Ayurveda
Shilajit (mineral pitch), of the organic-mineral exudate (asphaltum) family. A blackish-brown, tarry to glassy exudate weeping from rock crevices and hardening in the sun; native range: oozes from cracks in the rock of high Himalayan and Central Asian ranges in the summer heat, from the Hindu Kush through Nepal to Bhutan. Globally recognized as shilajatu, silajatu, adrija, gaireya in Sanskrit, shilajit in Hindi, and mineral pitch, asphaltum, black bitumen in English. The part used is the purified (shodhita) exudate. Black to blackish-brown, resinous and glossy, softening under the hand, bitter and faintly of cow's urine, dissolving in water to a dark ruddy cloud.
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.
SHILAJIT
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- shilajit (mineral pitch)
- Family
- organic-mineral exudate (asphaltum)
Form
- Part used
- the purified (shodhita) exudate
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- bitter (tikta) · pungent (katu) · astringent (kashaya)
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- rasayana (rejuvenative), yogavahi (carries and amplifies what it is given with), balya (strengthening), vrishya (aphrodisiac), medhya (for the mind), medohara (reduces fat), mutrala (diuretic), pramehaghna (checks urinary-metabolic disease)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- gout and raised uric acid, and hot pitta conditions; the classical texts forbid it with kulattha (horse gram)
- Toxicity
- the purified exudate is well tolerated; the raw material carries rock, fungal matter and — from polluted ground — heavy metals, so unpurified shilajit is not to be taken
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