Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
White dammar (Vateria indica), of the Dipterocarpaceae family. Large evergreen tree yielding a pale aromatic oleoresin; native range: the Western Ghats of southern India, in evergreen wet forest. Globally recognized as sarjarasa, sarja, raala in Sanskrit, safed damar, dhupa in Hindi, kahruba, sandaroos in Arabic, and Indian copal, piney varnish, white dhup, dammar in English. The part used is resin (oleoresin) chiefly; also bark. Hard, pale-yellow to whitish resin, brittle and translucent, with a soft balsamic incense-like fragrance and a bitter, astringent bite.
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.
WHITE DAMMAR
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- White dammar
- Scientific name
- Vateria indica L.
- Family
- Dipterocarpaceae
Form
- Part used
- resin (oleoresin) chiefly; also bark
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- bitter · astringent (tikta-kashaya, faintly pungent)
- Unani
- bitter · astringent · aromatic (qabiz, resinous)
Temperature
Ayurveda: cooling (sheeta)
Unani: cold (and dry, 2nd degree)
convergence: both witnesses ({witness_count}) read the resin cold and drying
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- heart · stomach · intestines · skin · blood
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- vrana-ropana and vrana-shodhana (wound cleansing and healing), vedanasthapana (analgesic), kandughna (antipruritic), grahi (absorbent)
- Unani
- habis (styptic), qabiz (astringent), muqawwi-e-qalb (cardiac tonic), mufarreh (exhilarant)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- constipation and cold, dry conditions
- Toxicity
- low in normal use
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