2.1. Pharmaceutical use of Oil

Oils were not only on article of cosmetic, but they were considered essential for maintaining one’s health. An oil bath or Abhyaṅgasnāna was compulsory among ancient Indians. They practiced massaging the skin and hair with oil every alternate day or atleast twice in a week.

Sources of Oil

Oils were mainly of vegetable origin. They were extracted from seeds like Sesamum, mustard, Iṅgudī etc. sometimes prepared from Manaḥśilā (Realgar) and Haritāla (Orpiment). Kālidāsa^[1] and Kauṭilya^[2] allude to these sources.

Types of Oils

Oils can be chiefly classified into two.

Medicated Oil

As the word suggests, medicated oils are oils, either prepared from seeds having medicinal properties or those boiled along with medicinal herbs. All our medical treatises insist on the importance of oil massage, which is essential for keeping away the diseases caused by deranged Vāta. Medicinal advantages apart, regular oil massage makes one, a man of strong, smooth and brightened physique. It prevents wrinkles on skin and thus prevents aging. For curing Vātarakta, Caraka^[3] prescribes some oils like Madhuyaṣṭhyāditaila, Sukumārakataila, Amṛtādyataila, Mahāpadmakataila, Khuḍukapadmakataila, Madhūkataila, Piṇḍataila and Balātaila. He lists some advantages of Tila oil also. According to him, Tila oil is good to prevent baldness, grayness and hair fall^[4]. It is beneficial for luxuriant growth of hair and makes one’s skin glowing. Tila oil is a remedy for headache and it imparts sound sleep.

Perfumed Oils

Perfumed oils were usually used by kings and aristocrats for their royal bath. Texts like Agnipurāṇa^[5], Mānasollāsa^[6], Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa^[7] and Bṛhatsaṃhitā^[8] mention some recipes for scented oils. Among the fragrant oils, Campaka oil is most popular. Campaka oil was not only meant for Abhyaṅga, but it was an ingredient for the preparation of other forms of cosmetics also. Bṛhatsaṃhitā^[9] describes the methods for preparing hair oil with the odour of Campaka flower. For this, a mixture of sesamum oil and equal proportions of the powders of Mañjiṣṭha (Rubia Cordifolia), Vyāghranakha, Cassia bark and Kuṣṭha (Costus) are used. In the final stage of preparation, this mixture is warmed in the sunlight. As per one recipe given in Mānasollāsa, Campaka oil is prepared by crushing the Tila seeds perfumed with Campaka and Punnāga. Besides the Campaka oil, Mānasollāsa mentions formulae for certain other scented oils. Thus oils smelling like Ketakī, Jāti and Punnāga are recorded there. Agnipurāṇa and Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa also give an account of the preparation of scented oils. These recipes are found quoted in Gandhasāra in thirty-four verses. We don’t have any direct reference to the perfumed oils in Āyurvedic texts. But the ingredients mentioned in the preparation of some medicated oils are aromatic.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Abhijñānaśākuntala; Kumārasambhava, VII.23

[2]:

Trade and Commerce of Ancient India (TACAI)

[3]:

Cikitsāsthāna, Chapter 29

[4]:

Ibid, p.124

[5]:

SIICH, p.70

[6]:

Vol I, pp.81-83

[7]:

SIICH, p.70

[8]:

LXXVI.6

[9]:

Ibid