What Panchakarma actually is

Ayurveda has one idea at its centre: disease starts when waste that should have left the body stays in it. Panchakarma is the set of five procedures that take that waste out — through the mouth, the intestines, the colon, the nose or the blood.

Why five

One route out for each place things get stuck

Kapha collects in the chest and stomach. Pitta collects in the small intestine and liver. Vata collects in the colon and the joints. Each of those sits on a different exit route, so each needs a different karma. That is the whole logic of the system.

It also means you almost certainly do not need all five. A patient with sciatica needs Basti. A patient with psoriasis needs Virechana. A patient with sinusitis needs Nasya. A vaidya who prescribes the full set to everyone is selling a package, not a treatment.

Ask which karma you need

In detail

The five, one by one

१

वमन

Vamana

Supervised therapeutic vomiting after three days of ghee and a Kapha-raising diet. Clears the chest and stomach.

२

विरेचन

Virechana

A single measured purgative dose given on the right day. The most widely used karma of the five.

३

बस्ति

Basti

Oil and decoction enemas alternated over 8, 16 or 30 days. Called half of all treatment in the classical texts.

४

नस्य

Nasya

Medicated drops into the nostrils after face and neck massage. Seven days is a standard course.

५

रक्तमोक्षण

Raktamokshana

Leech therapy or controlled venesection on a small, defined area. Used sparingly and never as a first step.

Reference

Which karma, for what

Karma	Dosha cleared	Commonly used for	Typical course
Vamana	Kapha	Asthma, chronic cough, sinus congestion, obesity, stubborn skin disease	7–10 days
Virechana	Pitta	Acidity, fatty liver, psoriasis, eczema, migraine, jaundice recovery	10–14 days
Basti	Vata	Sciatica, arthritis, back pain, constipation, paralysis, infertility support	8–30 days
Nasya	Head & neck	Sinusitis, migraine, cervical spondylosis, hair fall, frozen shoulder	7–14 days
Raktamokshana	Blood	Varicose veins, localised psoriasis, non-healing ulcers, gout	1–3 sittings

This table is a guide, not a prescription. The karma you receive is decided after a consultation.

The sequence

Three stages, in this order, always

पूर्वकर्म

Purva Karma

Snehana loosens the toxins with internal ghee and external oil. Swedana melts them with steam and carries them to the gut.

Preparation

प्रधानकर्म

Pradhana Karma

The karma itself, performed only when the signs of correct oleation appear. Rushing this stage is the single most common mistake.

The cleansing

पश्चात्कर्म

Paschat Karma

Samsarjana Krama rebuilds digestive fire through graded meals, followed by Rasayana herbs and a routine you can actually keep.

Rebuilding

Honest limits

When we will tell you not to do it

During pregnancy, and in the first months after delivery
Acute fever, active infection or a fresh injury — treat that first
Very young children and the very frail, where gentler therapy is safer
Anything that belongs in an emergency room or an operating theatre
When a shorter, simpler course of therapy will do the same job for less money

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Not sure which karma applies to you?

That is what the consultation is for. Bring your reports.

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