Siddha Home Remedies: Medicinal Uses of Seenthil Kodi

Seenthil is an herbaceous climber that grows in plenty in the foot of hills in India, Sri Lanka,
Myanmar, Thailand etc. This climber is known by the name of Guduchi in Sanskrit. It is also
called amirthavalli, kundali, somavalli etc in various parts of India. There are three varieties
of seenthil, known as seenthil, por seenthil, paey seenthil or agaaya garudan, also known as
kollan kovai. The mature parts of the climber have immense medicinal value. It gives out
yellow flowers during the month of May !uly and matures into fruits in September "
#ecember periods.
The great Siddha sage Theraiyar makes mention of this wonderful herb in his songs. $atients
suffering from diabetes can benefit immensely by using seethil climber to their advantage.
The leaves of this climber can be used for this purpose. The seenthil climber leaves are
collected, washed and then dried in shade for a couple of days. It is then powdered to a fine
consistency and taken in the mornings and evenings. % teaspoonful of this powder in a glass
of water would be the recommended dosage.
Seenthil climber &' grams, coriander & grams, adhimadhuram & grams, fennel seeds & gm,
paneer flower & gm are boiled in &'' ml water, allowed to cool for a couple of hours and then
filtered. &' ml of this seenthil steeped decoction is taken thrice a day for gas, indigestion and
stomach problems.
Seenthil sakkarai is a kind of salt obtained from this climber. Seenthil sakkarai is well known
for its medicinal value in Siddha world. It has the potential to heal kapha diseases and well as
a good number of skin diseases, especially of the itching and oo(ing types.
)ashayam made of seenthil tubers *seenthil ki(hangu+ induces appetite. ,or this, seenthil
tubers are dried in shade and powdered to a coarse consistency. % spoonful of this powder is
boiled in four glasses of water and reduced to one glass. $eople who suffer from loss of
appetite, abdominal colic, indigestion, fever etc can take this kashayam twice a day till the
conditions improves.
Seenthil leaves are useful in treating non healing wounds and ulcers. The leaves are softened
over heat and then crushed to obtain the -uice. This is then applied on the wounds and ulcers.
.egular application helps in healing of these wounds.
$eople suffering from the effects of a vitiated pitta can make use of seethil leaves to pacify
pitta. /itiated pitta leads to vomiting of bile, vertigo, loss of appetite, skin irritation,
yellowish tinge to the skin, lethargy etc. 0ne well known preparation to pacify pitta is a
kashayam using seenthil kodi 1& gm, parpadaagam 1& gm, vettiver 1& gm, sandalwood 1&
gm, korai ki(hangu 1& gm, sitramutti 1& gm, dried ginger *chukka+ 1& gm. These ingredients
are ground together and then boiled in one litre of water and reduced to half. This is taken
twice a day, morning and evening. This is prepared fresh every day. This preparation pacifies
the aggravated pitta and restores the harmony of vata, pitta and kapha.