Vyanga (melasma / facial pigmentation)

The classical Ayurvedic term for brown / dark pigmentation patches on the face, especially on the cheeks and forehead. Approximate modern correlate: melasma / chloasma.

Etymology: vi-aṅga (“disfigured face”). Sushruta groups Vyanga with Nilika (a similar pigmentation, slightly more bluish), Tila-kalaka (freckles), and Mashaka (moles) under the Kshudra-roga (minor skin conditions) of Cikitsa Ch.20.

Classical etiology

Vyanga is described as a Vata-Pitta vitiation (in some traditions, also Rakta involvement). Anger, anxiety, and grief — Vata-Pitta-aggravating mental states — feature in the etiology. Modern: pregnancy-related melasma, oral-contraceptive melasma, and sun-induced hyperpigmentation map cleanly onto this Vata-Pitta + photo-aggravation model.

Classical treatment

Sushruta Cikitsa 20.20: external scarification of the affected veins + topical Lepa of Vala, Atibala, Yashtimadhu, Rajani (Bala + Atibala + Licorice + Turmeric).

Sushruta Cikitsa 25.20: the Vyanga-hara Ghrita — the structural ancestor of every modern Kumkumadi Tailam. “Cures the most difficult cases of Vyanga and Nilika, and removes all tans, specks, marks, moles, eruptions, etc., from the face.”

The single most cited modern anti-Vyanga formulation is Kumkumadi Tailam (saffron-based). The four-bark Nalpamaradi family is the second.