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Kakolyadi Gana (Madhura Gana)

Kākolyādi-gaṇa काकोल्यादि-गण

gana cosmetic-relevant

Anti-Pitta + anti-Vata + anti-blood; demulcent; rasayana — face-rejuvenation group.

Sushruta Sutra 38 — abridged: “Kakoli, Kshira-Kakoli, Jivaka, Rishabhaka, Mudgaparni, Mashaparni, Meda, Mahameda, Chinna-ruha, Karkata-Shringi, Tugakshiri, Padmaka, Prapaundarika, Riddhi, Vriddhi, Mridvika, Jivanti and Madhuka. … It increases the quantity of milk in the breast (galactagogue) and favours the accumulation of phlegm (Kapha) in the body. It is a restorative and an elixir and is endued with the therapeutic virtue of augmenting the virile potency of a man.”

The Kakolyadi (also called Madhura) is the rejuvenation group. Its core sub-set — Kakoli, Kshira-Kakoli, Jivaka, Rishabhaka, Meda, Mahameda, Riddhi, Vriddhi — is called the Astavarga (“the 8 herbs”), historically the most prestigious classical herbal sub-set.

The Astavarga problem

The 8 Astavarga herbs are all commercially extinct in present-day herbal trade. Modern Indian Ayurvedic pharmacy substitutes:

  • Kakoli / Kshira-Kakoli → Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus)
  • Jivaka / Rishabhaka → Shatavari + Ashwagandha
  • Meda / Mahameda → Shatavari
  • Riddhi / Vriddhi → Vidari (Pueraria tuberosa) + Ashwagandha

This substitution is canonical and is what every commercial Kerala Chyavanaprasha / Mahanarayana Tailam / Kumkumadi Tailam uses today.

Cosmetic relevance

In cosmetic formulations, the Kakolyadi-gana sub-component is the rejuvenation / anti-aging layer. It is included alongside the Varnya group in:

  • Mahanarayana Tailam (the rasayana sub-set)
  • Kumkumadi Tailam (the moisturising / phyto-oestrogenic sub-set)
  • Brahma Rasayana (the internal anti-aging compound)

Constituent ingredients (12)

IngredientBotanicalFunctions
Kakoli (Astavarga)
Kākolī 		Lilium polyphyllum (?) — commercially extinct rasayana, Astavarga member
Kshira-Kakoli (Astavarga)
Kṣīra-kākolī 		Fritillaria roylei (?) — commercially extinct rasayana, Astavarga member
Jivaka (Astavarga)
Jīvaka 		Malaxis acuminata (?) — commercially extinct rasayana
Rishabhaka (Astavarga)
Ṛṣabhaka 		Malaxis muscifera (?) — commercially extinct rasayana
Meda (Astavarga)
Medā 		Polygonatum verticillatum (?) — commercially extinct rasayana
Mahameda (Astavarga)
Mahāmedā 		Polygonatum cirrhifolium (?) — commercially extinct rasayana
Mudgaparni (Wild Green Gram)
Mudgaparṇī 		Phaseolus trilobus / Vigna trilobata rasayana, Pitta-pacifying
Mashaparni (Wild Black Gram)
Māṣaparṇī 		Teramnus labialis Vata-Pitta pacifying, rasayana
Padmaka (Himalayan Wild Cherry)
Padmaka 		Prunus cerasoides varnya, anti-Vyanga, Pitta-pacifying
Licorice (Yashtimadhu)
Yaṣṭimadhu / Madhuka 		Glycyrrhiza glabra varnya, anti-tyrosinase / brightening, anti-inflammatory
Ashwagandha (Winter Cherry)
Aśvagandhā 		Withania somnifera rasayana, adaptogen, structural-tissue tonic
Shatavari (Wild Asparagus)
Śatāvarī 		Asparagus racemosus women's rasayana, phyto-oestrogenic, Astavarga substitute

Recipes built from this group (2)