Vayasthapana Mahakashaya

Vayaḥsthāpana Mahākaṣāya वयःस्थापन महाकषाय

mahakashaya cosmetic-relevant

Rejuvenators / anti-aging — the canonical 10 herbs for arresting the visible signs of aging.

Charaka Sutra 4.18.-(5): “Amrita (Guduci), Abhaya (Haritaki), Dhatri (Amalaki), Mukta, Shveta-Mandukaparni, Sthira, Punarnava, Atirasa (climbing asparagus), Mandukaparni, Ativisha — these ten are rejuvenators.”

The list above is Charaka’s original. The commercial / Bhavaprakasha-extended interpretation conventionally substitutes the symbolic/regionally-uncertain Mukta and Atirasa with botanically-clearer Bhringaraja, Bala, Ashwagandha, and Shatavari — what we list as the practical ingredient set above.

Cosmetic relevance

A Vayasthapana herb is the structural opposite of a degenerative herb — it slows the visible and cellular signs of aging.

Amalaki — vitamin C + antioxidant; the single most cited anti-aging herb in classical Ayurveda. The base of Chyavanaprasha.
Haritaki — tannins + ellagic acid; the second pillar
Guduci — Tinospora cordifolia, “amrita” (nectar of immortality), adaptogen
Mandukaparni — Centella asiatica, the scar-repair herb
Bhringaraja — hair-blackening, hair-growth, scalp tonic
Bala — Sida cordifolia, the structural-tissue tonic; basis of Bala Taila and Mahanarayana
Ashwagandha — Withania somnifera, the adaptogen
Shatavari — Asparagus racemosus, the women’s-rasayana
Vidari — Pueraria tuberosa, phyto-oestrogen
Yashtimadhu — also Varnya, but specifically anti-aging via glabridin + adaptogenic glycyrrhizin

These herbs appear together in the Mahanarayana Tailam, Chyavanaprasha, Brahma Rasayana, and the Kumkumadi Tailam family as the rejuvenation sub-component.

Constituent ingredients (10)

Ingredient	Botanical	Functions
Amalaki (Indian Gooseberry) Āmalakī	Phyllanthus emblica (= Emblica officinalis)	rasayana supreme, hair-blackening, anti-aging
Haritaki (Chebulic Myrobalan) Harītakī	Terminalia chebula	anti-aging, Vayasthapana, purgative (mild)
Guduci (Tinospora) Guḍūcī	Tinospora cordifolia	rasayana, anti-inflammatory, Amrita (nectar of immortality)
Mandukaparni (Gotu Kola) Maṇḍūkaparṇī	Centella asiatica	scar-healing, rasayana, wound-healing
Bhringaraja (False Daisy) Bhṛṅgarāja	Eclipta prostrata (= E. alba)	hair-blackening, hair-growth promoter, scalp tonic
Bala (Country Mallow) Balā	Sida cordifolia	structural tissue tonic, Vayasthapana, rasayana
Ashwagandha (Winter Cherry) Aśvagandhā	Withania somnifera	rasayana, adaptogen, structural-tissue tonic
Shatavari (Wild Asparagus) Śatāvarī	Asparagus racemosus	women's rasayana, phyto-oestrogenic, Astavarga substitute
Vidari (Indian Kudzu) Vidārī	Pueraria tuberosa	phyto-oestrogenic rasayana, Vayasthapana, Astavarga substitute
Licorice (Yashtimadhu) Yaṣṭimadhu / Madhuka	Glycyrrhiza glabra	varnya, anti-tyrosinase / brightening, anti-inflammatory