In brief: Madhuyashtyadi Thailam (also written Madhuyashtyadi Thailam, Madhuyashtyadi Taila, Madhuyashtyadi oil or Madhuyashti Thailam) is a classical Ayurvedic oil named after its lead plant: Madhuyashti, the root of liquorice, Glycyrrhiza glabra, also called Yashtimadhu. Cited from the Sahasrayogam, it is a liquorice-group oil of the skin and the head: the tradition uses it for Abhyanga of the body and for Shiroabhyanga, the oiling of the scalp. This guide explains what Madhuyashtyadi Thailam is, how the texts describe it, how it differs from Madhuyashti Churna, how it is applied and how often, and which oils in the Art of Vedas range come closest.
What Madhuyashtyadi Thailam is and what the name means
Madhuyashti and Yashtimadhu are one word with its halves reversed: Madhu, sweet, and Yashti, a stick or root. Both name liquorice root, Glycyrrhiza glabra, one of the plants that appears most often in the classical oil and ghee recipes. The ending "adi" means "and the others": Madhuyashtyadi Thailam is the oil in which liquorice leads a group of further plants.
The same root names Yashtimadhu Thailam, and the two names are sometimes used for one another; the declared list of a bottle is the only reliable guide to what is in it.
Madhuyashtyadi Thailam and Madhuyashti Churna
The distinction from Madhuyashti Churna is worth making. A Churna is a dried powder: Madhuyashti Churna, or Yashtimadhu Churna, is the plain powdered root of liquorice, a single-plant preparation. A Thailam is an oil in which the plant is cooked, for external use. Madhuyashtyadi Thailam takes the same root, with others, into a sesame oil base. The powder and the oil share one plant and nothing else.
The classical description
Madhuyashtyadi Thailam is cited from the Sahasrayogam. The classical recipe names, among others, liquorice root, which is ground into the paste, cooked into sesame oil by the Sneha Paka method: the paste and a decoction are simmered slowly in the oil until the water has gone. No herb count is given here, because the recipe differs slightly from text to text. Our complete guide to traditional Thailams describes the method and the base oils.
Character in Ayurvedic terms
The classical texts describe liquorice as sweet in taste and cooling in potency, and the tradition describes Madhuyashtyadi Thailam as a cooling oil and places it with Pitta and Vata. That soft character gives it two uses in the tradition: on the skin of the body, among the gentle Abhyanga oils, and on the head, where cooling oils are preferred.
How Madhuyashtyadi Thailam is used in practice
On the body, Madhuyashtyadi Thailam is used for Abhyanga in the ordinary way. Warm the oil by standing the closed bottle in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes; never use a microwave. Apply it with long strokes along the limbs, leave it on the skin for fifteen to twenty minutes, then take a warm shower or bath. The full sequence of strokes is in our Abhyanga guide.
On the head, it is used for Shiroabhyanga. Part the hair, apply a teaspoon or two to the crown and work it into the scalp with the fingertips in slow circles for five to ten minutes. Leave it on for at least half an hour, or overnight with a towel on the pillow, and wash the hair as usual. Once or twice a week is the usual rhythm for the head; for the body, two to three times a week, or daily where the season allows.
Who should ask first
Madhuyashtyadi Thailam is for external use only. Do a small skin test on the inner forearm before the first full application, keep the oil away from the eyes and broken skin. Anyone who reacts to sesame should check the declared list of any oil first. If you are pregnant, or wish to use any oil on a child, ask your doctor or a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner first.
Madhuyashtyadi Thailam and the Art of Vedas range
Art of Vedas does not currently offer Madhuyashtyadi Thailam. The closest oils in our range are Ksheerabala Thailam, in which Bala root is cooked into sesame oil with milk, a mild oil used on the body and the head, and Eladi Thailam, the sesame-based oil of the Eladi group that the tradition uses for the skin of the face and body. Our oil comparison sets the mild oils side by side.
