Daily Detox & Rejuvenation?! – your SV Ayurveda Newsletter June 12, 2025 – #21, Vol 15

52 Herbs

for

Daily Detox

&

Rejuvenation

The Story of a Rishi and a Princess…

It all starts with an ancient tale! The intriguing story of Rishi Chyawan is documented in the ancient epic tale of India, the Mahabharata. Rishi Chyawan was a great seer. He was fully enlightened and thus carried no desires in his heart, except for union with the cosmic divine. It is said that he sat immobile, his senses fully retracted into the silent self-referral bliss of meditation, for numerous years, until one day, Sukanya, the young and beautiful daughter of King Sharyati, found him and accidentally awoke him from his yogic trance. Long story short – the aging rishi and the young princess were soon wed. However, their conjugal bliss was overshadowed by the rishi’s old ascetic body.

It is then told that the celestial twin physicians, the Ashvinis, came to the rishi’s help. Physicians to the gods, they had garnered the entirety of Ayurvedic knowledge for the benefit of mankind and the celestial realm. They prepared a mixture that contained the best of what Mother Nature offered in terms of divine healing, balancing, and rejuvenating altogether 52 herbs, and presented it to Rishi Chyawan. Rishi Chyawan ate it, and it restored his body to its original youthful glow and functionality in no time! And the rishi and the princess lived happily ever after….

 The recipe became known as Chyawan’s Prash, or the herbal mixture of Chyawan, renowned for its tonic and rejuvenative powers.

Vaidya’s Story

“The sweet taste and rich aroma of home-made chyawanprash infuses my early childhood memories spent in the village of Vaidyachak (“Vaidya’s village”) in Jharkand, NorthEast India. My father used to prepare Chyawanprash for our family. Years later, when I studied Ayurveda formally and learnt of the countless benefits of all the herbs that go into the Chyawanprash formula, I had the desire to share it with all my ayurvedic patients, specially after moving to the West. That’s how, several years ago, I initiated the process of sourcing and gathering the best quality wild-crafted herbs that would go into the preparation. I wanted to make sure that I incorporated every single ingredient that was mentioned in the original formula without compromise of quality. But it was hard. Many of the herbs are very hard to source, so many companies make the paste without all 52 ingredients. The formula will still work but not the same way…

After a long search, everything came together, and I was able to source ALL the herbs in the quality required and I put together this “avaleha,” or “liquid preserve,” just the way my father used to make it! I am very happy to say it smells and tastes just as good as I remember it!”

How does it work?

Chyawanprash is Ayurveda’s gift to us. It brings together the best of all the “divyaushadhi,” or divine herbs, in a recipe that is not only balancing, but is a delicious addition to daily diet. It’s no accident that it is considered India’s national tonic!

The preparation of these 52 herbs and plants involves seven stages and is complex because the herbs that are used have different properties that need to be prepared in distinct separate steps before being combined together, in order to get the full benefit. The original creators of this formula, the Ashwin Gods, taught the way of infusing the different groups of herbs together, based on how they can be categorized property-wise. The herbs that go into the mixture can be grouped into three:

• rasayana or rejuvenative herbs
• detoxifying and cleansing herbs
• immuno-modulatory herbs

Deriving the lipid and water soluble fractions of these herbs, while infusing their balancing properties into the base of the amla berry paste (amalaki) is thus a challenging process that has to go through different time-sensitive steps. But when it is done properly, when the powerful molecules have been duly prepared and mixed in with the organic sugar and honey, the formulation is fully potent and active, benefiting the body as soon as it touches the oral mucosa. Once in the stomach, it detoxifies traveling through the gaps of the tissues and nourishing all the aspects of the physiology.

Chyawanprash is a daily tonic that is good for all age groups all the time – except infants and children age 5 and under. The original formula contains ghee, cane sugar, and honey. Please note that the addition of ghee, honey, and sugar is necessary as they help coat the herbal molecules and deliver them to the deeper tissues. They are added as balancing ingredients because the original formula is very potent with its concentrated content of herbs and amla. They are not flavoring agents. And since they are consumed in conjunction with the dozens of herbs that are in the formula, they body is able to process and metabolize them fully. You will not make ama from the ghee, the sugar, or the honey – no one should experience discomfort or imbalance from the sugar and fat content. However, if you have fat and sugar sensitivities or prefer to avoid consuming either or both, I have put together a Chyawanprash Syrup that contains no added fat (ghee) and no added sugar (honey or raw can sugar). For those who have concerns consuming fat and/or sugar, this will be the ideal way to get the rejuvenative benefit of all the rasayana and other herbs that are part of the original formula.

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