The Spirit of Amla
The benefits and uses of Amla berry in Āyurveda and Tibetan Medicine
“O Bhagavan, the entire origination of all types of phenomena throughout time is within the range of your mind, like an ambalan fruit in the palm of your hand.”
— Śatapañcāśatka
Amla is one of the most revered medicines in Āyurveda and Tibetan Medicine. Also known as Indian Gooseberry and Emblic Myrobalan, Amla is a berry-like fruit native to India that grows in sub-tropical climates all over the world. In Āyurvedic medicine, it is most commonly found in the classic herbal formula, triphala.
Amla and Pitta
Amla is one of the supreme medicines for pitta disorders. Amla literally means “sour”, a reference to its extremely sour taste. However, in Āyurvedic herbalism, Amla is described as having five out of six tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, astringent, and pungent. This gives Amla a unique energetic balance that makes it beneficial all constitutional types. It has a sour taste (rasa), a cooling effect (virya), and a sour post-digestive taste (vipāka). It clears pathogenic heat and thereby benefits the skin and eyes. Amla nourishes the seven dhātus and thus tonifies the rejuvenative essence in the body (ojas / jing). For this reason, Amla is also regarded as a rasāyana and can be used a general tonic.
Āyurvedic physicians have long-advised the daily consumption of Amla for its rejuvenating and preventative qualities. Ayurveda especially regards Amla for its ability to treat pitta-type digestive disorders such as ulcers and acid reflux (which Ayurveda refers to as amlapitta).
Amla Aushadhi
My teacher, Vaidya Mishra, considered Amla one of the most importrant medicinal plants in Ayurveda. Vaidya liked to quote Puranic texts that describe Amla as divyaushadhi, literally a “divine plant” (an honorific shared with turmeric and guduchi). This recognition is expressed in the Indian tradition of Amla Navami, literally the “day of Amla”, in which the Amla tree is ritually decorated and honored in gratitude for its precious gifts.
Vaidya also spoke of inferior and superior Amla plants. He considered the small and wild amla berries grown in dense forests to have superior medicinal qualities. More than this, he spoke of the importance of bhavana—the alchemical processing of medicinal plants in order to potentiate their therapeutic qualities. The bhavana of Amla involves harvesting the fresh fruit and removing the seeds and fiber. The fruit is then dried and pulverized into a powder. After this, fresh amla juice is added to the powdered amla and mixed together until a viscous paste is formed. The paste is then dried and ground into a powder again. The process is repeated 7 times.
In the Kitchen
Amla is often found in the kitchens of Indian households, where the raw berry is either pickled or marinated in spices. Amla berry can also be juiced. In sub-tropical climates, one will find Amla trees fruiting the most in Spring and Summer, the ideal times to consume Amla.
Use in Tibetan Medicine
In Tibetan Medicine, Amla is known as skyurura. It is used for its rejuvenating and blood-purifying qualities. It is the main ingredient in several herbal formulations, the most popular being Skyuru-25, a formula designed to clear heat from the Blood.
It's interesting to me that, given the heavy interchange of materia medica substances between Indian and Chinese cultural zones, China never took something as central to Ayurveda as amla (even while Chinese Medicine makes use of amala's triphala 'sibling,' haritaki).