Traditional medicinal knowledge about common herbs and herbal combinations used as Sex tonic and Aphrodisiac in Chhattisgarh, India.

Research Note - Pankaj Oudhia
© 2001,2002,2003 Pankaj Oudhia - All Rights Reserved

Through the recent ethnobotanical surveys conducted in different parts of Chhattisgarh, I have collected a lot of information on common herbs and herbal combinations used as sex tonic and Aphrodisiac. In previous article, I have written a lot on this aspect but the information I collected was based on single herb use. Through the recent surveys. I collected information on herbal combinations in which many herbs are mixed and according to the healers, the combinations are more powerful as compared to single herb based use. The traditional healers of Bastar region prepare a special herbal oil by mixing common herbs. The seeds of Peng (Celastrus paniculatus), Kuchla (Strychnos nuxvomica) and Parsa (Butea monosperma) are mixed in equal proportion and dipped a litre of cow milk over night. Next morning, the combination is boiled in base oil. When all watery contents evaporate, boiling is stopped and oil is stored for future use. As base oil, Til (Sesamum indicum) or Sarson (Mustard) oil is used. The healers of different parts of Bastar add or delete one or more herbs in this oil. Many healers add the whole herb of indigenous species of Akarkara (Spilanthes acmella) to make the oil more useful. This herbal oil is applied externally on male genitals just before intercourse. According to the healers, its regular use increases the retention time to great extent. The healers informed me that the natives having soft skin, may feel irritation after its use upto long time. To nullify this effect, the healers use the goat milk in place of cow milk for dipping the herbs. The traditional healers of Chhattisgarh Plains are also aware of this combination. They add the excreta of Pareva (wild Pigeon) in this combination. The herbs used in this combination are commonly available in Chhattisgarh. The healers of Bastar region also use the whole plant juice of Dhatra (Datura stramonium) and Peng seeds for preparation of special oil. The Peng seeds are mixed with Dhatra juice and in this combination, a piece of white cloth is dipped. Cloth is kept as such in solution upto one month. After this duration, it is taken out and dried in shade. The dried cloth is put in Til (Sesame) oil and herbal oil is prepared by adopting above mentioned method. Although many healers are aware of this herbal oil but I have found this oil with very few healers. Possibly due to long time required for its preparation, is the main reason for this. The natives who have used (or using) this oil are its fan. They are ready to pay high price for this herbal oil. But the traditional healers give it to the patients only. According to them, it is a medicinal oil and not fit for all the natives. Many healers informed me that in normal cases, they use only Dhatra juice for preparation of oil. In such preparation, they dip the cloth in juice only upto 20 days. They further informed that little more time is required to get desirable effect from Peng and Dhatra combination. This is the reason they keep the combination upto a month. Dhatra herb collected before flowering is considered best. Dhatra herb growing with Fudhar (Calotropis gigantea) herb in nature is not preferred. Why? The healers have no scientific explanation.

Whether the presence of Fudhar destroys or minimizes the medicinal properties of Dhatra herb or there is any other reason- I am trying hard to get scientific explanation. I personally think that with the help of Allelopathy science, we can provide the scientific explanation in more promising ways. Dhatra and Fudhar both are waste land herbs in Chhattisgarh and the scenes having Dhatra and Fudhar growing side by side are common. I have written a lot on traditional uses of Fudhar but never heard that the healers do not prefer the Fudhar herb growing by the side of Dhatra herb. Dhatra and Fudhar are common herbs in many parts of the world. Through this article I would like to request the researchers to pay attention on this relationship between these herbs in their parts of the world. As aphrodisiac, the use of fresh latex of Fudhar is also popular among the traditional healers. The healers mix the latex with cow ghee in equal proportion. I would like to mention here that the healers add it in different proportions also. Many healers add Shahad (Honey) in this combination. Fudhar latex, ghee and Shahad are mixed in equal proportion. All types of combinations are in use in different parts of Chhattisgarh. After mixing the ingredients, the combination is kept as such for at least 12 hours. In every hour, it is stirred lightly. After completion of duration, this combination is applied externally on male genitals. Many healers suggest the patients that after massage, do not wash it and also do not perform intercourse upto at least two hours. There are healers that suggest the patients to perform intercourse just after its application. The healers that are against the use of Shahad claims that presence of Shahad in combination acts as contraceptives. Hence its use should be avoided. The healers that are in favour of its use claim that its role as birth control measure is additional benefit of this combination. The traditional healers using Fudhar latex, ghee and Shahad, strictly instruct the patients, not to perform oral sex as these intake of combination can act as poison. All these information seems complicated, atleast for me but for the healers and users, there is no problem. This is me who have talked to different healers. The healers have no communication among them, so they are not aware of these variations existing in different parts of Chhattisgarh. In routine research papers of academic importance you will not find these details but I feel as researcher it is my moral responsibility to write about all aspects without any alteration in original information. In reference literatures related to different systems of medicine in India specially in Ayurveda, many Fudhar based formulations have been mentioned but thh ways the healers of Chhattisgarh use it, are not mentioned. The traditional healers of Bagbahera region prepare another herbal combination using both Fudhar root and Dhatra whole herb juice. They add other herbs also in this combination. Kaner (Thevetia nerifolia), Dhatra, Bhang (Cannabis sativa) and Fudhar roots are mixed in equal proportion. After mixing, the mixture is crushed and converted into powder form. This powder is then converted into small globules with the help of Dhatra whole herb juice. The patients are advised to keep these globules with them and before intercourse mix the globule in human urine and massage the paste on male genitals. This combination is very popular among the healers. It is cheap in price because most of the ingredients grow as common wasteland herb in this part of Chhattisgarh. According to the healers, this combination helps in increasing the retention time. Although the users claim that it gives extra pleasure but the healers say it is another way of saying the same thing. In my previous articles, I have mentioned a rare herb Telia kand. I have still not found its botanical name. The traditional healers of Bhopalpatnam region, informed me that they use Telia kand in combination with Ama Haldi (Curcuma amada) for this purpose. The rhizomes of both herbs are converted into powder and mixed in equal proportion. After mixing, with the help of water aqueous paste in prepared. This paste is applied on male genitals, two hours before the intercourse. According to them, they use it in their routine practice.

Every time when I provide traditional medicinal knowledge about herbs used as sex tonic and aphrodisiac in Chhattisgarh, through my research articles at Botanical.com and post it to different groups, suddenly hundreds of e-mails flood my inbox. Many want to know more about this, many send the details of their products, many send the address of adult websites, Now, I have developed enough resistance to delete and block all these mails. The internet has provided us many facilities and with these facilities, there is no problem if I have to face little trouble. I am happy and satisfied that atleast through this modern tool, the valuable knowledge is spreading all over the world.

Thank you very much for reading the article.