Ayurveda · 1 min read
What a Mortar and Pestle Can Tell Us
A steel mixer may sit on the counter while a small stone mortar remains within reach. The question is not which tool is more authentic. Ask what the cook…
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Stories, places & everyday traditions
Explore Indian heritage through clear introductions to sacred places, thoughtful readings of familiar texts, and practical guides to living traditions.
20 articles in this topic
Ayurveda · 1 min read
The Two Questions Behind the Word Ayurveda
A grandmother describes the ginger tea she makes when the rains begin. A physician describes a preparation prescribed after an examination. Both speakers may use the word Ayurveda, but…
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How to Read an Ayurvedic Product Label
Turn the packet over before reading the promises on its front. Can you identify the ingredients, the maker, the batch, the date and the intended use? If the information…
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How to Read a Samhita in Translation
Open a translation of a Sanskrit medical compendium and look at a single page before reading its advice. Is there a numbered passage, a paragraph underneath, and perhaps a…
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A Kitchen Notebook Worth Passing On
An old recipe that says “a little” may frustrate the next reader, yet that phrase can be the beginning of a good interview. Hand the original cook an empty…
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The Five Elements: Reading a Classical Model
A clay lamp makes a useful companion to a discussion of the five elements. You can point to the firm rim, the liquid oil, the flame, the moving air…
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What Counts as Evidence for an Ayurvedic Remedy?
Suppose twelve people say they slept better after a residential programme. Their accounts deserve attention. During the visit, though, they may also have changed their hours, stopped commuting and…
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Vata, Pitta and Kapha Beyond the Personality Quiz
An online quiz asks whether you prefer cool weather and returns a label in large type: Pitta. What has it actually measured? At most, your answers to a particular…
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A Plant Name Is Only the Start of Identification
At a market stall a name may refer to the ingredient everyone nearby expects to buy. Move the conversation to another language or district and that certainty can disappear.…
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Prakriti: What a Family Resemblance Cannot Tell You
Two sisters can grow up eating at the same table and still describe hunger, sleep and comfort in the heat differently. Prakriti, usually translated as constitution, gives Ayurvedic writers…
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Agni and the Language of the Kitchen Fire
A cook knows that a flame can be present without cooking a pot evenly. That observation gives an English reader a foothold in agni, the image of fire used…
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Dhatu: Why Translators Disagree About Tissue
Imagine labelling a museum illustration of the body. The Sanskrit term asthi fits fairly comfortably beside the English word bone. Other labels are less tidy. Rasa, for example, can…
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