# Agnikarma > Agnikarma is therapeutic cautery: a heated metal implement applied briefly to marked points on the body, leaving a deliberate burn that is then dressed until it heals. Suśruta gives it a whole chapter. It is a clinical procedure for a qualified vaidya only and must never be improvised. ## Key facts - **Sanskrit name:** Agnikarma ## What it is Agnikarma is therapeutic cautery, the controlled burning of a marked point on the body with a heated implement. The source record classes it as an external procedure (kriyā-bāhya) and marks it vaidya-only. It produces a wound: the record's own aftercare calls for daily dressing until healing. ## Why this page carries no method This is a burn, applied on purpose, by someone who has been trained to judge how hot, how long and how deep. Both too much and too little are recognised failure states in the classical literature and in the record. There is no version of this to try at home, on someone else, or in a non-clinical setting, and nothing on this page should be read as instructions for doing it. ## Where it comes from in the classical literature Suśruta Saṃhitā, Sūtrasthāna 12, is the Agnikarma-vidhi-adhyāya, a chapter given over entirely to cautery. It names metal rods among the implements used, and describes four patterns of application: the ring, the dot, lateral or slanting lines, and the rubbing mode. The record's terms bindu, lekhā and pratisaraṇa correspond to the dot, line and rubbing patterns. The same chapter prescribes an unguent of honey and clarified butter over the cauterized area afterwards, and grades burns into four states, plushta, durdagdha, samyag-dagdha and ati-dagdha, each calling for a different response, from warm fomentation through to cooling applications. ## Who the classical text excludes Suśruta's chapter contraindicates cautery in the elderly, in infants, in people with excessive bile (pitta), in the weak, and in those with widespread ulcers. ## What the record names A pañcadhātu (five-metal) śalākā as the implement, heated before application. Suśruta's chapter names metal rods generally, without naming this alloy, so the pañcadhātu detail comes from the record and not from the classical chapter. Afterwards, a mixture of ghṛta and madhu (ghee and honey) applied immediately for the burning sensation (dāha), water avoided for 24 hours, and daily wound dressing until the site heals. The ghee and honey aftercare matches Suśruta's chapter. ## What can go wrong The record lists three adverse events: atiyoga, an excessive burn; ayoga, insufficient effect; and secondary infection. Its single red flag is severe pain or signs of a deeper tissue burn. Anyone who has had agnikarma and has either of those should be seen, not managed at home. --- Canonical version of this page: https://nighantu.ageayurveda.com/practice/agnikarma/ Published by Age Ayurveda in the Nighantu. Educational reference only, not medical advice. Incorporates material from the Amidha Ayurveda Herb Database under CC BY 4.0.