# Anuvāsana-Niruha-Krama

> This is the sequencing rule for a course of basti: the oil enema and the decoction enema given on alternating days, repeated to make a course of fixed length. Caraka's Siddhisthāna defines three standard lengths. It describes how a vaidya schedules pañcakarma, not something a reader arranges.

## Key facts

- **Sanskrit name:** Anuvāsana-Niruha-Krama

## What it is

Anuvāsana-niruha-krama is not a separate procedure so much as the order in which two existing ones are given. The record describes anuvāsana (the medicated oil enema) on day one and niruha (the decoction enema) on day two, alternating, repeated to fill out a course. The record marks it vaidya-only, which is consistent: the two component procedures are themselves vaidya-only.

## The three standard course lengths

The record names three, and Caraka's Siddhisthāna confirms the totals:

- **Yoga basti**, 8 bastis in total
- **Kāla basti**, 16 bastis in total
- **Karma basti**, 30 bastis in total

These totals appear in Caraka Siddhisthāna 1 (Kalpanā Siddhi), around verses 47 to 49, where the anuvāsana and niruha bastis are described as being given one alternating with the other, with additional anuvāsana bastis at the beginning and the end of the course.

A caution on the internal arithmetic: published translations and summaries disagree about exactly how the totals break down, for instance whether karma basti is 1 + 12 + 12 + 5 or 1 + 8 + 16 + 3 + 2. The totals of 8, 16 and 30 and the alternating principle are consistent across sources; the internal split is not, so it is not stated here.

## Where it comes from in the classical literature

Caraka Saṃhitā, Siddhisthāna, chapters 1 to 12. Siddhisthāna is the section of the Caraka Saṃhitā devoted to basti, and chapter 1, Kalpanā Siddhi, is where the three course lengths are laid out.

## What is used

The record names two oils for the anuvāsana component: Mahānārāyaṇa Taila and Sahacarādi Taila. It names nothing for the niruha component, which is given with a decoction rather than an oil.

## Why a reader cannot pick a course length

The record gives the three lengths and nothing about how to choose between them: no indications, no contraindications, no criteria, no per-person quantities. Choosing between an 8-day and a 30-day course of internally administered procedures is precisely the decision the vaidya-only marking exists for. A page can tell you what the three options are called; it cannot tell you which one applies to you.

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Canonical version of this page: https://nighantu.ageayurveda.com/practice/anuvasana-niruha-krama/

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.