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.
Requires a qualified vaidya. This is clinical work requiring a qualified vaidya, and often a supervised setting. It is described here so you understand what it is and why it needs supervision. It is not something to attempt, and this page is deliberately not a set of instructions.
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.
Cautions
- Vaidya-only. Both component procedures, anuvāsana and niruha basti, are internally administered and vaidya-only in their own right.
- The record gives no criteria at all for choosing between the 8, 16 and 30 basti courses, and no indications or contraindications.
- Sources disagree on how the totals break down internally, so any specific day-by-day schedule found online should be checked against the translation it claims to come from.
- The record gives no quantities, no frequency beyond the alternating pattern, and no adverse-event or red-flag data.
- A longer course is not a stronger version of a self-care measure; it is more of an internal clinical procedure, and the scheduling is a clinical decision.
Substances named
Sahacarādi Taila
Classical source
Caraka Saṃhitā, Siddhisthāna 1 to 12 (course lengths at Siddhisthāna 1, Kalpanā Siddhi) — checked against a published translation
Checked. Caraka Siddhisthāna is the basti section of the Caraka Saṃhitā, and an English translation of Siddhisthāna 1 (Kalpanā Siddhi) verses 47 to 49 gives karma basti as 30, kāla basti as 16 and yoga basti as 8, with anuvāsana and niruha administered one alternating with the other. Two independent secondary sources agreed on the totals and on the alternating pattern but disagreed on the internal breakdown, so only the totals are printed.
Common questions
- What do yoga basti, kala basti and karma basti mean?
- They are the three standard course lengths for a basti regimen: yoga basti totals 8 bastis, kāla basti 16, and karma basti 30. Caraka's Siddhisthāna 1 gives these totals, with the oil and decoction enemas alternating through the course.
- Does a 30-day karma basti mean 30 separate enemas?
- The number refers to the total count of bastis in the course, 30 in the case of karma basti, made up of alternating anuvāsana and niruha bastis with extra anuvāsana bastis at the start and end. Sources differ on the exact internal split.
- Which course would suit me?
- Nothing in this record answers that. It gives the three lengths and no selection criteria, no indications and no contraindications. That choice belongs to a qualified vaidya who has assessed the person.
Reviewed by Dr. Awadesh Pratap Singh, BAMS, on 18 September 2026. What that review covered.
Consult a qualified vaidya before acting on anything here. Ayurvedic practice is prescribed to a person, not to a condition: the same procedure is given, modified or withheld depending on your constitution, your agni, the season and what else you are already doing. A page cannot know any of that.