Bidalaka
Bidalaka is a medicated paste spread over the closed eyelid, one of the netra kriyākalpa procedures of Ayurvedic ophthalmology. The source record describes a cooling paste of Candana or Triphalā applied to the shut lid. It is marked vaidya-only: clinic work, not something to try at home.
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
Bidalaka is the application of a medicated paste to the skin of the closed eyelid. It sits in the netra kriyākalpa group, the set of localised procedures used in Ayurvedic ophthalmology. Reviews of that literature list seven kriyākalpas: seka (irrigation of the closed eye), āścyotana (drops), piṇḍī (poultice), bidalaka (paste on the lid skin), tarpaṇa, puṭapāka and añjana (collyrium). Piṇḍī is described as the closely related poultice form, working by the same route of contact with lid skin.
The source record classifies it as kriyā-bāhya, an external procedure, and glosses it in English as “localized eyelid paste”.
Where it comes from in the classical literature
The record cites Suśruta Uttara-tantra 18. That chapter is Suśruta’s general chapter on ocular measures, but the kriyākalpas Suśruta names are five: tarpaṇa, puṭapāka, seka or pariṣeka, āścyotana and añjana. Bidalaka is not among them.
Secondary reviews consistently attribute bidalaka and piṇḍī to later authors. The most specific attribution found is Śārṅgadhara Saṃhitā, Uttara Khaṇḍa chapter 13 (Netrakarmādi-vidhi), a chapter given over to eye procedures which sets out all seven kriyākalpas including bidalaka; one source instead credits Vāgbhaṭa with adding vidalaka as a sixth. The primary Śārṅgadhara text could not be read in this session, so the corrected citation is recorded as unverified rather than confirmed.
What it involves
The record gives a single step: a cooling paste applied to the closed lid. It gives no quantity, no paste thickness, no contact time, no frequency and no course length, and none is supplied here. Kriyākalpa reviews describe the procedure being carried out with the patient supine, eyes closed, under aseptic precautions.
What is used
The record names Candana (sandalwood) and Triphalā as the paste dravyas. It names no oil, no vehicle and no instrument.
Who should do it and why
The record marks bidalaka vaidya-only. Two things follow from what the record does and does not contain. The material sits on the lid margin, millimetres from the ocular surface, so selection of the dravya, the grinding medium and the aseptic handling are not incidental details. And the record carries no indication list, no contraindications, no adverse-event data and no duration, which means there is nothing here that could be turned into a home protocol even if that were appropriate. Anyone considering it should have an eye examination first and ask the practitioner for their own textual source, given that the citation on this record does not check out.
Cautions
- Not a home procedure. The record marks it vaidya-only and it places material on the lid margin next to the ocular surface.
- The classical citation on the source record is wrong, and the corrected one could not be confirmed against a primary text. Ask a practitioner offering bidalaka for their own source.
- The record gives no dose, paste quantity, contact time, frequency or course length. Any such figure quoted elsewhere did not come from this record.
- The record carries no indications, no contraindications and no adverse-event data, so nothing is known here about who should avoid it.
- Anything applied around the eye can reach the ocular surface. Eye symptoms need an eye examination before any procedure is chosen.
Substances named
Candana, Triphalā
Classical source
Śārṅgadhara Saṃhitā, Uttara Khaṇḍa 13 (Netrakarmādi-vidhi), correcting the record's "Sushruta Uttara 18" — not independently confirmed; treat the locus as approximate
The record's citation (Suśruta Uttara-tantra 18) does not cover this procedure: Suśruta's kriyākalpas are five (tarpaṇa, puṭapāka, seka, āścyotana, añjana) and bidalaka is not one of them. Secondary reviews place bidalaka among the seven kriyākalpas of Śārṅgadhara Saṃhitā Uttara Khaṇḍa 13; one source credits Vāgbhaṭa instead. The primary Śārṅgadhara text was not readable in this session, so the corrected citation is left unverified.
Common questions
- Is bidalaka just an eye pack, like cucumber slices or a cold compress?
- No. It is a specific medicated paste applied to the skin of the closed eyelid, listed among the netra kriyākalpas, the localised procedures of Ayurvedic ophthalmology. The source record marks it vaidya-only, and it gives no version of the procedure that could be done at home.
- Does the paste go into the eye?
- The record describes it as applied to the closed lid, not into the eye. That is also why it is not a casual procedure: material sitting on the lid margin is a short distance from the ocular surface, which is part of why the record restricts it to a qualified vaidya.
- The clinic told me bidalaka is from Sushruta. Is that right?
- Probably not. Suśruta's kriyākalpas are five (tarpaṇa, puṭapāka, seka, āścyotana, añjana) and bidalaka is not one of them. Reviews attribute bidalaka to later authors, most consistently to Śārṅgadhara's Uttara Khaṇḍa chapter 13. It is reasonable to ask a practitioner which text they are working from.
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.