# Choorṇa-Piṇḍa-Sveda (Powder-Bolus Sudation)

> Choorṇa-Piṇḍa-Sveda is bolus sudation using pouches of herbal powder. The source record describes Triphalā or Kola-kulattha cūrṇa applied dry and worked over the body in strokes against the direction of hair growth. It is delivered by a trained therapist, and the record gives no duration, temperature or frequency.

## Key facts

- **Sanskrit name:** Cūrṇa-Piṇḍa-Sveda

## What it is

Choorṇa-Piṇḍa-Sveda is a piṇḍa sveda, a bolus form of sudation, in which heated material is tied into a pouch and applied to the body rather than the body being placed in vapour. The source record classes it as kriyā-bāhya, an external procedure, in the piṇḍa subcategory, and glosses it as powder-bolus svedana. The distinguishing feature against the oil-based and rice-based boluses is that the filling is dry powder.

## What a session involves

The record gives two steps only: boluses of Triphalā or Kola-kulattha cūrṇa, applied dry, and strokes made ūrdhva-mukha, which the record itself glosses as against the direction of hair growth. It gives no bolus temperature, no session length, no number of sessions and no frequency. Practitioner descriptions of the same procedure distinguish a dry (rūkṣa) version from an unctuous (snigdha) one in which the powder is warmed in or dipped in medicated oil; the record specifies the dry version.

## What is used

Triphalā cūrṇa and Kola-kulattha cūrṇa are the two the record names. Kolakulatthādi cūrṇa is a compound whose ingredients are attributed to classical formulary sources including Sahasrayoga. Practitioner sources list several other cūrṇas in use for the same procedure, among them Koṭṭamcukkādi, Jaṭāmayādi, Gṛhadhūmādi, Rāsnādi and Daśāṅga, but the record names none of these and they should not be read into it.

## Where the citation stands

The record cites Sahasrayogam. Sahasrayogam is a Kerala compendium of formulations, organised by preparation type: kaṣāya, taila, ghṛta, cūrṇa, āsava and ariṣṭa, vaṭi and guṭikā, lehya. That structure makes it a credible source for the powder itself and a poor fit as the source of a procedure, and I could not confirm that the procedure is described there. The classical antecedent for bolus sudation is saṅkara sveda, the first of the thirteen fire-based sudations in Caraka Sūtrasthāna 14. See the citation note.

## What to ask before booking

Because the record fixes neither temperature nor duration, both are the practitioner's judgement on the day. Practitioner accounts describe the therapist testing the bolus on the back of their own hand before it touches the patient, which is a reasonable thing to see done. Worth establishing too is which cūrṇa is being used and why, since the record's two are not the only ones in circulation.

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Canonical version of this page: https://nighantu.ageayurveda.com/practice/choorna-pinda-sveda/

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.