# Sarvāṅga Vamana

> Sarvāṅga Vamana is the record's name for generalized therapeutic emesis, a pañcakarma śodhana procedure. It is classed vaidya-only: several days of internal oleation and whole-body oleation with sudation precede the emetic drink, which is given under monitoring, and a graded diet follows for a week. Not something to attempt.

## Key facts

- **Sanskrit name:** सर्वाङ्ग वमन / Sarvāṅga Vamana

## What it is

The source record lists Sarvāṅga Vamana under pañcakarma, glosses it in English as generalized therapeutic emesis, and marks its practitioner level vaidya-only. A note on the name: the *sarvāṅga* (whole-body) qualifier appears in the record's own preparatory step as a description of the abhyaṅga and svedana, not of the emesis. "Sarvāṅga Vamana" is not a chapter heading in any of the classical sources checked for this page, and it should be read as a database label rather than a classical term of art.

## Where it comes from in the classical literature

The record cites Caraka Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 15, the Upakalpanīya Adhyāya, and the citation holds. That chapter sets out what a physician needs in place before administering vamana or virecana: a suitable facility, attendants, instruments and medicines. It also covers the prior assessment of doṣa, agni, koṣṭha and the patient's unctuousness, the seasons suitable for śodhana, the timing of snehana and svedana, and the pre-procedure, procedure and post-procedure conduct, including the signs of inadequate, proper and excessive purification, the complications, and the dietary regimen during and after therapy.

## What the sequence involves

The record describes three stages, in these terms:

- **Pūrva-karma** — snehapāna for five to seven days, followed by whole-body abhyaṅga with svedana.
- **Pradhāna-karma** — a vamanopaga drink, administered with samya-yoga monitoring, meaning the practitioner watches for the signs that mark a correctly completed procedure.
- **Paścāt-karma** — saṃsarjana-krama, a graded reintroduction of food, over seven days.

That is the whole of what the record specifies. It names no drug, no quantity, no temperature and no endpoint criterion.

## Why it needs a vaidya

The judgement that makes this procedure safe is not written down in the record at all: what to give, how much, and above all when to stop. Caraka's own framing in Sūtrasthāna 15 is institutional rather than domestic — the chapter is about assembling a facility, staff and supplies before starting, and about recognising under- and over-purification once you have. This is a procedure carried out on a patient in a clinical setting by a qualified vaidya, and there is no home version of it.

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Canonical version of this page: https://nighantu.ageayurveda.com/practice/sarvanga-vamana/

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.