HALELA
English : Myrobalan/Chebulic myrobalan
Urdu : Har/Harda/Pila or kala Har/Halela Zard or siah or Kabuli
Telugu : Karitaki/Karaka Kaya/Karakhai
Description :
This is a moderate-sized sometimes large i.e 15-24 m in height, deciduous tree having leaves not clustered, sub-opposite, 10-18 cm, ovate and rounded at the base and often with glands at its summit. It has terminal spikes , dull-white flowers with an offensive smell and ellipsoidal or ovoid, yellow to orange-brown , sometimes tinged with red or black and hard when ripe, 3-5 cm long and become 5 -ribbed on drying.
In India. Six kinds of myrobalan are usually recognized and all these are the produce of one and
same tree:
i)Halela Zira
ii)Halela javi
iii)Halela Zangi
iv)Halela chini
v)Halela asfer
vi)Halela kabuli
Out of these, the following three kinds are commonly used in various remedies
1)As long as Stone has not formed in and act it drops from the tree like young mango fruit,it assume s a
black colour on drying and known as halela siah small or black myrobalan
2)when it is half-ripe and yellow , and stone has formed in , it is called halela zard i.e yellow myrobalan.
3)When it is fully ripe, it is called halela kabuli or kabuli myrobalan or large myrobalan
Action and Uses:
Black myrobalan is blood-purifier , brain tonic, stomachic, melanagogue , and styptic. Roasted
one is astrigent. It is usually used after mixing with almond oilor ghee.
Yellow myrobalan is a tonic to brain and vision, stomach and intestiness and to hair. It sharpens
the intellect and memory. It prevents hair from turning grey before the time, if used long time or
regularly.It is useful in fevers , coogh ,asthma ,piles and rheumatism. Its speciality is that unripe fruits are
more prugative and the ripe are astrigent.
Large myrobalan, rubbed in water and applied to the eyes by means of an eye-pencil is cooling and cleanses the eyes.
Externally, yellow myrobalan is used as a local application to chronic ulcers and wounds or as a
gargle of infusion of the drug in sore-mouth stomatitis and spongy gums.
Ibn sina’s view:
All varieties of myrobalan are cold and good anti-billious. Also good for leprosy. Kabuli variety
is good for senses , memory , intelligence and also useful for headache. Yellow variety is good for eye
and useful orally for palpitation and wild behaviour , also a cholagogue and phelgmagogue. Black variety
is specifiacally good for spleenic pain and digestive organs.