A COMPARATIVE CLINICAL STUDY OF KWATHA DHARA AND TAIL DHARA INSTRESS MANAGEMENT

In ancient India, it was said that worry (chinta) had more detrimental effects than a funeral pyre (Chita). Today, stress is recognised as a major factor impacting human health, affecting physical, mental, and emotional well-being. In Ayurveda, stress is viewed as a condition resulting from pragyaparadha (intellectual errors). Alt-hough this procedure is not classically detailed under Panchakarma, Ayurvedic scholars have included it under snehana karma. This treatment can serve as a preparatory step or a primary therapy in Panchakarma, depend-ing on the patient's condition. Shirodhara is recommended for various conditions including insomnia, ADHD, anxiety disorders, phobias, depression, hypertension, and other psychosomatic issues. This paper presents evi-dence supporting the classical Ayurvedic procedure of “shirodhara” and reviews recent research to explore its potential mechanisms of action.