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The formulations treat conditions across the gastrointestinal tract (49.23% of formulations), the nervous system (40.77%), the circulatory system (7.69%), the reproductive system (6.54%) and the respiratory system (5.77%), with 22.69% acting on other conditions. Some formulations act on multiple body systems. Specific diseases and symptoms treated include indigestion, worm infestations, piles, diarrhoea, cough, asthma, hiccup, catarrh, epilepsy, cardiac ailments, anaemia, skin diseases, ulcers, gynaecological disorders, subfertility, fever, diabetes, cancer, serpent bites and urinary disorders.<ref name="diddeniya2021" /> | The formulations treat conditions across the gastrointestinal tract (49.23% of formulations), the nervous system (40.77%), the circulatory system (7.69%), the reproductive system (6.54%) and the respiratory system (5.77%), with 22.69% acting on other conditions. Some formulations act on multiple body systems. Specific diseases and symptoms treated include indigestion, worm infestations, piles, diarrhoea, cough, asthma, hiccup, catarrh, epilepsy, cardiac ailments, anaemia, skin diseases, ulcers, gynaecological disorders, subfertility, fever, diabetes, cancer, serpent bites and urinary disorders.<ref name="diddeniya2021" /> | ||
The most common preparatory method is ''guli'' (pills), accounting for 48.07% of formulations. Other methods include ''kalka'' (pastes, 12.69%), ''swarasa'' (fresh juices, 11.15%), ''choorna'' (powders, 9.23%), ''kashaya'' (decoctions, 8.46%), ''thel'' (oils, 6.15%), ''lepa/paththu'' (poultices, 2.69%) and other methods including ''basna'' (nutritional preparations) and ''vedu'' (fumigation, 1.72%).<ref name="diddeniya2021" /> | The most common preparatory method is ''guli'' (pills/balls), accounting for 48.07% of formulations. Other methods include ''kalka'' (pastes, 12.69%), ''swarasa'' (fresh juices, 11.15%), ''choorna'' (powders, 9.23%), ''kashaya'' (decoctions, 8.46%), ''thel'' (oils, 6.15%), ''lepa/paththu'' (poultices, 2.69%) and other methods including ''basna'' (nutritional preparations) and ''vedu'' (fumigation, 1.72%).<ref name="diddeniya2021" /> | ||
Cannabis is used at low concentrations in the majority of formulations. Of the 254 formulations where cannabis percentage could be calculated, 164 (63.08%) contain 5% or less cannabis by ingredient weight. Only two formulations (0.77%) contain more than 20%.<ref name="diddeniya2021" /> | Cannabis is used at low concentrations in the majority of formulations. Of the 254 formulations where cannabis percentage could be calculated, 164 (63.08%) contain 5% or less cannabis by ingredient weight. Only two formulations (0.77%) contain more than 20%.<ref name="diddeniya2021" /> | ||
Latest revision as of 15:15, 4 March 2026
| Author | Multiple traditional medicine practitioners (compiled by Department of Ayurveda) |
|---|---|
| Language | Sinhala (Vols. I–XX); Tamil (Vol. XXI) |
| Published | 1992–present (21 volumes) |
| Publisher | Department of Ayurveda, Government of Sri Lanka |
| Place | Colombo |
| Total pages | Unknown (21 volumes) |
| Regions documented | Sri Lanka |
|---|---|
| Preparations | Cannabis in 267 formulations: pills (guli), pastes (kalka), decoctions (kashaya), powders (choorna), fresh juices (swarasa), oils (thel), poultices (lepa/paththu), fumigation (vedu), nutritional preparations (basna) |
| Uses documented | Gastrointestinal disorders, nervous system disorders, respiratory conditions, circulatory disorders, reproductive disorders, fever, diabetes, epilepsy, cancer, skin diseases, serpent bites, urinary disorders |
| Original held at | Navinna Research Institute; Institute of Indigenous Medicine, Rajagiriya (ola leaf manuscripts). Published volumes held by Department of Ayurveda and university libraries across Sri Lanka. |
|---|
The Thalpathe Piliyam (තල්පත් පිළියම්, "Palm-leaf Remedies") is a twenty-one-volume compilation of traditional medical formulae published by the Department of Ayurveda of the Government of Sri Lanka, beginning in 1992. The series transcribes and organises drug formulations recorded on ola leaf (palm-leaf) manuscripts donated by families of traditional medicine practitioners. It is the largest published collection of Sri Lankan indigenous medical formulae[1] and contains at least 267 formulations that include Cannabis sativa as an ingredient.[2]
Origins
The Thalpathe Piliyam was compiled from ola leaf manuscripts held at two institutional collections: the Navinna Research Institute and the library of the Institute of Indigenous Medicine in Rajagiriya (a suburb of Colombo). The manuscripts had been donated to the Department of Ayurveda by practitioners who held them as family property. Traditional medicine in Sri Lanka operates through hereditary lineages (paramparā), each specialising in particular domains:[1] Akshi roga wedakama (eye diseases), Sarpa wedakama (serpent bites), Davum pilissum wedakama (burns), Unmaada chikitsa (insanity) and others. The formulae compiled in these volumes represent the documented knowledge of multiple such lineages.[2]
The first volume was published in 1992 by the Department of Ayurveda with financial and technical support from the World Health Organization. Publication continued over subsequent years until all twenty-one volumes were issued. Twenty volumes are in Sinhala; the twenty-first is in Tamil.[2]
Cannabis content
Diddeniya and Kulatunga (2021), working at the Institute of Indigenous Medicine whose library supplied part of the source material, conducted the only published systematic review of cannabis content across all twenty-one volumes. They identified 267 formulations containing cannabis as a measured ingredient and a further 13 formulations using cannabis as a grinding medium, for a total of 280 formulations involving the plant.[2]
The formulations treat conditions across the gastrointestinal tract (49.23% of formulations), the nervous system (40.77%), the circulatory system (7.69%), the reproductive system (6.54%) and the respiratory system (5.77%), with 22.69% acting on other conditions. Some formulations act on multiple body systems. Specific diseases and symptoms treated include indigestion, worm infestations, piles, diarrhoea, cough, asthma, hiccup, catarrh, epilepsy, cardiac ailments, anaemia, skin diseases, ulcers, gynaecological disorders, subfertility, fever, diabetes, cancer, serpent bites and urinary disorders.[2]
The most common preparatory method is guli (pills/balls), accounting for 48.07% of formulations. Other methods include kalka (pastes, 12.69%), swarasa (fresh juices, 11.15%), choorna (powders, 9.23%), kashaya (decoctions, 8.46%), thel (oils, 6.15%), lepa/paththu (poultices, 2.69%) and other methods including basna (nutritional preparations) and vedu (fumigation, 1.72%).[2]
Cannabis is used at low concentrations in the majority of formulations. Of the 254 formulations where cannabis percentage could be calculated, 164 (63.08%) contain 5% or less cannabis by ingredient weight. Only two formulations (0.77%) contain more than 20%.[2]
Relationship to other Sri Lankan medical texts
The Thalpathe Piliyam draws on the same tradition as the classical Sinhalese medical texts listed by Weliange (2018), but it is not a single-author work or a text from any specific historical period.[1] It is a modern government compilation of formulae that had been transmitted within practitioner families on palm-leaf manuscripts, many of unknown date. The older named texts in the tradition include the Sarartha Sangrahaya attributed to King Buddhadasa (4th century AD), the Yogarnavaya and Prayagorathnavaliya (both 1232) and the Vaidyacintamani (1707).[3] The relationship between specific formulae in the Thalpathe Piliyam and those in the named historical texts has not been studied.[1]
Other academic work drawing on the Thalpathe Piliyam includes studies of dental caries treatments referencing the Sarartha Samgraha, Bhaisajja Manjusa, Prayogaratnavali, Yogarnava and Varayogasara alongside all 21 volumes,[4] and studies of indigenous pressure points (Nila) cross-referencing the Yogarnawaya and the Thalpathe Piliyam series.[5]
The ola leaf tradition
Ola (ඕල) refers to the prepared leaves of the talipot palm (Corypha umbraculifera) or the palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifer), used across South and Southeast Asia as a writing surface before the introduction of paper. In Sri Lanka, ola leaf manuscripts were the standard medium for recording religious, literary, astrological and medical texts for centuries. The leaves were dried, treated, cut into strips and inscribed with a metal stylus; the incised letters were then filled with carbon ink. Ola manuscripts are vulnerable to insect damage, humidity and handling, and survival rates are uncertain.[1]
The Department of Ayurveda's decision to transcribe and publish these manuscripts in the Thalpathe Piliyam series was an act of preservation.[1] Many of the formulae had existed only as single copies held within practitioner families.[2] The WHO's involvement reflects an international interest in documenting traditional medical knowledge before manuscript losses rendered it unrecoverable.[1]
Limitations
This page is based entirely on the description provided by Diddeniya and Kulatunga (2021). The Landrace.Wiki project has not examined any volume of the Thalpathe Piliyam directly. The series is published in Sinhala (and one volume in Tamil) and has not been translated into English. The following remain unknown:[1]
- The titles and subject matter of individual volumes
- The total number of formulations across all volumes (267 is the cannabis subset only)
- The dating of individual ola leaf manuscripts from which the formulae were transcribed
- Which specific practitioner lineages contributed manuscripts
- Whether the cannabis-containing formulations overlap with or differ from those in the named historical texts (Sarartha Sangrahaya, Yogarnavaya, etc.)
- The total page count of the series
The published volumes are held by the Department of Ayurveda and by the Institute of Indigenous Medicine library in Rajagiriya. Availability outside Sri Lanka is unknown.
See also
External links
- Diddeniya and Kulatunga (2021) — open access paper
- "267 Formulations on Palm Leaf: Cannabis in Sri Lankan Traditional Medicine" — Zomia Collective blog post discussing this source
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Dillon, Éloïse. "267 Formulations on Palm Leaf: Cannabis in Sri Lankan Traditional Medicine." Zomia Collective (Patreon), March 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Diddeniya, J. I. D. and W. M. S. S. K. Kulatunga (2021). "Cannabis (Cannabis sativa) Containing Drug Formulations Mentioned in 'Thalpathe piliyam': A Review." South Asian Journal of Social Studies and Economics 11(4): 1–8. DOI: 10.9734/SAJSSE/2021/v11i430290.
- ↑ Weliange, W. S. (2018). "History of Medical Cannabis in Sri Lanka." Journal of Neurology and Neurophysiology 9. DOI: 10.4172/2155-9562-C9-085.
- ↑ "Medical Formulas for Krimidanta (Dental Caries) in Indigenous Medicine in Sri Lanka: A Literary Review." International Journal of Ayurveda and Pharma Research (2016).
- ↑ Samaranayake, G.V.P. et al. "Literature-Based Study on Indigenous Nila Points and Marma with Special Reference to Yogarnawaya and Thalpathe Piliyam." University of Sri Jayewardenepura.