Materials required:

1. Shirodhara device – 1
2. Varti – 1
3. Suitable oil – 1.5litres
4. Gauze – 1
5. Cotton earplugs – 2
6. Soft pillow covered with rexin – 1
7. Hotwaterbath -1
8. Vessels – 3
9. Nadisweda device – 1
10. Oil for Talam – 10ml
11. Rasnadi choorna – 5g
12. Soft towels – 2
13. Dhara patra – 1
14. Attendents – 2

Specification of Dhara patra and varti:

Dhara patra should be 5-6 inches depth with wide open mouth, round at the bottom with a capacity of approximately 2 litres. There should be a hole to the size of little finger at its centre of the bottom. There should be three holes with equal distance to the ridges of the patra, to tie up three strings for the purpose of hanging over the stand.

Dhara varthi is a wick or a string of loose cotton threads with a free end of about 4 inches coming out through the hole of dhara vessel. The threads of the wick should be packed only just firmly as not to slip of the hole, but loose enough to permit a continuous and uniform flow of the liquid that is poured in to the dhara vessel.

Pre operative procedure:

 Abhyanga should be done over the face, neck, shoulder and chest. (Whole body abhyanga can also be done) Gauze is tied around the head above the eyebrows of the patient. After closing the eyes cotton is kept over the eye lids and it should be tied with proper bandage. Ear plug should be applied.

Procedure:

Patient should lie in supine position on the droni with a pillow under the neck and the shirodhara device should be placed near his head .Eyes should be covered to protect from oil with cotton and gauze. Its height should be fixed such that oil should fall from a height of 4-5 inches in a continuous stream of little finger thickness. Serrated coconut shell should be placed inside the apparatus to maintain uniform dhara.  Oil should be heated just above body temperature (38 – 40^oC) and poured into the dharapatra . A continuous stream of oil should be allowed to fall on the entire forehead, while oscillating the dharapatra to cover the entire head. Uniform oscillation is required for uniform dhara .Simultaneous massage with other hand should also be done.

The oil should be recollected from the droni, reheated and poured back into the dharapatra.

Post operative procedure:

Gauze and earplugs should be removed and head must be wiped off with the towel. Rasnadi choorna should be applied over the head. Hot water bath can be done if prescribed, after 1 hour .Head bath should be done with lukewarm water.

Duration: 45 – 60 minutes for the required number of days. It may be done at 4 – 6 pm or 7 – 11am.

Precautions:

1. Special care should be taken to prevent falling of the oil into the eyes.
2. Patient should not sleep during the procedure.
3. Moderate height, thickness and speed of the fluid flow should be maintained.
4. Hair of the patient should be shaved as much as possible.

Complications:-

1. Fainting.
2. Headache.
3. Rhinitis.
4. Coldness of foot.