Theories of tissue nourishment - part2

BLOG BY DR.HEMANGINI WAGHULADE

            DHATUPOSHANA NYAAYAS - PART 2

                               (Different Theories Related To Nourishment Of Tissues)

               KEDARA-KULYA NYAYA (LAW OF TRANSMISSION)

According to this theory, the process of nourishment of tissues can be linked to irrigation of different fields by water from a canal.

         

                 Kedar means paddy fields, Kulya means Canal. This nyaya compares the nourishment of  tissues with irrigation canals in fields. Kedar Kulya Nyaya means nourishment of dhatus by transportation process just as different fields are irrigated from the same canal passing through those fields one after another. The water that flows through canal first irrigate the nearest field and then it goes further to irrigate the next field and this process goes on.Aahara rasa contains nutrients of all    tissues.As rasa dhatu is nearest; it reaches to rasavaha srotas first. According to this law, When aahara rasa reaches rasa dhatu through rasavaha srotas,with the help of rasa dhatvagni,it nourishes     rasa dhatu and some portion of ahara rasa attains the characteristics of rasa dhatu.The remaining part of ahara rasa proceeds to raktavaha srotas and nourishes rakta dhatu. Like this  aahar rasa circulate from tissue to tissue to nourish them one after another.

From this law it is clear that dhatus are nourished by aahara rasa through specific dhatuvaha srotas or channel and with the help of dhatvagni ,a part of aahara rasa or dhatuposhaka amsha nourishes the specific dhatu.This law also indicates that rasa dhatu is nourished earlier than mamsa as it is nearer to channel and mamsa dhatu is farther away.Also it is clear that rakta dhatu is formed after rasa dhatu and so on.By this law, action of milk on shukra can be explained.Also it is clear that medavriddhi cannot necessarily cause asthivriddhi.

  

KHALE KAPOTA NYAYA (LAW OF SELECTION)

According to this theory,  process of nourishment of dhatus takes place by selection.Khala means khalian or field where in the grains are heaped after cutting the crop. Kapota means Dove or pigeon.

Khale Kapota Nyaya means selection of individual items of requirement by individual dhatwagnis from aahar rasa which can contain all the nutrient principles.

As pigeons come from different directions & distances to heap of grains on field or floor and fly away after collecting some part to their own places of dwelling either early or late depending upon distance and direction they require to travel, similarly nourishment of tissues take place. The field indicates aahara rasa.The pigeons are poshaka dhatus..The dwellings or nests are sthayee or stable dhatus . The travelling route of pigeon indicates respective dhatuvaha srotas.

Aahara rasa is a pool of nutrients of all tissues. It is transported to sthayee dhatus through specific channels. The nutrients required for each dhatu is selected by specific channel and thus dhatus get nourished. The nearest channel is of rasa dhatu so rasa dhatu gets nourished first and so on.

From This law, it is clear that sequence of replenishment of dhatus is uniform i.e.after rasa dhatu poshana kala,rakta poshana kala starts and so on. By this law action of milk on shukra can be explained.also it is clear that medavriddhi cannot necessarily cause asthivriddhi.Also it is not necessary that  vitiated rasa dhatu should lead to vitiate further dhatus.

Among all these theories,Kshir-Dadhi nyaya is criticised by most of the commentators.According to Chakradatta,,Kedar-Kulya nyaya and Khale-Kapot nyaya are equally  acceptable.According to Sushruta Commentator Dalhana,Kedar-Kulya nyaya is more relevant.

Concluding all above,all three laws are important and any one law does not satisfy the transformation of nutrients to dhatus.All laws are equivalent to each other.They do not interfere or oppose each other. So it can be stated that  aahara rasa reaches to specific channel according to kedarakulya nyaya.Nutrients in aahara rasa are selected as per tissue requirements according to khale kapot nyaya and finally dhatuposhak amshas i.e. nutrients are transformed into dhatus according to kshira dadhi nyaya.One should therefore accept all these laws together and interpret the transformation and nourishment of seven tissues with application of all these laws.

EKAKALA DHATU POSHAN SIDDHANTA

This Principle was said by Arunadutta, the commentator of Ashtanga hridaya.

Since  aahara rasa percolates into all  dhatuvaha srotas at a time uniformly, it can be presumed that all the dhatus are nourished simultaneously without any time gap. This is known as eka kala dhatu poshana nyaya. This law is universally accepted without any criticism.

This principle can be better explained by the example of sprinklers in the field. With the help of sprinklers, the whole field is irrigated at one time. Similarly with the help of vyana vayu,Aahara rasa nourishes all dhatus at a time without interruption, throughout life.

Theories of tissue nourishment

BLOG BY DR.HEMANGINI WAGHULADE

DHATUPOSHANA NYAAYAS

 (Different theories related to nourishment of tissues)

        Charak commentator Chakrapanidatta explains how dhatus are formed and get nourished in a particular sequence and also the time taken to form the tissues. The sequence of formation and nourishment of dhatus is mentioned in Charak and all other compendia. (Cha.chi.15, Su.Su.14, A.S.Sha.7, A.H.Sha.3).These theories are not mentioned in any original samhitas but are found in the commentaries of Chakrapani,Shivdas,Gangadhar and Dalhan.

There are three theories about the modes of dhatu formation or nourishment as described below:

Kshira-dadhi nyaya (Law of Transformation)    

Kedari-kulya nyaya (Law of Transmission)

Khale-kapota nyaya (Law of Selection)

               KSHEERA-DADHI NYAYA

            (LAW OF TRANSFORMATION)

         According to this theory poorvadhatu is converted into uttara dhatu as milk is converted into curd, curd into butter & butter into ghrita & ghrita forms ghritamanda (upper transparent portion of ghee)

       Rasa is digested by rasa dhatvagni and is bioconverted into rakta,rakta into mamsa and so on  till the last dhatu shukra is formed as prasaadamshaas of their preceding dhatu

This complete conversion of one dhatu into other is called law of transformation i.e.sarvatma parinama paksha.

         For this conversion or transformation of one dhatu into next dhatu, it takes seven days for the formation of shukra from rasa dhatu.Some people say that dhatu parinaama takes 24 hours & some others say that it takes 6 days & some say that it takes 30 days for dhatu transformation to be completed.

         Drawbacks of this theory

·         According to this theory,the whole rasa dhatu is converted into rakta & the entire rakta into mamsa & so on upto shukra dhatu by 7th or 30th day. If a person fasts for 7days, the entire body should either become shukramaya or it should have perished because of absence of all dhatus except shukra.But it is never being found in any case where a person fast for more than one month .

·         If rasa dhatu is defective,all dhatus next to it will be defective as they are formed from rasa.

·         This theory cannot be applied in case of certain aphrodisiac,anti toxic and rasayana dravyas as they directly act on particular tissue.For e.g.milk is vrishya i.e.it immediately acts on shukra dhatu after consumption so this cannot be explained by this law as according to this,it will take a month to act on shukra dhatu.

·         Medavriddhi should result in asthivriddhi by this law but in practice, it is not seen so.

        Hence this nyaya cannot be accepted as a whole.

Justification of this theory

          Formation of dhatus takes place serially.The dhatus are divided into three parts sthulamsha,sukshamsha and  malamsha  during their transformation.The sthoolamsha forms sthayi or stable dhatu.Sukshmamsha is the nutrient portion of next dhatu and this sukshmamsha gets transformed into next dhatu when it goes to its specific sroats.for e.g.when aahara rasa reaches rasavaha srotas,due to action of rasa dhatvagni,sthoolamsha i.e.stable Rasa dhatu is formed,sukshma raktaposhak amsha and upadhatus of rasa dhatu are formed.Its mala bhaga becomes kapha. The rakta poshaka rasa dhatu’s sukshmamsha becomes rakta , it’s sukshmasha becomes  mamsa poshaka rakta dhatu & upadhatus i.e. kandaras, siras & the malamsha becomes pitta.Like this, mamsa etc.also are divided into sthulamsha ,sukshamsha, malamasha.

This pattern of dhatu formation preserves the poorva dhatu as sthayi dhatu which is not transformed at all into the next dhatu.Instead of that,sukshma dhatuposhakamsha is transformed into next dhatu.Thus there is no question of complete transformation of dhatus.

Friends, we will discuss the other theories related to tissue nourishment in next blog. See u soon.

LAKSHYA : LET YOUR PRAKRUTI WORK FOR YOU

BLOG BY DR.HEMANGINI WAGHULADE

                        

 LAKSHYA: LET YOUR PRAKRUTI WORK FOR YOU

Ayurved  is  one  of  the  great  gifts  of    sages  of  ancient  India  to  mankind.  It is designed for      healthy & long life span.  This aim is fulfilled by its sound & absolute principles.  Agni, Prakruti,       Dhatusarata, Dosha are the specialities of Ayurved or the things on which Ayurved rests its research & cure. Prakruti or body-mind typology  is an important concept of Ayurveda  & plays a  very important role  in  designing  lifestyle of  a  person  for  maintenance  of  health.  Prakruti remains unchanged during whole life & affects every aspect of life.

            If we look at different people in the world around us, we observe that all of us are not simply   alike.  Each  person  possesses  a  unique  constitution different  from  that  of  any    other  person.  We must understand our own nature for happiness & well-being in life.  Similarly  we  must  understand  the  nature  of  others,  which  may  be different than our own, for harmonious social     interaction. The food which is good for one person may not be good for another. For e.g. one person     may thrive on spices, while another similar person may not be able to tolerate them. Similarly the psychological conditions favourable for one person may not suit another.  Competition  may  stimulate  one  person  to  greater  achievement  but  can intimidate another & make him  fail.  Without  understanding  our  particular  constitution,  we  can  fall  into  poor  health  &  disease.  Ayurved contains such a well-developed science of individual types as its core wisdom. One of the great beauties of   Ayurved that it so clearly helps us to understand all our individual variations, special abilities & idiosyncrasies.

Tailoring your career to your personal interests is important if you want to work at something that is fulfilling and inspiring. If you love books and need to express your creativity through words and languages, a career as an accountant is probably not going to inspire you to get out of bed in every morning. Likewise if you are a linear thinker who likes to work within concrete and specific principles, working in a creative field like advertising may only serve to frustrate you. While you may not always be able to support yourself with your true passion, it is important to find a career that will suit your natural tendencies and interests.

 To enrich ones professional career, prakruti assessment can play a very important role. By knowing prakruti of a particular person, we can get an appropriate idea about his likings or the things he is comfortable with. So, we can guide the person in choosing appropriate profession which will  be  according to  his  liking  or passion & also he  will have the ability  to become successful in that particular profession.

 

By identifying one’s  prakruti, it is  possible  to  guide  the  students  in  selecting  their  career  that  will  suit  to  their  liking  as  well  as  their ability  for  better  future.The  dosha  that  predominates  due  to  our  genetic  inheritance  dictates  certain demands  in  terms of  diet,  environment  &  occupation.  If we recognize this & follow the guidelines according to our prakruti, we will not end up with physical & mental health hassles that can lead to major complications.

Vata  prakruti  people  are  usually  very  talkative  &  can  speak  on  any  subject  to  any  audience.  They speak for the love of speaking. Talking expends a lot of energy, which is one reason they love it so.  They  can  work  as  telephone  operators,  medical  representatives,  lawyers,  school  teacher,  news reader,  call  centres,  shopkeepers,  and  salesman.  They enjoy constant stimulation of a job, seeing new places, meeting new people so they can be travel agents, anchors, and LIC agents. They love to work at jobs that require sudden bursts of intense energy, because they naturally work that way.  So they can be pop singers, comedians, comic story writers, instrument players, circus artist, and disco dancers. Vata prakruti persons are active, speedy, usually light weight people so they can be circus artist, athleticians, and table tennis/badminton/Kho-kho players.  They can perform better in high jump, long jump, basket ball, horse riding, racing car, football players. They are so active & efficient so they can work better as nurses or ward boys in hospitals.  These people are original thinkers & very creative so they can make their career in event management, fashion designing, interior decorating & painting also. They enjoy constant stimulation & excitement but these people must pace themselves carefully & resist the temptation to try to do everything at once. 

Pitta  prakruti  people  are  dedicated  to  the  practical  side  of  life.  They are realists & enjoy the palpabilities  of  reality.  They are by nature aggressive & self promoting.  To  them  everything  is  a contest  &  all  contests  are  deserved  to  be  won.  They plan methodically & efficiently.  They love to engineer new ideas into practical uses. They require a job providing sufficient challenge to keep them occupied without the stress of severe competition.  They are usually acutely intelligent.  Their innate arrogance of cleverness can make them intolerant. They can be top executives, computer engineers, scientists, research workers, politicians, chess players. They are brave, courageous; enjoy  challenges  so  they  can  be  police  inspectors,  military  officers,  soldiers,  detectives,  stuntmen, action  heroes,  pilots,  criminal  lawyer.  They  can  make  their  career  in  kabaddi,  sword  fighting, swimming, racing car, adventure ports,  trekking which requires courage. They love music & dance they can prove their best in classical dance, music direction. They ought to avoid physically    irritating work situations like welding or metal casting which involve intense heat that might increase pitta. 

Kapha  prakruti  people  are  great  administrators,  having  steady  mind,  great  stamina.  They are so stable & balanced so they can be IAS officers, navy officers, legal advisors, editors, top executives in government.  They can become good judge, professor, commissioner or research officer.  These people  have  great  stamina  so  they  can  be  good  in  wrestling,  weight  lifting,  lawn  tennis.  They are calm, quiet, steady, have resonating voice so they can become classical singers. They can manage well.  They  give  the  ideas  an  enterprise  &  they  will  make  it run  smoothly.  These  people  should  keep themselves  active,  motivated  &  stimulated  to  keep  their  self  dosha  in  balance.  They must be approached with force, determination & consistency.

Here  are  few  examples  of  the  way  we  can  differentiate  people  in  categories  for  advising  various careers.  Vata  prakruti  people  can  be  comic  story  writers,  pitta  people  can  be  bravery  story  writers while kapha people can be mysterious story writers.    Vata prakruti people can be football players, pitta people can work well as a goal keeper & kapha people can do a better job as a referee. Vata prakruti people  can  be  a  good  general  practitioner  as  they  are  active  &        love talking,  pitta  can  be  good surgeons,  CMOs  or  neurosurgeons  as  they  are  courageous,  kapha  people  can  better  work  as Ayurved  consultants,  psychiatrists  as  it  requires  great  patience. Vata  prakruti  people  can  be  good comedians,  pitta  people  can  be  action  heroes,  kapha  people  can  work  as  a  character  artist  or  film director.        

                                                                                 

In  dwandwaj  prakruti,  both  doshas  should  be  considered  according  to  the  predominance.Also  the  dominance  of  dosha  gunas  in  the  prakruti  should  also  be  considered  while  advising  the career. 

It  should  always  be  remembered  that  vata  people  need  balance  &  relaxation,  pitta  people require  challenges  &  kapha  people  need  motivation  &  stimulation  to  keep  their  self  doshas  in balanced  state.  

Work consumes at least a third of our lives. Success or failure at your chosen profession affects your self confidence, yourself worth & the self validity of your personality. Making prakruti work for you & not against you, in every aspect of life is one of the   life’s great challenges. After all, your work should agree with your prakruti.