ayurveda-dravyaguna: Gunas (20):

Gunas (20):

Posted by curesure Mohamad Labels: basic priciples, rasa veerya vipaka prabava

Gunas (20):

1. a set of primary attributes/qualities of all substance associated always with substance but are without quality themselves;

2. inactive cause

3. principally reveal the physical / static nature of substance (as opposed to its chemical nature)

4. universal and eternal, these are categories which define, in groupings or 10 continua, the nature of individual substances

5. content of the container-substance, e.g.: a stone has the qualities of hard, static, solid, gross, etc.

6. a category of action which causes the result given by its name; see below. [ Note: there are 41 total attributes of ¨Ayurveda listed in 4 groupings—gurvadi or physico-pharmacological which include these 20 listed below; paradi or pharmacological = 10; visishsha or specific (sense data) = 5; adhyatmika or psychological/mental = 6]

Attribute Continuum

1. Guru / Laghu heavy/light weight

2. Manda / Theekshna sharp/dull-slow intensity

3. Uhsna/sheethaq hot/cold temperature

4. Ruksha / Snigdha dry/oily emolliency

5. slakshna / Khara smooth/rough texture

6. Drava / Sandra liquid/dense-solid viscosity

7. Kathina / Mrdu hard/soft rigidity / compressibility

8. Cala / Sthira mobile/static fluidity

9. Sookshma / Sthula subtle/gross density

10. Vishada / Picchila clear/cloudy-sticky adhesion

Attribute Action

1. Guru tonic, apatarpana

2. Laghu † lightness / activity, santarpana

3. Manda pacifies, apatarpana

4. Teeskhsna cleans, santarpana

5. Ushna † perspiration, santarpana

6. sheetha condenses, apatarpana

7. Ruksha dries, santarpana

8. Snigdha produces moisture, apatarpana

9. slaksha stimulates growth, apatarpana

10. Khara rarifies, attenuates, santarpana

Attribute Action

11. Drava dissolves/mixes, santarpana

12. Sandra nourishes, apatarpana

13. Kathina fastens, hardens, solidifies, apatarpana

14. Mrudu relaxes, santarpana

15. Cala excites, † motion, santarpana

16. Sthira supports, apatarpana

17. Slashana penetrates, analyses, santarpana

18. Sthula covers or protects, apatarpana

19. Vishada clears, santarpana

20. Picchila forms a coating, apatarpana

other Important features of this category:

affects digestion
acts as a nutritional basis of the body
give inferential knowledge of taste (a secondary attribute based upon elemental compostion), and vipaka
are the basis of the 6 therapeutic strategies or actions (langhana, stambhana, etc.)
not dependent upon the physical weight of the substance
acts on basis of physical and chemical properties
effect may be short or long lasting in the body
acts in a general way / affects the whole body; this action is inferential
acts on the proliferation (prasara) stage of pathogenesis (samprapti)
as a category of drug action there is much correspondence with modern notion of inter-atomic distances of a given substance