Abstract

A CRITICAL REVIEW OF MEDOVAHA SROTAS AND STHAULYA IN AYURVEDA IN REFERENCE TO MODERN PERSPECTIVE

Dr. Suljeet Baranda* and Dr. Rakesh Kumar Sharma

Abstract

Ayurveda is a traditional system of Indian medicine. The main aim of this system is to maintain the health of a healthy person and cure the disease of ailing person. Ayurveda describes a systemic biological transport system comprising of gross and minute as well as very subtle channels transporting not only fluids, nutrients and waste products but also energy and impulses in different biological parts of body. These channels are called as Srotasas. The Srotasas are innumerable, but 13 gross channels are clinically approachable and are affected in different disease states with detailed manifestations. These 13 gross channels comprise of three channels which transfer life-support substances from outside to inside the body which are called Pranavaha (carrying vital energy), Udakavaha (carrying body fluid) and Annavaha Srotas (carrying food nutrients). The living body is a huge unified micro-macro channel system as narrated in Ayurveda– “स्रोतोमयं हि शरीरम्”. The micro channels of circulation are intra-cellular, inter-cellular and extra-cellular transportation mechanism of human body. A channel is defined as a circulation which incessantly secretes Dhatus & excretes waste products from the human body. The functional anatomy of Medovaha Srotas is a matter of discussion as per modern medical science. Very few work has been done on the conceptual or functional anatomy of Medovaha srotas. In this article, an attempt has been made to find out the functional anatomy of Medovaha Srotas with special reference to modern medical perspective. For this study, the basic material is collected from the Ayurvedic classics with the available commentaries as well as textbooks of contemporary science for a better understanding of the concept and its evaluation with contemporary science.

Keywords: Medovaha Srotas, Vrikka (kidney), Vapavahan (greater Omentum) Meda (fat), Sthaulya (obesity), Adipose tissue.