Abstract

REVIEW OF ASTHI DHATU & ITS ROLE IN HEALTH OF HAIR

*Vaidya Sammed Narendra Chougule and Vaidya Deepa R. Kale

Abstract

Ayurveda has mentioned Dhatu which are the building blocks of the body and have their own general functions to carry out in order to maintain the structural & functional integrity of the body. There are total 7 Dhatus in the body namely Rasa, Rakta, Mansa, Meda, Asthi, Majja, Shukra. Among which Asthi dhatu is the 5th dhatu. Asthi is considered to be a Pitruja avayava (paternal organ or derived from father). Asthi is predominantly made up of Prithvi mahabhoot. It is formed from the sara (essence) of Meda dhatu by the action of Asthi dhatvagni on it. Functionally Asthi dhatu has function of „dharana‟ means to support, hold on to any structure or function. It also nourishes the Majja dhatu. Among the three doshas, Vata dosha is situated in the bones and they are inversely proportional to each other, i.e. when Vata dosha increases, mass of Asthi decreases. Every dhatu produces its own upadhatu & mala. Asthi produces Danta (teeth) as its upadhatu and kesha (hair), nakha (nails), loma (body hair) as its mala. Among them, Kesha (hair) has been mentioned as mala in Charaka Samhita & Loma (body hair) in Bhavaprakash Nighantu. Hair growth, its nourishment is dependent on the healthy status of Asthi dhatu.

Keywords: Dhatu, Asthi, Mala, Kesha, Hair.