Abstract

CONCEPTUAL STUDY OF VATA DOSHA IN MAHASROTASA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ENS.

Vd. Rajeshwari Kahate* and Vd. Ghansham Kodwani

Abstract

Background: Ayurveda is ancient system of Indian medicine based on certain fundamental principles, and one of them is ‘srotasa’. Acharya has stated ‘mahasrotasa’ is mulsthana of ‘pranavaha srotasa’. Similarly, while describing abhyantara rogamarga, Charakacharya postulated koshtha, aamashaya-pakvashaya as mahasrotasa. Mahasrotasa includes the region from mukha to guda. Mahasrotasa also includes in its ambit ‘samana vayu’ which is one of the five types of vata dosha. Saman vayu while performing its functions is aided by prana vayu and apana vayu. The functions of samana vayu includes -annagrahana, pachana, vivechana, and munchana. Samana vayu is located besides ‘jatharagni’ and thus jatharagni is also dependent on samana vayu. If Samana vayu is in prakrut state then the agni will also be in prakrut state and vice versa. All the functions of samana vayu can be compared with physiological functions of contemporary medical science. Basically, Enteric nervous system (ENS) is a large subdivision of ANS and it is present in gut. ENS works independently but it is still connected with CNS by its sympathetic and parasympathetic arms. Myenteric plexus and Meissner’s plexus are the principle components of ENS, which are responsible for relaxation and contraction of Intestinal wall and secretion vttin GIT respectively. Digestion is also controlled by ENS. From above, karma of samana vayu and ENS can be correlated. Material and methods: Thorough review of literature related to mahasrotasa, vata dosha and relevant topics was done through samhitas, Ayurved text books as well as text books of contemporary science. Reference from internet also reviewed. Conclusion: Functions of samana vayu can be partially correlated with ENS.

Keywords: Mahasrotasa, Samanvayu, Jatharagni, ENS.