Abstract

AYURVEDIC CONCEPT OF MANA - A REVIEW ARTICLE

Sumedh Meshram*, Maneesha Kothekar, Kiran Tawalare and Snehvibha Mishra

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Abstract

A healthy state of mana (mind) is considered as a healthy human being. The tripod i.e. atma (soul), sharira (body) and indriya (senses) are responsible for peaceful mind. The concept of ayu (age) is based on the state of mana, which is also called as sattva. It is mainly responsible for perceiving sukha (happiness), dukha (suffering), hita (benificial), ahita (unhealthy), etc. in relation to life. mana has got a close relationship with health. This signify the importance of mana in calling a person swastha (healthy). An accurate knowledge of mana is necessary to understand the process of production of gyana (knowledge) as explained in ayurveda. Charak samhita, one of the authoritative ancient texts of ayurveda, gives a precise description of manas siddhanta (principles of the mind) including its normal and abnormal states, all these descriptions given in various samhita. Seeds of the ayurvedic concept of mana are found in different texts, but ayurveda considers it in an applied and practical way. Through ancient literature, such as ayurveda, an effort has been made to investigate many practical aspects of mana.

Keywords: Ayurveda: Science of Life, Chikitsa, Health, Mana (mind), Swastha, Vikara.