The Classical Doctrine of Indian Medicine: Its Origins and its Greek Parallels c9.92

c9.92

In classical medicine, *rasa* denotes, among other things, an organic juice of primordial necessity. “That which is called *rasa* is the essence produced by the extremely subtle fire of the rightly digested nourishment”.¹ It is, therefore, chyle but in the organism it has a rôle which largely goes beyond that of chyle. It is found in the heart and from there it spreads through the 24 *dhamánis* in the entire organism. “It is aqueous, but on reaching the liver and the spleen, it becomes red,² and forms the blood. In this connection Suśruta quotes two verses: “the waters, reddened by the fire which has its seat in the human bodies, without being altered by the one which shines (in the external world), it is called ‘blood’. Therefore, the blood of the woman called ‘menses’ comes from the organic juice (*rasa*) and (shows itself) from 12 years and disappears at fifty years”.³ In a long passage where he explains the conditions necessary for the formation of the embryo, Caraka insists on the importance of the *rasa* furnished by the mother: “This embryo is born from the mother; in fact, in the absence of *rasa*, the course of life of the mother is impossible”.⁴