A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c13.98

v1.c13.98

The chapter begins with stressing the importance of the bodily fires (agni) (15.4–5). The prāṇa carries the food to the koṣṭha, where it is disintegrated (bhinnasaṃghāta) by fluids and softened by fatty substances, before being acted upon by the digestive fire,³⁹⁰ which is fanned (avadhūta) by the samāna; the fire, situated below the āmāśaya, cooks the food, which is separated into rasa and waste matter (mala) (15.6–8). The food, which has six tastes, is subjected to the process called prapāka; three stages are described; in the first stage the food becomes predominantly sweet and frothy (phenabhūta) by kapha; it becomes acid when being half-digested (vidagdha), descends (from the āmāśaya), and is acted upon by clear (accha) bile; having reached the pakvāśaya and being desiccated by the fire, it is converted into lumps (paripiṇḍita) and becomes pungent due to the activity of vāta (15.9–11).³⁹¹