A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c24.75.3

v1.c24.75.3

the thirteen internal channels (antaḥsrotas), which are seats of life (jivitāyatana): one for prāṇa, one for each of the seven dhātus, one for each of the three main waste products (mala), one for water, and one for food (3.41cd–42);⁸⁶ the characteristics of these channels (3.43);⁸⁷ causes of corruption of the channels (3.44);⁸⁸ the characteristics of corruption of the channels (srotoduṣṭi) (3.45);⁸⁹ the minute openings of the channels provide the body with rasa (3.45); the symptoms of injury (vyadha) to the channels and its treatment (3.47–48);⁹⁰ the kind of pitta called pācaka digests the food; this pācaka pitta is, in Ātreya’s opinion, identical with the heat (ūṣman) of the doṣas, dhātus, malas, etc. (3.49); its seat is the grahaṇī, but, in Dhanvantari’s opinion, it is the pittadharā kalā; its location and functions; its close association with the digestive fire; digestion of the food by the digestive fire as a crucial process leading to nourishment of the dhātus (3.50–54);⁹¹ the process of digestion and its stages (3.55–58);⁹² the fires (ūṣman) of the five mahābhūtas digest the respective fractions of the food (3.59);⁹³ when digested, these fractions nourish the corresponding components of the body (3.60);⁹⁴ the digested food is separated into a waste (kiṭṭa) and an essential (sāra) portion;