A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c25.614.7

v1.c25.614.7

when remaining undigested, it becomes poison (6.22);³³⁴ the kind of pitta called pācaka is identical with the (digestive) fire, as has been stated already;³³⁵ other authorities claim that the inner heat (antarūṣman), generated by the concerted action (saṃnipāta) of doṣas, dhātus and malas, constitutes the fire, with a seat and action as taught (6.23);³³⁶ the internal fire cooks the mass of food, which is brought to the koṣṭha by the prāṇa, divided into smaller parts by fluids, and made soft by fatty substances; this fire is kindled by the samāna (6.24);³³⁷ the food, which contains all the tastes at first, becomes, when being digested, sweet, and becomes frothy; then, partially digested (vidagdha) and having become sour, it moves on from the āmāśaya and excites pitta; having reached the pakvāśaya and becomes pungent, it excites vāta (6.25);³³⁸ subsequently, the fires of the five mahābhūtas cook those parts of the food, which belong to each of them; after completion of this process, these parts nourish those constituents of the body which derive from each of the mahābhūtas (6.26);³³⁹ after completion of the digestive process, the food consists of a pure part (sāra), called rasa, and an impure part (mala), called kiṭṭa;³⁴⁰ the channels transport rasa and kiṭṭa, not yet separated from each other (avicchinnasaṃtāna), to the bodily elements, thus replenishing them;