Body & Humours
Understanding the fundamental constituents of the human body
Seven Body Builds (Thathus)
The essence of meal we take is preserved by the heat of seven body builders (Thathus) and finally mixed with the seven elements of tissues. By this, essence is emanated from meal to digestable juice, that juice to blood, blood to flesh, flesh to fat, fat to bone, bone to marrow and marrow to semen (Males) and Sronitham (Females).
1. Lymph or Juice (Saram)
Function:
The juice keeps the body and mind in good state.
If Decreased:
Fatigue, bodily pain and sufferings will emanate
If Increased:
Loss of appetite, heart disease and liver diseases will arise
2. Blood (Senneer)
Function:
Blood in good state promotes intellectual power, strength, brightness and haughtiness.
If Decreased:
Nervous disability and dryness will arise
If Increased:
Boils in various parts, lack of hunger, loss of appetite, blood vomiting, blood urination and fury will originate
3. Flesh (Oon)
Function:
Flesh is essential to build the body for good looks and is responsible for development of bones.
If Decreased:
Debility of the five sense organs, joint pain, shrinking of the penis
If Increased:
Swellings of tubercular glands in neck, syphilis and boils in face, stomach and thigh
4. Fat (Kozhuppu)
Function:
Fat is responsible for movement of anatomic parts of the body easily and production of greasiness in the lubrication of joints.
If Decreased:
Bodily tiredness, hip pain will originate
If Increased:
High breathing and growth of abnormal flesh in chest, abdomen and thighs will emanate
5. Bone (Elumpu)
Function:
Bones help to keep the body erect in an orderly manner and protect the intestines.
If Decreased:
Pain in joints, shaky teeth, nail and hairs shrink, causes dandruff or baldness
6. Brain (Moolai)
Function:
Brain is protected by bones while giving strength and tenderness to them.
If Decreased:
Porosity in bones and dimming of eyesight
If Increased:
Fat grows at bottom of fingers and toes, urination decreases, body becomes obese
7. Sperm (Vinthu)
Function:
Sperm is responsible for the generation of embryo.
If Decreased:
Semen will discharge quickly during intercourse, immediately pain will start
If Increased:
Will generate lust for increased sexual desire
Important Note
If blood tissues are increased or decreased from their state differentiated from their action, they are responsible for causing diseases.
Fourteen Impulses
Naturally there are fourteen impulses of the body. When the speed of the impulses is either curbed, stopped or emitted drop by drop, many diseases would arise in man.
1. Gas (Vatham or Vayu)
If this vayu emanating from the anus is either curbed or emitted bit by bit, stitching pain in the chest, liver filled with fart, stitching pain in the body, hungerlessness, prickling sensation and excess 'vatham' are produced.
2. Sneeze (Thummal)
When sneezing is curbed the breathing is choked violently. We would feel as if the ten sense organs are cut and fallen down, at that time bending of the face to any side will originate pain in the hip.
3. Urine (Siruneer)
When the urine urged by the bladder is curbed that obstruction causes pain in the penis, burning sensation and stitching pain at the urinary tract in the abdomen.
4. Faeces (Malam)
The urge or duty of the part is to emit the faeces out. If the urge is curbed it causes headache, debility, dullness, chest pain and hungerlessness.
5. Yawn (Kottavi)
When Yawning is curbed, it causes weariness of the face, tiredness, dullness, indigestion, disease of stomach etc.
6. Hunger (Pasi)
When hunger arises and timely food intake is not given, it causes decrease in strength, vitality, charm of the body, speech, conduct, laziness. It emanates heat in the origin of Anus and the tissues go dry. It originates diseases like tuberculosis and debility.
7. Passion for Thirst (Thagam)
When thirst arises and is not quenched, tongue and throat will be dried. Body will be debilitated. Then anatomic part of the body will not perform its duties regularly. Results in attack on self-consciousness, weariness of face, dimness of eyesight, debility in hands and legs and vertigo etc.
8. Cough (Irumal)
If cough due to indisposition in health is curbed, it will produce chest pain.
9. Pant or Wheezing (Kaasam)
If it is curbed, heat will emanate from the body, thereby causing Gonorrhea, Dyspepsia, fainting and cold.
10. Sleep (Nithirai)
Sleep gives complete rest to mind and body. Fatigue is removed thereby strengthening the muscles. If natural sleep is curbed, head weariness, eyes becoming red, eye burning, deafness of ears, laziness and debility are caused.
11. Vomiting (Satthi)
If vomiting is curbed, swelling of the body, itching, eyesore, fever and cough are caused.
12. Tears (Kannneer)
If tears are curbed, eyesore, boils in the head, sinusitis etc, are caused.
13. Sperm (Sukkilam)
Sperm urged out by the part is curbed, fever, and diseases in joints of the hands and legs, mental disorder etc, are caused. Heart attack, white discharge are produced if the discharged is on the increase.
14. Breath (Swasam)
Breath is the activity of Prana Vayu (Oxygen) pumping into the body. If such action is curbed, cough, distension of the stomach, tastelessness, fever, white discharge are emanated.
Three Humours (Tri-Doshas)
According to Siddha System of Medicine, the human body is directed by these three humours. In a healthy body Vatham, Pitham, and Silethumam prevail by measure one, half and quarter respectively. This measure depends upon the residential area, season, man's contact, environment and food. If it varies, disease sets in.
Vatham
1 Part
Governs movement, breathing, and nervous system. Associated with Air and Space elements.
Pitham
1/2 Part
Controls digestion, metabolism, and body temperature. Associated with Fire element.
Silethumam
1/4 Part
Provides structure, lubrication, and stability. Associated with Water and Earth elements.
Tastes and Potencies
In our daily life we observe and attribute several properties and qualities to various food substances. These substances with different tastes and potencies have different effects on body. This gives us a clue as to how food substance can act positively or negatively, depending on the disposition of the individual.
The Six Tastes
Potency (Hot vs Cold)
All substances can be categorized as either cold or hot in potency. Cold is the nature of Vayu and Kapha, hence substances which are cold in potency increase these two doshas. Heat controls these two doshas.
Cold substances alleviate Pitha since heat is the nature of Pitha.