CONCEPT OF AGNI AND AMA
Dr.Akhila SomanJR, Dept of Integrative Medicine
CONTENTS
▪ What is Agni?
▪Functions
▪Action at various levels of digestion
▪Types
▪ How to assess
▪ Causes of Impaired agni
▪ Importance
▪ Ama
▪ Properties
▪ Sama state of doshas
▪ Applicability
▪ General treatment
• अहं वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनां देहमाश्रित: |प्रािापानसमायुक्त: पचाम्यन्नं चतुर्विधम ्|| 14||(Bhagvad Gita)
What is Agni?
• The term ‘Agni’ literally means movement, transformation or change (Agni, ‘Gatau’).
• Pitta and agni are different
• Pitta is unctuous, liquid and tends to flow downwards
• Agni is dry, rough, subtle and tends to move upwards
Functions
• Digestion
• Metabolism
• Intelligence
• Complexion
• Vision
• Essential for all life activities
• Shanthou agni mriyathe
Agni at different levels of digestion
Samana vata stimulates jataragni
Jataragni ignites panchabhutagni
Panchabhutagni acts on respective bhouthika portion
General circulation of ahara rasa by vyana vata
Nutrients accepted by respective dhatus through khalekapota nyaya
Dhatvagnis convert these substances into poshya dhatus
Components that aid in digestion
• Samana vata – neuro-hormonal influences of digestion including
role of parasympathetic NS and ENS (Auerbach’s plexus and
Meissner’s plexus)
• Pachaka pitta – Enzymatic GIT functions concerned with digestion,
from breaking down of ingested food, absorbing nutrient
portion(sara) and eliminating the waste portion(kitta)
• Kledaka kapha – Mucus from pyloric glands and surface mucous
cells of stomach help to lubricate food movement and helps to
protect stomach wall from auto-digestion
TYPES OF AGNI
1
• Jataragni
5
• Bhutagni
7
• Dhathvagni
Jataragni
• Jataragni is supreme among all the other types of agni
• Increase & decrease of bhutagnis & dhatvagnis are dependent on it.
• The functions of Jatharagni include the digestion of all types of food i.e., carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals etc.
• Helps in Sara-kitta vibhajana i.e., separation of nutrients from waste products after digestion.
Bhutagni
• Five bhutagnis bring about paka of the 5 respective attributes in the food ingredients(ie. predominance of earth, water ,fire, air, ether elements)
Dhatvagni
• Dhatvagni are components of jataragni that help in transformation of dhatus
• These agnis are responsible for the chaya(increase) & upachaya(decrease) of dhatus as well as formation of upadhatus and malas(waste products).
Based on dosha :
• Samagni
• Vishamagni
• Tikshnagni
• Mandagni
Samagni
• equilibrium of all the 3 doshas
Vishamagni
• Influenced predominantly by vata
• contrary to samagni
• Fluctuates between normal and abnormal
• may result in bloating(adhmana), colic(sula), heaviness(gourava), retrograde movement of vata(udavarta), diarrhoea(atisara), borborygmus(antrakujan)
Tikshnagni
• Influenced predominantly by pitta
• In pitta prakruthi persons when aggravated pitta affects the site of agni it would result in tikshnagni
• Excessively increased state – ATYAGNI
Mandagni
• Influenced predominantly by कफ • That which gets impaired in its functioning
even with small amount of irregular food and has opposite features to that of teekshnagni
• takes long time to digest even small amount of food
• cough(कास) , breathing difficulties(श्वास ), heaviness of head and abdomen
How to assess?
Effect of season & age
• Hemanta rtu (Late Nov-Dec), youth – Agni
• Varsha rtu (July-August), old age – Agni
CAUSES OF IMPAIRED AGNI
Mental Causes
• Fear
• Envy
• Anger
• Sadness
• Greed
• Misery
• Harbouring enemity/hatred
Physical Causes
• Skipping meals
• Indigestion
• Excess / Irregular intake of food
• Non-conducive food esp. heavy to digest, cold, dry or stale food
• Drinking excess water
• Erratic sleep pattern
• Improper shodanaprocedures
• By diseases
• Place, age, season
• Suppression of urges like micturition, vomiting,etc
Agnivaishamya
Importance of agni
• शमप्रकोपौ दोषाणाां सवेषामग्निसांश्रितौ|तस्मादग्निां सदा रक्षेग्निदािानि च वर्जयेत|्|
• Equilibrium or provocation of all
the dosha depend upon the condition
of agni (digestion and metabolism), hence one
should always take its care and avoid such causes
which disturb it
• तस्मात्तां ववश्रिवद्युक्तैरनिपािेनििैर्हजतैैः|पालयेत ्प्रयतस्तस्य ग्स्ितौ ह्ययुर्जलग्स्िनतैः||४०||
• An individual should take utmost care to maintain the agni by
providing fuel in the form of food and drinks which should be taken
as per the rules mentioned, because life and strength of an
individual depends on agni
• यो र्ह भुङ्कक्ते ववश्रिां त्याक्त्वा ग्रहणीदोषर्ाि ्गदाि|्• If an individual indulges in food without following the rules and
regulation of diet intake, then he quickly suffers from diseases
caused by the vitiation of grahani
Gut Microbiome
• The concept of the brain-gut axis, a bidirectional channel of
communication between the “big brain” in the cranium and the “little
brain” (i.e.,ENS) in the abdomen → linked by neurons of the
sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, as well as by
circulating hormones and other neuromodulatory molecules.
• Consequently, the microbiome has emerged as a potential diagnostic
and therapeutic target in disorders as diverse as Parkinson’s disease,
Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, autism, stroke,
depression, and drug addiction.
AMA
Due to hypo-function of agni, the fraction of
Aahara rasa which is not properly formed, gets
accumulated in stomach - partially digested non
nutritious material-AMA
• The initial phase of dosha dushti ie. interaction of vitiated vatha, pitta, kapha is also considered as ama
• Liquid• Heavy to digest• Unctuous• Slimy and sticky• Putrid and foul smelling• Cause for all diseases
Sama Stage….From bad → worse
• Blockade of body channels• Loss of strength • Heaviness • Blockade of Vata• Laziness• Indigestion• Excessive salivation• Constipation• Anorexia• Weakness
Sama Dosha Lakshanas
VATA PITTA KAPHA
ConstipationDecreased agniLassitudeRumbling SwellingPainPain and discomfort aggravates on oleation as well as in the early morning, night and cloudy conditions.
Foul smellBlackish discolourationSour tasteHeavinessAcid refluxBurning sensation in the throat and chest region
TurbidStickyCoats the throatSlimyFoul smellImpairs appetite and normal belching
• ‘Ama’ is a collective term for the products of faulty
digestion and metabolism, which refers to some such
intermediate byproducts of digestion and metabolism,
which have a tendency to accumulate and block the
micro channels i.e., Srotovarodha.
• These deviant byproducts act as foreign material or
antigens (Visha), ensue a series of reactions →
autoimmune disorders.
Ama
GIT Systemic
GIT Level• All amylolytic, proteolytic and lipolytic enzymes secreted by various
kinds of exocrine glands in the gut i.e., breaking down of different macromolecules into their constituent units.
• Agni vitiation /malfunction of digestive enzymes and hormones →incomplete transformation → peptones, peptides, polysaccharides → not properly absorbed and thus leading to putrefaction and fermentation in GIT
• Sometimes, some of its protein content as a macromolecule itself can escape into general circulation and → antigen, causing serious immunological disturbances
• e.g. Alasaka, Visuchika.
Systemic Level
• The major site where the absorbed nutrients undergo biochemical
transformation is in the liver, which plays an important role in metabolism,
wherein several processes such as trans-amination, de-amination, beta-
oxidation of fatty acids, glycolysis etc. take place.
• Overall intermediary metabolism (involving fats, carbohydrates and
proteins) can be understood as the functioning of the bhutagni.
• Prolonged accumulation of variety of unwanted and incompatible
metabolic products in the system → auto immune and metabolic
disorders.
• Eg. Amavata (~RA)
• Dhatvagni acts at tissue-level (in fact, at cellular level) upon
the products of bhutagni paka
• Common product of intermediary metabolism (involving fats,
carbohydrates and proteins) is Acetyl-Co-A → Kreb’s cycle
(mitochondria of a cell). This is followed by electron transfer
and oxidative phosphorylation.
• Kreb’s cycle → ‘final common pathway’ in the process of
catabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
Ama at Dhatvagni level
Manda Dhatvagni
Ama at Dhatvagni Level
MandaDhatvagni
• For the entry of amino acids, glucose and fatty acids into the cell, certain
other factors such as hormones (eg. Insulin) too are needed.
• Thus, all these hormones (such as insulin, GH, thyroid hormones,
testosterone etc.) that promote the transportation of various nutrients
into the cells, along with the enzymes participating in the Kreb’s cycle are
to be included under the term dhatvagni.
• The wide range of natural intracellular anti-oxidant mechanisms involving
several enzymes like super oxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase
operating at molecular level appear to have been considered in Ayurveda
under Dhatvagni vyapara, the deficiency of which will lead to increased
virulence and production of free radicals causing various diseases.
Treatment
Apatarpana (Depleting therapy)
• Langhana (Lightening therapy)
• Swedana (Sudation)
• Rukshana (Drying)
Langhana →Alpa dosha
Langhana+Pachana→ Madya Dosha
Shodhana (Panchakarma)→Bahu dosha
Agni for thought…
1. Agrawal AK, Yadav CR, Meena MS. Physiological aspects of Agni. Ayu.
2010;31(3):395–8.
2. Wallace RK. The Microbiome in Health and Disease from the Perspective
of Modern Medicine and Ayurveda. Medicina (Kaunas) [Internet]. 2020
Sep 11 [cited 2020 Dec 10];56(9). Available from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7559905/
3. A cross comparison between Ayurvedic etiology of Major Depressive
Disorder and bidirectional effect of gut dysregulation [Internet]. [cited
2020 Dec 10]. Available from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6470311/
4. https://www.carakasamhitaonline.com/index.php?title=Grahani_Chikitsa
Rogah Sarve Api Mandeagnau
Impaired agni is the route cause of all diseases
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