अथातो धमनीव्याकरणं शारीरं व्याख्यास्यामः ||१||
यथोवाच भगवान् धन्वन्तरिः ||२||
Meaning of the śloka
Now the Sharirasthana chapter explaining the dhamanIs will be presented, as taught by the revered Dhanvantari.
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സിരാവ്യധവിധിശാരീരാനന്തരം സിരാധമനീസ്രോതസാം സദൃശത്വാദ്ധമനീവ്യാകരണാരമ്ഭോ യുജ്യത ഇത്യാഹ- അഥേത്യാദി| ധ്മാനാദനിലപൂരണാദ്ധമന്യഃ, താസാം വ്യാകരണം വിവരണം യസ്മിന് ശാരീര ഇതി വിഗ്രഹഃ||൧-൨||
Meaning of the commentary
Because sirAs, dhamanIs, and srotases resemble one another, the commentary says it is appropriate to explain dhamanIs after the chapter on sirA puncture. It derives the name dhamanI from inflation or filling by anila and identifies the chapter as a detailed account of those structures.
Key terms
dhamanI (dhamani)
A classically defined conducting structure whose name is linked to pulsation or filling by anila.
sirA (sira)
A related class of bodily channel distinguished from dhamanI in this chapter.
srotas
A channel or pathway also distinguished from dhamanI and sirA.
dhmAna (dhmana)
Inflation, pulsation, or filling, used to derive the term dhamanI.
चतुर्विंशतिर्धमन्यो नाभिप्रभवा अभिहिताः |
तत्र केचिदाहुः- सिराधमनीस्रोतसामविभागः, सिराविकारा एव हि धमन्यः स्रोतांसि चेति |
तत्तु न सम्यक्, अन्या एव हि धमन्यः स्रोतांसि च सिराभ्यः; कस्मात्? व्यञ्जनान्यत्वान्, मूलसन्नियमात्, कर्मवैशेष्यात्, आगमाच्च; केवलं तु परस्परसन्निकर्षात् सदृशागमकर्मत्वात् सौक्ष्म्याच्च विभक्तकर्मणामप्यविभाग इव कर्मसु भवति ||३||
Meaning of the śloka
Twenty-four dhamanIs arising from the navel have been described. Some authorities say that sirAs, dhamanIs, and srotases are not distinct, regarding dhamanIs and srotases as modified forms of sirAs. The text rejects that view and holds that dhamanIs and srotases differ from sirAs because they have different defining features, fixed roots, specialized functions, and separate scriptural descriptions. Their close proximity, similar textual descriptions and actions, and subtlety can nevertheless make their functions appear undivided.
The commentary says the twenty-four dhamanIs were previously mentioned in the account of blood. It presents the opposing view that the same channels are called sirAs because they flow, dhamanIs because they pulsate or fill, and srotases because they exude, like one material taking different forms. Another cited formulation treats sirA, srotas, pathway, space, dhamanI, nADI, and Ashaya as names for bodily spaces. The commentator rejects this on four grounds. Their signs differ: the four sirA classes have specified colors, while dhamanIs that convey sound and other functions and srotases have the color of their own constituent. Their roots and counts differ: forty root sirAs expanding to seven hundred, twenty-four dhamanIs, and twenty-two srotases. Their functions differ: sirAs support unobstructed actions, dhamanIs convey sound, form, taste, and smell, while srotases carry prANa, food, water, rasa, blood, flesh, and medas. Ayurveda also discusses them separately. Despite this, their proximity, similar authoritative descriptions, similar transport functions, and minuteness can obscure the distinction. The commentary compares this to nearby blades of grass appearing to make one flame, singers' separate voices seeming like one song, and minute clay particles in a pot appearing collectively to carry water.
Key terms
avibhAga (avibhaga)
Non-distinction, the opposing view that the three channel classes are not separate.
vya~jjanAnyatva (vyanjananyatva)
Difference in defining features or signs.
mUlasanniyama (mulasanniyama)
A fixed and distinct root or origin.
karmavaisheShya (karmavaisheshya)
Specialization or difference of function.
Agama (agama)
Authoritative textual testimony, here Ayurveda's separate descriptions.
The upward-going dhamanIs sustain the body by conveying functions associated with sound, touch, form, taste, smell, inward and outward breath, yawning, sneezing, laughing, speaking, crying, and related activities. On reaching the heart, each becomes three, making thirty branches. Of these, paired branches carry vAta, pitta, kapha, blood, and rasa; eight apprehend sound, form, taste, and smell; two produce articulated speech and two unformed sound; two are associated with sleep and two with waking; two carry tears; and in women two associated with the breasts carry milk, while in men the corresponding two are said to carry shukra toward the breasts. These thirty sustain and maintain the abdomen, flanks, back, chest, shoulders, neck, and arms above the navel.
The commentary defines prashvAsa as air entering inward and ucchvAsa as air rising outward. Yawning, sneezing, and laughter are particular forms of unarticulated sound or speech, while crying is the action of the tear-bearing branches; 'and so forth' includes seeing and other acts related to sensory conveyance. The four sensory objects are each apprehended by a pair of dhamanIs influenced by rajas, effort of the self, awakened awareness, and mind. Because mind is single and minute, it connects with only one pair at a time, so all four are not apprehended simultaneously through all eight. Touch is omitted here because the transverse dhamanIs are said later to handle it. BhAShA is articulated sound formed at places such as the palate; ghoSha is indistinct sound. Sleep is associated with tamas and waking with sattva. The upward regions are supported by these branches structurally and maintained through their conveyance of vAta and the other constituents.
Key terms
UrdhvagA dhamanI (urdhvaga dhamani)
An upward-going dhamanI, ten roots becoming thirty branches.
prashvAsa-ucchvAsa (prashvasa-uchchhvasa)
Inward-moving and outward-rising breath in the commentary.
bhAShA (bhasha)
Articulated speech formed at specific vocal locations.
The thirty downward-going dhamanis carry vata, urine, feces, shukra, artava, and related substances downward. On reaching the seat of pitta, they separate digested food-and-drink essence through heat, distribute nourishment to the body and to the upward and transverse dhamanis, replenish the seat of rasa, and distinguish urine, feces, and sweat. Between the amashaya and pakvashaya they divide into three sets. Ten carry paired streams of vata, pitta, kapha, blood, and rasa; two carry food, two water, two urine, two support the manifestation and two the discharge of shukra—with corresponding vessels carrying and releasing artava in women—two expel feces, and eight supply sweat to the transverse dhamanis. These vessels support and maintain the structures below the navel.
Carrying vata and the other listed substances is their general action, while 'and so forth' includes food and water. At the pitta seat, the food essence is understood to be separated progressively by the heat of agni and carried throughout the body. Because these vessels are downward-going, they do not directly travel to the heart, identified here as the rasa seat; instead they fill it through a succession of rasa production and transfer to upward and transverse vessels. Between the stomach and mature-bowel regions, 'water' means the liquid separated from digested food that later becomes urine upon reaching the bladder, and 'food' means the dense fraction that later becomes feces upon reaching the relevant bowel structure.
Key terms
adhogA dhamanI (adhoga dhamani)
A downward-going channel or vessel in the classical system.
pittAshaya (pittashaya)
The seat of pitta where digestion and separation are described.
rasasthAna (rasa-sthana)
The seat of rasa, identified by the commentary as the heart.
AmapakvAshaya (ama-pakvashaya)
The regions associated with undigested and digested contents.
shukravaha / Artavavaha (shukravaha / artavavaha)
Channels assigned to reproductive substances in male and female bodies.
Each of the four transverse dhamanis divides successively into hundreds and thousands, becoming innumerable. Through them the body is described as latticed, bound together, and pervaded. Their openings connect with hair follicles, through which they carry sweat and nourish the body internally and the skin externally. Through the same openings, the potencies of massage oils, pouring treatments, immersion, and pastes are said to enter the body after being transformed in the skin. Through them, together with mind, a person apprehends pleasant and unpleasant touch. Thus the four transverse dhamanis and their branches extend throughout the body.
The branching is described as occurring naturally, making the body resemble a structure filled with small lattice openings. Properly transformed food-rasa is carried through these mouths to nourish the interior and the skin. The commentary attributes transformation of topical substances in the skin to bhrajaka agni before their potency enters inward. Touch is apprehended by the embodied conscious person through these dhamanis when mind attends to them. Because touch occurs throughout the body, mind too is described as present throughout its channels; this also means the upward dhamanis are not confined to one fixed region.
Key terms
tiryaggA dhamanI (tiryagga dhamani)
A transverse or body-wide branching channel.
gavAkShita (gavakshita)
Pervaded like a lattice with many small openings.
romakUpa (roma-kupa)
Hair follicle or skin pore connected with channel openings.
bhrAjaka agni (bhrajaka agni)
The transforming principle located in the skin in the commentary.
Khani is glossed as srotases or channel spaces. Rasa is the principal substance said to be augmented through them, while the reference also extends to other potencies discussed just before, such as those of massage, pouring, and topical applications.
Key terms
khAni (khani)
Hollow passages, glossed as srotases.
mRuNAla (mrinala)
Lotus stalk used in the hollow-channel analogy.
bisa
Lotus rhizome or pith used in the analogy.
dhamanI (dhamani)
A pulsating or distributing channel in the classical system.
rasa
The principal nourishing substance said to increase through the channels.
Dhamanis pervaded by the five elements are said repeatedly to connect the five-sensed embodied person with the five sensory seats. After joining the subtle five senses with the five great elements, they reach dissolution at the time of the body's destruction.
The commentary preserves several difficult readings. Its primary explanation takes the dhamanis as produced from or pervaded by space, air, fire, water, and earth—or by sound, touch, form, taste, and smell. They connect the karma-purusha with the five sensory seats and, at dissolution, reunite the subtle senses with the five elements before themselves dissolving. Another reading, 'the five primal elements,' makes the elements the agents connecting the five-sensed person with the sensory seats. A further reading, 'fivefold,' interprets the dhamanis as connecting both five cognitive and five action faculties with their respective objects. Gayi instead asks why five sensory dhamanis do not apprehend all five objects simultaneously: only the dhamani approached by the single attending mind enables its corresponding sense to know its object. At death, these element-derived dhamanis return to their elemental states. A quoted passage likewise connects dhamanis with rasa transport, perception, breathing, and speech before the body becomes an insentient empty dwelling whose five elemental constituents remain.
Key terms
pa~jcAbhibhUta (pancha-abhibhuta)
Produced from, approached by, or pervaded by the five elements; the wording is interpreted in several ways.
pa~jcendriya (panchendriya)
The five-sensed person or the group of five faculties, depending on the reading.
indriyAdhiShThAna (indriya-adhishthana)
A bodily seat of a sense faculty.
pa~jcatva (panchatva)
Dissolution or return to the five elemental states.
karmapuruSha (karma-purusha)
The embodied person linked with sensory faculties.
The text describes signs of injury at the roots of eleven paired srotases carrying prana, food, water, rasa, blood, flesh, fat, urine, feces, shukra, and artava. The roots of the two prana-carrying channels are the heart and rasa-carrying dhamanis; injury is associated with distressed crying, bending, loss of awareness, vertigo, trembling, or death. The food-carrying pair arises from the amashaya and food-carrying dhamanis; injury is associated with distension, pain, aversion to food, vomiting, thirst, visual darkness, or death. The water-carrying pair is rooted in the palate and kloma; injury is associated with thirst and rapid death. The rasa-carrying pair shares the heart and rasa-carrying dhamanis as roots; injury produces wasting and the signs and possible death described for prana channels. Blood-carrying channels arise from the liver, spleen, and blood-carrying dhamanis; injury is associated with dusky discoloration, fever, burning, pallor, bleeding, and red eyes. Flesh-carrying channels arise from snayus, skin, and blood-carrying dhamanis; injury is associated with swelling, wasting of flesh, nodules in siras, or death. Fat-carrying channels arise from the waist and vrikkas; injury is associated with failure of sweating, oily limbs, dry palate, large swelling, and thirst. Urine-carrying channels arise from the basti and medhra; injury is associated with a distended basti, urinary retention, and rigidity of the medhra. Feces-carrying channels arise from the pakvashaya and guda; injury is associated with obstruction, foul odor, and knotted or constricted intestines. Shukra-carrying channels arise from the breasts and testes; injury is associated with loss of reproductive capacity, delayed emission, or blood mixed with shukra. Artava-carrying channels arise from the garbhashaya and artava-carrying dhamanis; injury is associated with infertility, inability to tolerate intercourse, and cessation of artava. Cutting the sevani produces pain. Signs of injury to basti and guda are said to have been described earlier. The text regards srotas injury as having a grave prognosis and historically directs treatment according to foreign-body and wound care principles.
The commentary focuses on root injury because the root is the larger or primary part and its signs are used to judge prognosis. It cites another text describing srotases as similar in color to the substance they carry, round, large or minute, long, and spreading like a network. There are two channels for each of the eleven carried entities, making twenty-two relevant to shalyatantra. Although channels carrying bone, marrow, and sweat are also acknowledged, their roots extend broadly—fat for bone and sweat, and all bones for marrow—so localized injury signs cannot reliably decide prognosis; they therefore fall outside this surgical discussion, though broader channel disturbance remains relevant in kayachikitsa. Some authorities count many more srotases, with numerous subdivisions. The commentary glosses distressed crying and pronounced bending among prana-root injury signs and says 'skin' in the flesh-root list denotes rasa because rasa resides there. The sevani-cutting statement is not rooted in the present sutra but was described elsewhere in connection with bladder-stone treatment. The basti and guda signs repeat the urinary and fecal channel injuries for clarity. Finally, it interprets the treatment statement as first declaring the grave prognosis and then applying the historical method of foreign-body removal; after removal, the wound-care method is used, again under the same guarded prognosis.
Key terms
srotas
A classical channel or pathway carrying a particular bodily substance or function.
mUla (mula)
The root or primary site of a srotas, whose injury is used for prognosis.
dhamanI (dhamani)
A pulsating or conducting structure distinct from sira and srotas in the text.
prANavaha (pranavaha)
Carrying prana; one of eleven paired srotas categories.
kloma
A classical organ or structure named as a root of water-carrying channels; its modern identity is disputed.
basti
The urinary reservoir or bladder-region structure in this context.
shukravaha
Carrying shukra or reproductive substance.
Artavavaha (artavavaha)
Carrying artava, the cyclical female reproductive substance in this framework.
sevanI (sevani)
A seam or midline structure whose cutting is said to cause pain.
A srotas should be understood as an internal passage that extends from a root or opening in the body and conducts material, while being distinct from a sira and a dhamani.
The commentary explains that the root opening may be the heart or another named cavity. The srotas is the intervening space or passage extending from that root and possessing the capacity to carry material.
Key terms
srotas
An internal conducting space or passage arising from a root.
mUla (mula)
The root or originating site of a channel.
kha
An opening or cavity, such as the heart and other named roots.
abhivAhin (abhivahin)
Having the function of conveying or conducting.
sirA (sira)
A vessel-like structure explicitly distinguished from srotas.
dhamanI (dhamani)
A pulsating or conducting structure explicitly distinguished from srotas.
This marks the end of the ninth chapter of the Sharirasthana in Dalhana's commentary on Sushruta entitled Nibandhasangraha. The transmitted spelling of Dalhana's name is shown with a textual variation.
Key terms
dhamanI (dhamani)
A classical pulsating or conducting structure.
vyAkaraNa (vyakarana)
Explanation or detailed account.
shArIrasthAna (Sharirasthana)
The division concerned with embodiment and anatomy.