A passage cited by the commentary instructs the surgeon to avoid marmas, sirAs, snAyus, joints, bones, and dhamanIs, listing sirAs after marmas. It is therefore appropriate for this chapter on sirAs to follow the individual description of marmas. Vibhakti means division or separation from a collective whole. The chapter distinguishes sirAs that carry vAta, pitta, kapha, and rakta, together with their respective reddish, blue, white, and red appearances.
Key terms
sirA (sira)
A classical channel or vessel categorized by what it conveys.
There are seven hundred sirAs. Through them the body is moistened, nourished, protected, and enabled to perform flexion, extension, and other particular actions, as a garden is supplied by water channels and a field by irrigation furrows. Their branches spread like the veins or seams of a tree leaf. Their root is the navel, from which they extend upward, downward, and across.
Although the finest sirAs cannot be individually counted, the commentary gives seven hundred as their aggregate number. It explains their shared function through two irrigation images: larger water conduits and smaller artificial streams represent coarse and fine sirAs. In younger people their supply builds nourishment; in older people, whose bodies have undergone age-related change, it maintains rather than fully replenishes. AnugRhyate means protected or sustained. 'Other actions' includes speaking, sleeping, and waking. The branching leaf analogy illustrates their minute extensions, and the final phrase takes the navel as the point from which they spread in all directions.
Key terms
sirAshata (sirashata)
Hundreds of sirAs, totaling seven hundred in the collective count.
jalahAriNI (jalaharini)
A water-bearing conduit used as an analogy for a larger sirA.
kulyA (kulya)
A small artificial irrigation stream used as an analogy for a finer sirA.
pratAna (pratana)
A spreading branch or extension.
nAbhi (nabhi)
The navel, described here as the common root of the sirAs.
The prANas of living beings are situated at the navel, and the navel depends upon the prANas. SirAs surround the navel as spokes surround the hub of a wheel.
The commentary explains the reciprocal relation of support and what is supported. Saying that the prANas are located at the navel means they reside in the sirAs that surround it, thereby identifying the sirAs as supports of life.
Key terms
prANa (prana)
Life-sustaining principles said to reside in navel-associated sirAs.
cakranAbhi (chakranabhi)
The hub of a wheel, used as an analogy for the navel.
ara
A wheel spoke, used as an analogy for surrounding sirAs.
AdhArAdheya (adharadhEya)
The relationship between a support and what it supports.
There are forty root sirAs: ten carrying vAta, ten carrying pitta, ten carrying kapha, and ten carrying rakta. From the vAta-carrying roots, those distributed in vAta's region total one hundred and seventy-five; the same number of pitta-carrying sirAs occurs in pitta's region, the same number of kapha-carrying sirAs in kapha's region, and the same number of rakta-carrying sirAs in the liver and spleen. Together these make seven hundred sirAs.
The commentary says the passage now divides the previously stated aggregate of sirAs into its root groups and their distributions, without adding further interpretation.
Key terms
mUlasirA (mulasira)
A root or primary sirA, forty in total.
vAtavAhinI (vatavahini)
A sirA classified as carrying vAta.
pittavAhinI (pittavahini)
A sirA classified as carrying pitta.
kaphavAhinI (kaphavahini)
A sirA classified as carrying kapha.
raktavAhinI (raktavahini)
A sirA classified as carrying blood, especially distributed to liver and spleen here.
Twenty-five vata-carrying siras are counted in each lower limb, and the same number in the other lower limb and each upper limb. In the trunk there are thirty-four: eight in the pelvis associated with the anus and penis, two on each side, six in the back, six in the abdomen, and ten in the chest. Above the clavicles there are forty-one: fourteen in the neck, four in the ears, nine in the tongue, six in the nose, and eight in the eyes. These make 175 vata-carrying siras. The same general distribution applies to the pitta-, kapha-, and blood-carrying groups, except that each of those has ten in the eyes and two in the ears. Thus seven hundred siras are described with their distributions.
After stating the general number of siras carrying vata and the other substances, the commentary explains their distribution by body part. The trunk subtotal of thirty-four and the above-clavicle subtotal of forty-one complete 175 for the vata group. 'One hundred and seventy-five' is the intended meaning of the compound. The same total of 175 applies separately to the pitta-, kapha-, and blood-carrying groups, with the stated eye-and-ear adjustment, producing seven hundred overall.
When vata moves normally through its own siras, it allows bodily and verbal actions to proceed unobstructed and supports clarity in the functions of the senses, mind, and understanding; when aggravated in those siras, it produces various vata disorders. Pitta moving normally in its siras produces brightness, appetite, strong digestive activity, health, and its other qualities; aggravated pitta produces pitta disorders. Kapha moving normally provides unctuousness to the limbs, stability to the joints, strength, fullness, and its other qualities; aggravated kapha produces kapha disorders. Blood moving normally fills the tissues, supports complexion and tactile awareness, and performs its other functions; aggravated blood produces blood-related disorders.
The commentary contrasts the normal and altered functions of vata, pitta, kapha, and blood in their respective vessels. Unobstructed kriya includes extension and flexion of the body and actions such as speech. Absence of moha means that the five cognitive senses, mind, and buddhi engage clearly with their proper objects. Bhrājishnuta means radiance. The brief references to 'other qualities' point back to functions enumerated elsewhere, such as movement and filling for vata, coloration and maturation for pitta, joining of joints for kapha, and clarity of complexion for blood.
Key terms
apratIghAta (apratighata)
Lack of obstruction in bodily, verbal, and cognitive activity.
bhrAjiShNutA (bhrajishnuta)
Brightness or radiance attributed to normal pitta.
sandhisthairya (sandhi-sthairya)
Stability of the joints attributed to kapha.
dhAtupUraNa (dhatu-purana)
Filling or nourishing the tissues, attributed to blood.
prakopa
Aggravation associated with pathological effects.
Adhikarana 8 (16) · Śloka 16
na hi vātaṁ sirāḥ kāścinna pittaṁ kēvalaṁ tathā |
ślēṣmāṇaṁ vā vahantyētā ataḥ sarvavahāḥ smr̥tāḥ ||16||
View original
न हि वातं सिराः काश्चिन्न पित्तं केवलं तथा |
श्लेष्माणं वा वहन्त्येता अतः सर्ववहाः स्मृताः ||१६||
Meaning of the śloka
No sira carries only vata, only pitta, or only kapha. For this reason, the vessels are remembered as carrying all of them.
🔊 Audio coming soon
Show commentary
prākr̥tavātādivahānāmapi sirāṇāṁ sarvatra sarvakāryōpalambhāt sarvavahatvaṁ darśayannāha- na hi vātamityādi||16||
Meaning of the commentary
Although siras are named according to the normal substance they predominantly carry, their functions are observed throughout the body. The commentary therefore treats every sira as sarvavaha, capable of carrying all, rather than absolutely exclusive to one dosha or blood.
Key terms
kevala
Exclusive or alone.
sarvavaha (sarva-vaha)
Carrying all rather than only one named substance.
sirA (sira)
A vessel in the classical anatomical system.
prAkRuta (prakrita)
Normal or unaggravated in this context.
Adhikarana 9 (17) · Śloka 17
praduṣṭānāṁ hi dōṣāṇāṁ mūrcchitānāṁ pradhāvatām |
dhruvamunmārgagamanamataḥ sarvavahāḥ smr̥tāḥ ||17||
View original
प्रदुष्टानां हि दोषाणां मूर्च्छितानां प्रधावताम् |
ध्रुवमुन्मार्गगमनमतः सर्ववहाः स्मृताः ||१७||
Meaning of the śloka
When aggravated doshas become intermingled and move forcefully, they inevitably depart from their proper paths. Therefore the siras are also called carriers of all substances in the pathological state.
The commentary applies sarvavaha to vessels during doshic aggravation as well as in the normal condition. Murchhita here means that the disturbed doshas have mixed with one another, and unmargagamana means movement outside their proper routes.
Key terms
praduShTa doSha (pradushta dosha)
A disturbed or aggravated dosha.
mUrcchita (murchhita)
Intermingled with one another in this commentary.
unmArgagamana (unmarga-gamana)
Movement outside the proper pathway.
sarvavaha (sarva-vaha)
Capable of carrying all the intermingled disturbed factors.
Vata-carrying siras are described as aruna and filled by vayu. Through pitta, the corresponding siras are warm and blue; through kapha, they are cool, pale or white, and stable. Blood-carrying siras are red and neither excessively warm nor excessively cool.
After dividing the siras by what they carry, the verse distinguishes them by traditional color, temperature, and physical character. The commentary introduces this as the color-based classification and provides no additional explanation.
Key terms
aruNA (aruna)
Reddish-brown or tawny, the color assigned to vata-carrying siras.
nIlA (nila)
Blue or dark-colored, assigned here to pitta-carrying siras.
gaurI (gauri)
Pale or whitish, assigned to kapha-carrying siras.
rohiNI (rohini)
Red-colored, describing blood-carrying siras.
nAtyuShNashItala (natyushna-shitala)
Neither excessively warm nor excessively cool.
Adhikarana 11 (19-21) · Śloka 21
ata ūrdhvaṁ pravakṣyāmi na vidhyēdyāḥ sirā bhiṣak |
vaikalyaṁ maraṇaṁ cāpi vyadhāttāsāṁ dhruvaṁ bhavēt ||19||
sirāśatāni catvāri vidyācchākhāsu buddhimān |
ṣaṭtriṁśacca śataṁ kōṣṭhē catuḥṣaṣṭaṁ ca mūrdhani ||20||
śākhāsu ṣōḍaśa sirāḥ kōṣṭhē dvātriṁśadēva tu |
pañcāśajjatruṇaścōrdhvamavyadhyāḥ parikīrtitāḥ ||21||
The physician is now told which siras must not be punctured, because puncturing them is said certainly to cause impairment or death. Of the seven hundred siras, four hundred are assigned to the four limbs, 136 to the trunk, and 164 above the clavicles. Sixteen in the limbs, thirty-two in the trunk, and fifty above the clavicles are classified as unsuitable for puncture.
The commentary says the earlier total of seven hundred siras is repeated across the six bodily regions so that puncturable and non-puncturable siras can be distinguished. Each limb has twenty-five siras carrying vata and the other three categories, producing one hundred per limb and four hundred overall. It clarifies that the head-and-neck count is one hundred plus sixty-four, not merely sixty-four.
Key terms
sirA (sira)
A classical vessel-like channel; its exact modern anatomical identity varies by context.
The text gives a regional inventory of siras and identifies those not to be punctured. Each leg contains one hundred; one jaladhara and three internal siras—two urvi and one lohitaksha—are protected, and the same pattern applies to the other leg and both arms, making sixteen protected siras in the limbs. The pelvic region has thirty-two, with eight protected at the two vitapas and two katikatarunas. Each flank has eight, with one upward-going sira on each side protected along with two at the flank joints. The back has twenty-four, with four brihati siras protected; the abdomen likewise has twenty-four, with four beside the hair-line above the genital region protected. The chest has forty, of which fourteen are protected: two at the heart, four at the roots of the breasts, and eight across the stanarohita, apalapa, and apastambha sites. Thus thirty-two are protected across the pelvis, flanks, back, abdomen, and chest. Above the clavicles are 164 siras: the text then enumerates protected siras of the neck, jaws, tongue, nose and palate, eyes, ears, forehead, temples, and crown, totaling fifty.
The commentary explains jaladhara as supporting net-like complexes of flesh, siras, snayus, bones, and joints extending toward the brush-like extremity. The two urvi siras are counted separately here because of proximity, although an earlier marma section treated them as one site. It details the trunk subtotal: eight pelvic, two flank, four back, four abdominal, and fourteen chest siras make thirty-two protected siras. In the neck, twelve marma-named siras—eight matrikas, two nila, and two manya—plus two at krikatika and two at vidhura make sixteen. The jaw siras are included in the neck total, though Gayi counts sixteen jaw siras separately and protects two that bind the joints. Of thirty-six tongue siras, sixteen lie below and twenty above; two carrying taste and two carrying speech are protected. Gayi instead counts twenty-eight tongue siras and protects six carrying taste. The text counts twenty-four nasal siras, protects four near the nose, and one at the soft-palate region near the uvula; Gayi counts sixteen nasal siras and five protected. It counts thirty-eight across the eyes and protects one at each outer canthus; Gayi counts twenty-four. It counts ten in the ears and protects one sound-carrying sira in each; Gayi counts sixteen. Sixty nasal and ocular siras extend into the forehead, where four at the hairline, one at each avarta, and one at sthapani are protected. The ten temple siras and twelve crown siras are treated as part of that sixty rather than added separately; protected crown sites are two utkshipas, one at each of five sutures, and one adhipati. Gayi instead includes forehead siras differently, counts eight temple siras separately with two protected, and counts twelve crown siras separately with eight protected.
Key terms
jAladharA (jaladhara)
A protected limb sira said to support net-like tissue complexes.
UrvI (urvi)
A named protected internal sira of each limb.
lohitAkSha (lohitaksha)
A named protected internal sira of each limb.
bRuhatI (brihati)
An upward-going protected sira of the back.
mAtRukA (matrika)
One of eight protected marma-associated siras in the neck.
Siras arising from the navel spread throughout and surround the body, like the spreading fibers of a lotus stalk extending from its root through water.
The commentary uses this verse to explain why siras occur everywhere despite the fixed enumeration given earlier. Just as branching fibers arise from a lotus rhizome and spread through the water, siras are said to arise from the navel and pervade the entire body.
Key terms
sirA (sira)
A classical vessel-like channel distributed throughout the body.
nAbhi (nabhi)
The navel, described here as the origin of the siras.
This marks the end of the seventh 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
sirA (sira)
A classical vessel-like channel.
varNa (varna)
Color or appearance used in classification.
vibhakti
Division or classification.
shArIrasthAna (Sharirasthana)
The division concerned with embodiment and anatomy.