1. Bhutagni in Liver
By Dr. K. Sivaramprasad
etabolism refers to changes taking place in the living body
and its constituents. 'Cayana' standing for collection or
gathering is the term for metabolism in Ayurveda' On this
ground apaLc yawould be catabolism. For cayana, the food
consumed is r:he initial but another factor cdl ed agni is cruciaL
This is because, food bY itself is dhatus- rasa, raffia, etc., referring to
incapable of nourishing the body in the the agnis that would be active in these
absence of this fire, which corresponds seven constituents of the body. They
to the complex of the enzYmes and correspond to the tissue metabolism
hormones involved in metabolism. lt is and the enzyme complex responsible
this complex that as Charaka states, is for it.
what is responsible for life processes,
Food is first digested and absorbed by
complexion, strength, health, energy,
the gastro intestinal tract. This is
anAbolism (upacaya), glow, ojus, lustre, jatharagnipaka. lt is then transported
body heat and life breath. As such this
to liver for bhutagnipaka.The final step
factor of agni is what maintains,
preserves and promotes maintenance .
is what takes place in the dhafus, bY
lhe dhatwagnipaka. '
of good health. As the Parlance of
modern medical science, all these At every place, the cavanakriya results
activities involve the complexes of in two products, what is nourishing and
enzymes and hormones. propititating (prasada) and what is
ln consonance with their theoretical useless and therefore to be discarded
thinking, our ancient authors recognise
(kitta). Any defect here, either in
thirteen types of agnr.s. The first one is
processing of food or discarding the
lhe jatharagni, the metabolising impurity will lead to disease and
complex within the stomach or rather therefore causes the need for a
the whole of the gastro intestinal tract. restorative correction on the part of the
This is central to all agni actions in the physician.
body. Food comes in contact with the As these three are the normal
body for the first time here. The next metabolic levels of activity there can be
level of agnlis that of the five primordial three corresponding.levels of def ective
elements that make up the body.These metabolism traceable in turn to
are called lhe bhutagni referring to
-
the agnis that would metabolise prithvi,
defective enzymes complexes at the
respective places or mandagni (teeble
ap, teja, vayu & akasha comPonents digestive power).
of the food as they would get distributed
to intermediary metabolism and the Bhutagnipaka follows iatharagnipaka
enzyme (hormone) comPlex and it completes the Process of
responsible for it.The third and the final intestinal diEestion. lt is only after the
level of the agnl is at that of the seven completion ol bhutagnipaka that the
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AvunMsol-INE

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