Basic Principles of Ayuveda – Agni
Agni is the Digestive Fire which in modern biological terminology is Enzymes. Agni in other words the enzyme is found in the gastrointestinal track. The gastrointestinal tract is also know and alimentary canal. The alimentary canal digests the food. The three doshas on proper normal digestion result in samagni. The aggravated state of the doshas governs the digestive activity. The digestive activity could be excessive, deficient or healthy. The three agnis produced by the three doshas are Vishamagni (irregular fire), tikshnagni (sharp fire) and mandagni(mild fire)
The digestion is weak and irregular and gas is causes if there is excessive Vayu in the body.
A situation similar to an overheard furnace is created when there is excessive Pitta in the body. When this is the situation there is rapid burning of food, indigestion, thirst, sensation of burning, acidity etc. Sometimes malnutrition can be caused by the burning of the nutrients by the agni.
Presence of excessive Kapha in the digestive tract lowers the digestive fire and consequently the digestion of the food becomes difficult. This results into the person feeling lethargic, dull, inadequate, and poor. The person may feel his stomach to be heavy and he may suffer from constipation.
The Vayu , Pitta and Kapha also affect the type of feces that are excreted in other words ‘stools’. Disorders in Vayu result in hard stools because of dryness. Disorders in Pitta lead to excess of heat that ultimately results in soft or liquid stools. Stools because or Kapha are moderate. A moderate stool is considered a healthy stool and is thrown out of the body once or twice a day.
There are in all 13 agnis that are housed in the human body and these 13 agnis are responsible of digestion.
- Jatharagni: The Jatharagni works at the gastrointestinal level. It governs and controls the basic digestion. It also controls the remaining 12 agnis.
- 5 Bhutagnis: The five elements present in body tissues are metabolized by the 5 Bhutagnis. The 5 Bhutagnis are a form of heat. They are always there in the tissues. The proper development and functioning of the tissues is dependent on the 5 Bhutagnis.
7 Dhatagnis: The seven dhatus present in the body tissues are metblized by the 7 Dhatagnis. The digestion of food is followed by this biochemical activity. This biochemical activity includes the catabolic as well as the anabolic activities going on in the body.
[...] Agni: The Agni relates to the digestive fire in other words the enzymes. The food in the alimentary canal [...]
Agni is basically the Digestive Fire which in modern biological terminology is known as Enzymes. Agni also known as enzyme is found in the gastrointestinal track. The gastrointestinal tract is also known as alimentary canal. The alimentary canal basically digests the food. In the same manner there are numerous benefits of Agni.