Ayurveda believes in multiple factors present in our body to maintain health and run our life smoothly. The definition of health according to Ayurveda is as follows – “The balanced state of bodily humors (doshas), digestive fire (agni), body tissues (dhatus) and well formation and excretion of waste materials (mala-kriya) along with the sound state of soul, sense organs and manas. Among these, the digestive fire (agni) has its own importance. In one context, it is said that “agni itself is the body.” It shows how much important this.
Here in this article, you’ll get to know the knowledge about the How to balance the digest element among 5 different elements in our body, how does it work, its types, its different status, its actions, the diseases caused due to poor digestive fire, and the ways to maintain its balance.
Ayurveda holds a beautiful concept regarding the constitution of our body. It says that – the way in which universe is formed, in the same way our human body is also formed. It is quoted by the verse – “Yad pinde tad brahmaande.” Our body has three bodily humors (doshas) – Vata, Pitta and Kapha. In the same way, the universe is guided by wind, sun and moon. The way in which the wind, sun and moon hold the functions of the outer world, in the same way vata, pitta and kapha hold the functions inside our body.
Sun in the outer world and the pitta inside our body are directly related to our digestive fire. Greater intensity of the sun makes our pitta strong that ultimately increases the digestive element and so with the lesser intensity. As it is said previously that “agni itself is body” so, many of the diseases are originated due to the disturbance in the digestive fire. So, we need to take care of our it in order to remain healthy.
Mainly, there are three types of fire in our body. They are as follows:
Altogether, there are 13 types of fire as Bhootagni are further sub-divided into 5 sub-types and Dhatwagni into further 7 types.
The main action site of Bhootagni is the liver.
Naturally, the status of the digestive fire varies according to the time of the day, age, etc.
Digestive fire mainly deals with the Jatharagni. It has four main conditions:
Diseases associated with different conditions of the digestive insufficiency are:
Condition |
Diseases |
Mandagni / Poor |
Anorexia, loss of taste sensation, drowsiness, fever, indigestion, tumor, lymphodema, obesity, hypothyroidism, loss of libido, etc. |
Teekshnagni / Very high |
Skin diseases, haemorrhage, inflammation, UTI, etc. |
Vishamagni / Variable |
Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, sciatica, neural diseases, etc. |
Imbalanced digestive fire is the root cause for every disease. So, it is the most important to maintain a balanced state of it.
The principal of maintaining digestive fire:
Condition |
What to do |
How to do |
Mandagni / Poor |
Increase agni
|
Intake of pungent, sour and salty tastes food. Bitter taste in small amount before meals. Ginger, black pepper, long pepper, cinnamom, Cyperus rotundas. Take bath every morning. Physical exercises. Eat light meals. |
Teekshagni / Very high digestive fire |
Lower the agni
|
Intake of sweet, bitter and astringent tastes food. Eat heavy meals. Eat light meals at low intervals. Intake of adequate amount of water. |
Vishamagni / Variable |
Balance the agni |
Uniform routine to take meals. Intake of rock salt, asafoetida, cumin seeds. Intake of luke warm water. Intake of garlic every morning in the empty stomach. |
Samagni / Balanced |
Maintain the balance |
Maintain the daily routine. Intake of coriander, turmeric. |
In Ayurveda, hiccups are known as "Hicca" and are believed to be caused by an…
Janu Basti is an Ayurvedic treatment that involves pouring warm medicated oil or herbal decoction…
Ashmari is a condition described in Ayurveda that refers to kidney stones. According to Ayurveda…
In Ayurveda for indigestion is known as "ajirna" and it is considered to be a…
Ayurveda for diarrhea is referred to as "atisara". It is considered a condition in which…
In Ayurveda , arthritis is referred to as "Amavata" or "Sandhivata." Ayurveda considers arthritis to…