Dhatu a Mala - body tissues and waste products

Ahar is food that has been prepared for consumption, which involves effort, time and transformations. It is already a dhatu. The process of producing it involved fluctuation, transformation and solidification of its new form as an amalgamation of ingredients. Ahar includes all supplies and raw material processed into the form of food. Ahar is anything consumed for the purpose of creating bodily dhatus.

Just as when we cook, the dish we are preparing can be produced successfully or not, so the dhatus can be produced successfully or not.

Rasa: the food undergoes the digestion process through mouth, esophagus, stomach, duodenum and into the small intestine. In the small intestine, all nutrients are absorbed into the circulatory system in the vascular liquids. The absorbed substance is called Ahar Ras (juice from food). Usually we call it just Ras. This Ras nourishes all types of body tissues.

Rakta: After absorption, Rasa becomes a part of the vascular liquid. As such, it is processed by the liver a circulates through all tissues and capillaries, where it directly transforms into tissues. The part of Rasa that goes through the liver is transformed into Rakta in liver. These are the red blood cells and haemoglobin, although this description is contrary to modern medical science. According to Ayurveda, blood is produced in the liver. This blood can carry oxygen and prana through the circulatory system into each and every capillary and to all types of tissue cells.

Mamsa: like other types of tissue, the muscle tissue is connected to the circulatory system, getting nutrition from the vascular liquid which includes both Rasa and Rakta. The mass of Rakta transforms into the muscle fiber and grows, nourished by Rasa. The muscle fibers may be autonomous, i.e., they are not connected to the bones (e.g., the heart muscle) or they are attached to the bones (e.g., the skeletal muscles). It is important to keep in mind that the term Mamsa in Ayurveda denotes only the red part of a muscle, not the tendons and ligaments.

Meda: may be compared to the modern term adipose tissue, which creates all epithelia (layers surrounding organs, veins, tendons, ligaments and various connective tissues in joints). The Meda capillaries are connected to the vascular liquid which nourished them. The previous tissue is the Mamsa dhatu, and Meda exists to hold the muscle together through various membranes.

Asthi: Asthi tissue directly depends on the Meda tissue. Meda transforms into Ashti via the joint fluids and cartillages. Thus, the bone cells are nourished from Rasa. This is the place where the muscle contained by fat is anchored.

Majja: the term bone marrow suggests that it is a mass that provides resistance and strength to the bone. The bones are spongy and these pores are filled with the marrow. The bone marrow is responsible for the bone strength, it originates from Ashti and grows by accumulation of a lot of Rakta. In modern medical science, the nerve cells (nerves) form a separate chapter. In Ayurveda, the nerve is described differently. The nerve partially resembles Majja dhatu surrounded by Meda dhatu. Therefore the nerve tissue is not considered as an independent tissue in Ayurveda.

Shukra: usually it is translated as the sperm and the ovum. This tissue is the result of the full formation of Majja dhatu. It is present in the whole body, although it accumulates in the reproductive tissues. In women, Shukra dhatu usually begins to mature at 12 - 15 years of age, in men in 14 - 17 years. Women reach full maturity in 15 - 17 years and men in 18 - 21 years.

To understand Dhatus in the body (the body tissues) and their development better, it is good to begin with embryology. The first tissue to develop is Rasa, which spreads and in the subsequent stage Rakta dhatu appears. In time line, Rakta transforms into the muscle tissue (heart muscles), which gradually develops into the vascular system and other epithelia of the organs. Subsequently, the cartillages grow. The skin is a secondary tissue of Mamsa dhatu. This is the manner in which the embryo develops. Its detailed study helps us to understand the growth of dhatus and their development.

The production of all Dhatus depends on the basic Rasa dhatu and the very Dhatu agni (hormone). Their processing leads to a new Dhatu as well as to the waste products called Mala. There are three basic waste products produced by tissue formation - sweat, urine and feces.

The word Dhatu means the materials of the body, its tissues. The body receives its appearance through Agni and other energies that may become imbalanced. This imbalance is called Dosha, i.e., disorder of forces. By this, we mean Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Disruption of the process of tissue production, causing the production of useless tissue, is called Dushya. In this sense, the three concepts are used in this verse. Dhatu (tissue) Dosha (imbalance) and Dushya (error). The reader should clearly understand these concepts.

Dushya means the process of tissue production has failed to produce the desired outcome. The factors that cause the failure can be divined through the intellect only. The material that has been produced is a toxin, it is useless.

Life manifests itself through the human body, and that is what Ayurveda is about. The body is a composition of different tissues. Even a badly produced tissue is still a tissue. A life where there is disease is a life where the tissues are being disrupted and the chance that they will serve the function of life is less. 

When the dhatus are malformed, their waste products are also malformed and the byproduct of each that is necessary to create the next will also be malformed. This can result in pain, life cannot manifest through such a body.

When tissues die, they are like the shell of a snail. The living snail is what we are interested in.

When there is no genuine joy, it means life is not thriving.

We must not confuse our labelling of the "shells", our identification of the different parts of the body, with an understanding of life. We must understand how each different part is created and what function it serves to understand that. 

The point of Ashtanga is to understand how to read the body and the life it is manifesting.