Gurvadi gunah - 

In Ayurveda, all existing Dravyas and their effects are characterized by twenty Gunas (qualities). These qualities are a natural part of the given Dravya. Some authors consider some of these Gunas to also be Veerya, while pther authors distinguish only a heating and a cooling Veerya. The Gunas are the driving power of the Dravya that force it to behave in the manner through which we can identify it as unique and different from other substances. We could say that Guna is like the consciousness of matter.

We know, for example, that ginger is heating, that it has the quality of Ushna (heating, hot) which makes it heating, and thus ginger is a heating material. As soon as it loses its heating quality, it is no longer ginger.

This does not mean that the matter itself is heating, but rather that it has one Guna that causes it to be heating. If the matter changes its Guna, then it naturally changes its form as well, and we give it a different name to express this different identity. For example, we know that water flows, but when it evaporates and becomes a cloud, it becomes light, and we do not call it water but "steam". When the same water freezes, it is hard - Kathina - it sits on one spot as compact matter, and we call it "ice". These are three different names for these permutations of one kind of matter, water, where each name corresponds to (and indicates) a different quality (Guna) or state of the material.

Everything material has Gunas through which it is identified, and similarly, each tissue in the human body has its Guna. For example, Rasa is the tissue with the Drava (liquid) quality. When this liquid quality begins to thicken and concentrate, it is no longer Rasa, but Sandra, which is the quality of the next tissues in the line of production, Rakta, Mamsa, Meda. When the concentrated tissue solidifies, it acquires the quality of Kathina (hard) and thus we call the tissue Asthi (bone). When the bone begins to crumble (for example due to osteoporosis), it becomes light (Laghu) and we no longer consider it bone proper - rather it becomes a more porous material. 

Each matertial has Gunas that identify it as unique. As soon as the Gunas change, the matter loses its identity. Ayurveda places emphasis on observation and understanding. Ayurveda explains that we can distinguish the Gunas that identify any material as itself. Any transformation of that material manifests itself in the Gunas. We can manipulate the Gunas so that a tissue retains or recovers its unique identity, if it has become distorted, and this we call healing.

Gunas are the expression of all existing materials, as has already been said, and they are distinctly connected with the Panchmahabhutas of the basic elements in various proportions. The Tridoshas are connected similarly. In the terminology, there are only three Doshas but all of the Gunas can be used to describe and explain them. Therefore, comprehension of the Tridoshas requires an accurate analysis of their Gunas.

The Gunas are always relative and perceived in comparison and in context, in relation to their opposites. For example, in comparison to ice, yogurt taken from a refrigerator is warm. A Guna is not a matter for debate, but requires perception and understanding. The individual Gunas will be explained separately.

These are characteristics of dravya, and we are interested in perceiving its substance, not so much in its materialization. The different aspects that comprise this substance are its gunas. Different observers will be differently able to perceive the gunas and understand how they work. The 20 gunas listed here are not the only gunas that exist, but this set is called the guruvadi guny, which means the "guru + etc." gunas. 

Let's take an example:  Each person owns property - computer, boots, car, etc. - that is "his", and likewise, each dravya has the gunas that are their own. Visisheka considers there to be nine basic gunas, with a different definition of this idea and in other philosophies they are counted as 17, 23, 24, etc. with a different definition - it depends on the distinctions being drawn.

In this verse, there are 10 main, foundational, unchanging gunas and their opposites (so 20 total) are being discussed - these are common to all of the philosophies and are considered given.

When we increase the agni for each of these 10 foundational, unchanging gunas, they tend toward their opposite, then move from an inert or inactive state to an active and mobile one.

These are the main gunas: 

Guru (heavy), Manda (slow), Hima (cold), Snigdha (unctuous), Slaksna (smooth), Sandra (solid), Mrdu (soft), 

Sthira (stable), Suksma (subtle), Vishada (clear).

Their opposites are simply a version of these gunas with the addition of agni. This means that there is an infinite number of possibilities depending on how much agni is added - depending on the proportion of the 10 main gunas to their opposites, the resulting manifestation will differ and this is how it is possible to create a seemingly infinite variety of unique manifestations.

The amount of agni determines the impact the guna will have. For example, if we need to listen to something and we use headphones, the increased agni of using the headphones will make it easier to listen, the agni means that the audio impulse becomes predominant to the exclusion of other stimuli.

We are this agni, we are not the material of the body.

Examples: Drav - fluidity and chala - volatility. Fluidity also involves movement (e.g., a snake moving, a snail moving, the air moving. Movement is about transitioning from one place to another. Concerns and doubts are like the brakes on a car, they slow movement down and bring it to a stop. Inactivity is achieved. When a person has concerns, it stops the person, and that can be safe, but if there are too many concerns, the person gets stuck in place and growth cannot happen, development cannot happen, because the brake is on. Determination means not using the brake, and that means a great deal of activity can happen and all of the active gunas can be perceived. What is guru is fixed in place. If a person knows something, is convinced of it, then the person has no concerns about that conviction and nothing can stop him. Conviction is a psychological quality of the mind. When there is a fixed point, no movement in either space or time, then the gunas are fixed, guru. When we excrete, the excrement is guru, it stays where it is, but in our intestines it was not guru, it was laghu as a result of agni, such as gas. This is why we have to flush excrement into the sewer system, physically. If we take a dandellion, then it is heavy when it has its yellow blossion, after it has matured, but then due to heat, dehydration and contraction, the blossom becomes so light its seeds can be blown away easily, because guru has become laghu. Similarly, manda can become tikshna. If tea leaves are soaked in the water before we turn on the heat, then after the heat is applied the water begins to boil and bubble, and we see a whirlpool develop there, that is the rapidity from being heated. From sheeta to ushan - the motor of a car is cold before it starts, but once the car is driving the motor is hot. Snigda to ruksha - snigda is the ability to connec things, it is connectivity, binding. For histology the organs, the tissues, the cells, this sticking together is done by fat, which has the guna of snigdha. Other biological materials are produced fro this. Snigdha connects, thanks to this ability it can bring everything around along with it. This is the difference between an attractive person and a repulsive one. The difference is in snigdha, where there is more connective force. The cell membrane is binding, paper is binding. If a person doesn't have the guna of snigdha, then he or she is repulsive. There is a saying in Czech when something is "not greasy and not salty" - that means this binding nature is not there. The opposite is ruksha - driness, but not in the sense of "not wet". Ruksha means something that can tear other things apart, that is sharp. What lack is bindingness, connectivity. Slakshna is fine, smooth slick, it separates things so they maintain their identity. For example, the stomach, liver, diaphragm, spleen, are all next to each other, but they maintain their identity, they don't release their contents, the stomach does not pass its contents on to the diaphragm. They are next to each other, stuck to each other, and they are also separate - that is the ability of smoothness. The opposite is khar, roughness, which captures things, which does not stay within its own borders, like a rude person interfering with others. That is the difference between khar and slakshna. Sandra means dense. This is like the difference between flour and dough - the dough is dense. Density means the space between the particles is less. Flour floats away and it adds driness to the dough. There is also the difference between steam and ice. Ice is dense. When something is dense, it does not flow. It's the difference between syrup and sugar. Syrup flows, sugar does not. Kathin means hard. If we can pick something up and we press it between our thumb and finger, and it doesn't change, but our fingers are pressed by it, that is hardness. Iron is kathin, but anything that we can push around is soft, mrdu, like our skin or the musles on our fingers. Soft means we can squeeze it. Bone is hard. Anything that stands upright is harder than things that cannot. A child sleeping is very heavy, but a child awake is light on his feet. That's why we say that people who know something, who comprehend things, are soft and people who just pretend to know are hard and uncompromising. Comprehension, knowledge brings understanding. Softness means adaptability. If a couple is arguing and one of them learns how to back down, then that brings softness into the marriage. To say "I'm right, this has to be my way", is harshness. Then there is stul and sukshma. Everything that reflects color and sound waves is gross matter for the senes. To perceive what is subtle requires buddhi, intellect. Much cannot be perceived through the senses, sometimes it can be perceived with a microscope, but sukshman means this subtlety is no longer material, it cannot be perceived with the sense organs, it can just be sensed with the intellect. Thoughts are subtle this way. 

Sthir means constant and unmoving. Chala means movement. Avil means contaminated, mixed up, grown together, holding something that it doesn't want to let go. Vishada means pure, clean, holding just one substance. This means that 10 gunas are inactive, and when awareness, a plan, a desire, Purusha enters them, activity begins, and that activity is life. If there is no ability to reason, no buddhi, then there is no ability to sense things. Where there is reason, there is the ability to sense things with the intelligence. Remember this difference between looking for something and perceiving what is.