Gunas (20)

Gunas (20):
1. a set of primary attributes/qualities of all substance associated always with substance but are without quality themselves;
2. inactive cause
3. principally reveal the physical / static nature of substance (as opposed to its chemical nature)
4. universal and eternal, these are categories which define, in groupings or 10 continua, the nature of individual substances
5. content of the container-substance, e.g.: a stone has the qualities of hard, static, solid, gross, etc.
6. a category of action which causes the result given by its name; see below. [ Note: there are 41 total attributes of ¨Ayurveda listed in 4 groupings—gurvadi or physico-pharmacological which include these 20 listed below; paradi or pharmacological = 10; visishsha or specific (sense data) = 5; adhyatmika or psychological/mental = 6]



Attribute Continuum
1. Guru / Laghu heavy/light weight
2. Manda / Theekshna sharp/dull-slow intensity
3. Uhsna/sheethaq hot/cold temperature
4. Ruksha / Snigdha dry/oily emolliency
5. slakshna / Khara smooth/rough texture
6. Drava / Sandra liquid/dense-solid viscosity
7. Kathina / Mrdu hard/soft rigidity / compressibility
8. Cala / Sthira mobile/static fluidity
9. Sookshma / Sthula subtle/gross density
10. Vishada / Picchila clear/cloudy-sticky adhesion




Attribute Action
1. Guru tonic, apatarpana
2. Laghu † lightness / activity, santarpana
3. Manda pacifies, apatarpana
4. Teeskhsna cleans, santarpana
5. Ushna † perspiration, santarpana
6. sheetha condenses, apatarpana
7. Ruksha dries, santarpana
8. Snigdha produces moisture, apatarpana
9. slaksha stimulates growth, apatarpana
10. Khara rarifies, attenuates, santarpana



Attribute Action
11. Drava dissolves/mixes, santarpana
12. Sandra nourishes, apatarpana
13. Kathina fastens, hardens, solidifies, apatarpana
14. Mrudu relaxes, santarpana
15. Cala excites, † motion, santarpana
16. Sthira supports, apatarpana
17. Slashana penetrates, analyses, santarpana
18. Sthula covers or protects, apatarpana
19. Vishada clears, santarpana
20. Picchila forms a coating, apatarpana


other Important features of this category:

• affects digestion
  
• acts as a nutritional basis of the body
  
• give inferential knowledge of taste (a secondary attribute based upon elemental compostion), and vipaka
  
• are the basis of the 6 therapeutic strategies or actions (langhana, stambhana, etc.)
  
• not dependent upon the physical weight of the substance
  
• acts on basis of physical and chemical properties
  
• effect may be short or long lasting in the body
  
• acts in a general way / affects the whole body; this action is inferential
  
• acts on the proliferation (prasara) stage of pathogenesis (samprapti)
  
• as a category of drug action there is much correspondence with modern notion of inter-atomic distances of a given substance