Guna

The word ‘guna’ literally means attribute, property [SAT-A.125], quality, peculiarity, virtue, merit or excellence. It also represents a single thread or strand of a cord or twine. This article deals with the guna which represents quality or property.

Contributors

Section/Chapter/topic	Sharira / Guna
Authors	Deole Y.S.,Aneesh E.G.
Reviewed by	Basisht G.
Affiliations	Charak Samhita Research, Training and Development Centre, I.P.G.T.& R.A., Jamnagar
Correspondence email:	carakasamhita@gmail.com
Publisher	Charak Samhita Research, Training and Development Centre, I.T.R.A., Jamnagar, India
Date of first publication:	July13, 2020
DOI	10.47468/CSNE.2020.e01.s09.023

Etymology and derivation

The word guna is derived from the root ‘guna amantrane’, which means to invite. That which attracts or invites towards a particular object is called its guna. [Vachaspatyam]

Definition

Guna is the inseparable concomitance (samavaya) with the substance but is devoid of any action (nishcheshta).[Cha.Sa.Sutra Sthana 1/51] The action is always presented through medium of a substance (dravya).

Contextual meanings

The word ‘guna’ is also implied to denote other contextual meanings like importance, good quality, advantage, multiplication (folds/times).

Types

Total 41 guna are explained in Ayurveda. They are classified under the following headings[Cha.Sa.Sutra Sthana 1/49]

• Physical properties (sharira guna): These are 20 in number.
• General properties (samanya guna): These are 10 in number.
• Spiritual properties (adhyatmika guna): These are 06 in number.
• Properties of objects of senses (indriyartha/ vishishta guna): These are 05 in number.

Physical properties (sharira guna)

There are twenty physical properties which form ten pairs with their opposites. Each property has a specific fundamental constitution. The property shows biological effects through medium of a substance. The properties (guna) have inseparable concomitance (samavaya) with substance. Following table shows details about fundamental constitution, biological effects of each property with their applications in treatment.

Serial No	Physical Property (guna)	Fundamental constitution	Effect on dosha	Biological effect	Application in treatment	Example
1	Heavy (guru)	Prithvi,Jala	Increases Kapha, Pacifies Vata	Produces heaviness(gaurava), increases excreta (mala) and coats the body channels (srotas upalepa), nourishes and increases mass, density	Nourishing therapy(brimhana), Oleation therapy (snehana), Sudation therapy (swedana)	Black gram (Masha) etc.
2	Light (laghu)	Vayu , Akasha , Agni	Increases Vata, Pacifies Kapha	Reduces weight and volume (lekhana) of excreta (mala), clears the channels of the body (srotas), enhances enthusiasm, weakens, wound healing	Reducing therapy (langhana), Drying therapy (rukshana), Styptic therapy (stambhana), Scrapping therapy (lekhana), Scarification (vranalekhana)	Hot water, Green gram (Mudga)
3	Cold (hima/sheeta)	Jala	Increases Kapha and Vata, Pacifies Pitta	Styptic action (sthambhana) and produces pleasantness	Nourishing therapy (brimhana), Oleation (snehana), styptic therapy (stambhana); pacifies burning sensation (daha), giddiness (murchcha) and thirst(trit)	Chandana (Santalum album)
4	Hot (ushna)	Agni	Increases Pitta, Pacifies Kapha and Vata	Produces sweating and burning sensation	Reducing therapy (langhana), Drying therapy (rukshana), sudation therapy (swedana), Increases the digestive fire (dipana), digestion of toxins (pachana)	Chitraka (Plumbago zeylanica)
5	Unctuous (snigdha)	Jala	Increases Kapha, Pacifies Vata	Produces unctuousness and softness in the body, lubricates elements	Nourishing therapy (brimhana), oleation therapy (snehana), sudation therapy (swedana), provides strength, improves complexion, aphrodisiac	Ghee, oil
6	Rough (ruksha)	Prithvi, Vayu, Agni	Increases Vata, Pacifies Kapha	Produces dryness, absorbs fluid and moisture	Drying therapy (rukshana), styptic therapy (stambhana), reducing therapy (langhana)	Barley (yava)
7	Slow or dullness (manda)	Prithvi, Jala	Increases Kapha, Pacifies Pitta	Responsible for slow and mild effector delayed response	Nourishing therapy (brimhana), oleation (snehana), styptic therapy (stambhana)	Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia)
8	Sharp (tikshna)	Agni	Increases Pitta, Pacifies Kapha	Responsible for quick and severe effect	Sudation therapy (swedana), reducing therapy (langhana), drying therapy (rukshana)	Bhallataka (Semecarpus anacardium), pepper
9	Stable or immobile (sthira)	Prithvi	Increases Kapha, Pacifies Vata	Produces firmness, stability	Nourishing therapy (brimhana), drying therapy (rukshana), styptic therapy (stambhana)	Bala (Sida cordifolia)
10	Mobility (sara)	Vayu	Increases Vata, Pacifies Kapha	Responsible for fast spreading or initiates the movement	Sudation therapy (swedana), reducing therapy (langhana), oleation therapy (snehana)	Haritaki (Terminalia chebula)
11	Soft (mridu)	Jala, Akasha	Increases Kapha, Pacifies Pitta	Produces softness or fragility	Nourishing therapy (brimhana), oleation (snehana), styptic therapy (stambhana), reduces burning sensation, inflammation and secretions	Ghee
12	Hard (kathina)	Prithvi	Increases Vata, Pacifies Kapha	Produces hardness or rigidity	Reducing therapy (langhana), drying therapy (rukshana)	Bone, teeth, pravala
13	Non-slimy/clear (vishada)	Prithvi, Vayu, Agni, Akasha	Increases Vata, Pacifies Kapha	Reduces the moisture and cleans channels	Reducing therapy (langhana), drying therapy (rukshana), Wound cleaning and healing	Nimba (Azadirachta indica), alkali (kshara)
14	Slimy (pichchila)	Jala	Increases Kapha, Pacifies Vata	Produces stickiness or coating	Nourishing therapy (brimhana), Oleation therapy (snehana)	Isabgola
15	Smooth (shlakshna)	Jala	Increases Kapha, Pacifies Vata	Produces soothing effect	Nourishing therapy (brimhana), styptic therapy (stambhana)	Ghee, Milk
16	Coarse/Rough (khara)	Vayu	Increases Vata, Pacifies Kapha	Produces scrapping effect	Reducing therapy (langhana), drying therapy (rukshana)	Honey, vacha (Acorus calamus)
17	Gross (sthula)	Prithvi	Increases Kapha, Pacifies Vata	Produces bulkiness and cause obstruction in body channels	Nourishing therapy (brimhana), oleation therapy (snehana)	Curd
18	Minute/fineness/subtleness(sukshma)	Agni, Vayu, Akasha	Increases Vata, Pacifies Kapha	Penetrate into the minute body channels	Reducing therapy(langhana), sudation therapy (swedana), styptic therapy (stambhana)	Poison (visha), alcoholic preparation (madya)
19	Solid (sandra)	Prithvi	Increases Kapha	Produces compactness	Nourishing therapy (brimhana)	Butter
20	Liquidity/Fluidity (drava)	Jala	Increases Kapha	Increases the fluidity and reduces the compactness	Sudation therapy (swedana), Oleation therapy (snehana), styptic therapy (stambhana)	Water, milk

Rough (karkasha) property is mentioned by Sushruta instead of coarse (khara). He added quickly acting(ashukari), pleasant odour (sugandha), foul smell (durgandha), pervading (vyavayi) and expanding by destroying body tissues (vikashi) in the list of properties.[Su.Sa.Sutra Sthana 46/515-524] Dehydrated (shushka) property is added by Bhavamishra.

Cold(sheeta), hot (ushna), unctuous (snigdha), dry (ruksha), non-slimy (vishada), slimy (pichchila), heavy (guru), light (laghu), soft (mridu) and sharp (tikshna) show specific capacity for specific functions,hence they are also termed as ‘active properties’ (karmanyaguna) [Rasavaisheshika].

General properties (samanya guna)

These properties can be assessed by their effects or relative actions on more than one substance. The properties are essential for assessment in clinical practice and judgment. [Cha.Sa.Sutra Sthana 26/35]

Serial No	General property	Effect and assessment	Example
1	Superiority/Dominance (paratva)	It shows superiority or excellence of some substance over other. Dominance of a principle is also assessed	Amalaki (Phyllanthus emblica) is superior anti-ageing (vayasthapana)drug over other [Cha.Sa.Sutra Sthana 25/40]; Dominance of dosha in fundamental constitution (prakriti) and disease.
2	Inferiority/dormant (aparatva)	It shows the substance with inferior or dormant quality	Sheep’s milk is inferior in quality for health in comparison to other varieties of milk.[Cha.Sa.Sutra Sthana 25/40]
3	Reasoning (yukti)	Success depends upon rational application based upon dose and time of administration. Logical reasoning is applied in clinical treatment	Poison is fatal, but if used judiciously it will act as medicine.
4	Enumeration (sankya)	Counting/numbering is possible	There are three doshas, seven dhatu
5	Conjunction (samyoga)	Combination of two or more substances	Combination of two(dwidoshaja) or three doshas(tridoshaja) in a disease; use of compound formulations in medicine
6	Disjunction (vibhaga)	The disintegration of a substance into its components	Reductionist approach; separating active principle of a drug and using in treatment
7	Separation (prithakatva)	Quality by which one substance is differentiated from other	Oil is separated from water if mixed together
8	Measurement (parimana)	It is quality by which measurement of various substances is possible	Amount of blood in body of adult male is approximately 5 liters
9	Transformation (samskara)	The original quality of a substance is changed after processing it with other substance	Ghee when processed with medicinal drugs shows qualities of that drug
10	Repetition (abhyasa)	Repeated practice or consumption of a particular substance	Regular consumption of milk and ghee is best for rejuvenation.[Cha.Sa.Sutra Sthana 25/40]

These properties are important in view of research perspectives. The comparative studies (para-aparatva), analytical studies and reasoning (yukti), statistical analysis (sankhya), combination in multi drug therapy (samyoga), pharmaceutical processing (samskara), long term follow up studies (abhyasa) are essential components of research.

Spiritual properties (adhyatmika guna)

These properties are related to psycho-spiritual aspects of human being. These are presented through mind (mana) and can be assessed subjectively.

1. Intellect (buddhi)
2. Happiness or comfort (sukha)
3. Sorrow or discomfort (dukha)
4. Desire (ichcha)
5. Aversion (dvesha)
6. Perseverance (prayatna)

Properties of objects of sense organs (indriyartha guna)

These properties are based upon sensory perception of senses. It represents the fundamental constituent also. These can be assessed subjectively as well as objectively.

1. Sound (shabda) property of auditory senses (shravanendriya) and represents akasha mahabhuta
2. Touch (sparsha) property of tactile senses (sparshanendriya) and represents vayu mahabhuta
3. Shape/Form (rupa) property of visual senses (darshanendriya) and represents agni mahabhuta
4. Taste (rasa) property of gustatory senses (rasanendriya) and represents jala mahabhuta
5. Odour (gandha) property of olfactory senses (ghranendriya) and represents Prithvi mahabhuta

Along with this,one more classification of guna that is mahaguna is considered. [A.S.Sutra Sthana.1/29]

Fundamental universal properties (Mahaguna)

These three are produced from the material nature during primitive evolutionary process of the Universe (prakriti). These are also termed as primary attributes of mind.[SAT-A.126]

1. Sattva guna: It means goodness. It is purest quality of mind which is responsible for knowledge, enlightenment and happiness. It is the quality of balance, harmony, goodness, purity, universalism, holism, construction, creativity, positivity, peacefulness, and virtue.
2. Rajas guna: It means passion. This is responsible for all deeds(karma), desires and sorrows. It is the quality of passion, activity, neither good nor bad and sometimes either, self-centeredness, egoism, individualization, drivenness, movement, and dynamism.
3. Tamas guna: It means ignorance. This is responsible for laziness and delusions. It is the quality of imbalance, disorder, chaos, anxiety, impurity, destruction, delusion, negativity, dullness or inactivity, apathy, inertia or lethargy, violence, viciousness, and ignorance.

In human beings, these are represented in psychological plane as purest quality, initiator and regulator of all activities respectively. Sattva is pure form of mind, while rajas and tamas are causative factors for psychiatric disorders.[Cha.Sa. Sutra Sthana 1/57] These three guna connect soul (atma) with physical body. The eternal living entity (atma) is conditioned by these three modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. Salvation (moksha) is attained after freedom from all these properties.

Relation with mahabhuta and dosha

Universal property	Fundamental element (mahabhuta)	Cause and effect
Sattva	Akasha	Enlightenment (prakashakatva)
Rajas	Vayu	Mobility (chalatva)
Tamas	Prithvi	Extreme obstruction/covering (atyantaavaraktva)
Sattva + Rajas	Agni	Enlightenment (prakashakatva) and mobility (chalatva)
Sattva + Tamas	Jala	Clarity (swachchtva), enlightenment (prakashakatva), heaviness (gurutva), obstruction (awarakatva)

[Su.Sa. Sharira Sthana 1/20 with Dallhana commentary]

Relation with dosha

The physical (sharira) and psychological (manas) planes are inter-connected to each other. Sattva guna in psychological plane is related to pitta dosha; rajas is related to vatadosha and tamas is related with kaphadosha. Accordingly, the physical and psychological activities are regulated.

Properties of constituents of human being

Properties of fundamental elements (panchamahabhuta)

The five fundamental elements possess specific properties and show effects.

Mahabhuta	Properties
Prithvi	Heavy (guru), rough (khara), hard(kathina), dull (manda), stable (sthira), non-slimy(vishada), solid(sandra) and gross (sthula)
Jala	Liquid(drava), unctuous (snigdha), cold (sheeta), dull (manda), soft (mridu) and slimy (pichchila)
Agni	Hot (ushna), sharp (tikshna), subtle (sukshma), light (laghu), dry (ruksha) and non-slimy or clear (vishada)
Vayu	Light (laghu), cold (sheeta), dry (ruksha), rough (khara), non-slimy (vishada) and subtle (sukshma)
Akasha	Soft (mridu), light (laghu), subtle (sukshma) and smooth (shlakshna)

[Cha.Sa.Sutra Sthana 26/11]

Properties of dosha

The effects of dosha on body are caused due to their properties.

Dosha	Properties
Vata	Dry (ruksha), cold (sheeta), light (laghu), subtle (sukshma), moving (chala), on-slimy or clear (vishada) and rough (khara)
Pitta	Slightly unctuous (sasneha), hot (ushna), sharp (tikshna), liquid(drava), mobile (sara)
Kapha	Heavy (guru), cold(sheeta), soft (mridu), unctuous (snigdha), stable (sthira), slimy (pichchila)

[Cha.Sa.Sutra Sthana 1/59-61]

Properties of dhatu

Dhatu	Properties
Rasa dhatu	Liquid, unctuous, cold, soft, slow/dull, slimy
Rakta dhatu	Subtle, light, liquid, mobile, unctuous
Mamsa dhatu	Heavy, dull, stable, hard, smooth, gross
Meda dhatu	Heavy, cold, soft, unctuous, stable, slimy
Asthi dhatu	Heavy, rough, hard, stable, clear, gross
Majja dhatu	Unctuous, soft, smooth, dull/slow
Shukra dhatu	Liquid, cold, heavy, unctuous

The body components show actions according to their properties. These properties are considered while treating abnormal states.

Relation of properties and active constituents of substances

Properties and tastes

The substances with specific tastes (rasa) possess variable degrees of properties as below:

Property	Highest degree	Moderate degree	Mild degree
Dryness (ruksha)	Astringent (kashaya)	Pungent (katu)	Bitter (tikta)
Unctuousness (snigdha)	Sweet (madhura)	Sour (amla)	Salt (lavana)
Hot (ushna)	Salt (lavana)	Sour (amla)	Pungent (katu)
Cold (sheeta)	Sweet (madhura)	Astringent (kashaya)	Bitter (tikta)
Heaviness (guru)	Sweet (madhura)	Astringent (kashaya)	Salt (lavana)
Lightness (laghu)	Bitter (tikta)	Pungent (katu)	Sour (amla)/ Salt (lavana)

[Cha.Sa.Sutra Sthana 26/53-56]

These are rationally applied in treatment.

Potency (veerya)

The potency of a substance depends on the property it possesses. All substances are divided into two main categories viz. hot (ushna) and cold (sheeta) based upon their potency. [A.H.Sutra Sthana 1/17]

Factors affecting degree of effect of properties

Seasons and predominance of properties

During hot season, the sharp (tikshna), hot (ushna) and dry (ruksha) properties are prevalent in environmental conditions. Cold (sheeta) and unctuous (snigdha) properties are predominantly present in cold season. [A.H.Sutra Sthana.3/5] These changes affect human biology and produces respective effects accordingly. The seasonal factor (kala) shall be considered in diagnosis and treatment.

Variations in properties

Some properties are influenced by effect of time, environmental factors etc. The substance may lose its properties due to influence of other factors. The freshly collected grains are heavy to digest (guru), but in due course of time, the grains become light to digest (laghu). [Chakrapani on Cha.Sa.Vimana Sthana 1/22(2)]

Different interactions of properties

A substance may inherently possess opposite properties and show different actions accordingly. For example, Tinospora cordifolia shows properties of sweet (madhura) post digestion effect and hot potency (ushna veerya). These two are opposite in effect, however tinospora pacify pitta dosha due to its sweet effect and kapha dosha due to its hot potency. The effect of a substance is essentially observed after its interaction with human biological components. In case of interactions, the dominant property shows major impact, while the recessive property does not show any impact or shows mild effect. [A.H.Sutra Sthana 9/24]

Importance of knowledge of guna

Knowledge of guna is essential in every field to define standards. The actions or effects of each substance are caused due to its properties (guna) due to inseparable concomitance.[Cha.Sa. Sutra Sthana 1/50] The knowledge about property of an object is possible through analyzing its actions only.[Su.Sa.Sutra Sthana 46/514] Guna is the only principle which explains the drug activity. This is to be assessed objectively through action of that drug. The taste, potency and post digestion effect (vipaka) are the different expressions of guna only.

Importance in prevention

Heaviness and lightness in relation to digestibility of food items is considered to decide appropriate quantity of food and preserve the equilibrium state of digestion and metabolism (agni). [Cha.Sa. Sutra Sthana 5/6]

In order to preserve health, one shall follow the diet and regimens opposite to the qualities of the habitat and causative factors of the diseases prevalent in that region. E.g. if the person belongs to marshy area, which is predominant in oiliness (sneha), heaviness (gaurava) etc. properties, then he shall follow the diet possessing the properties dryness, lightness etc. [Cha.Sa. Sutra Sthana 6/50]

Importance in diagnosis

Properties (guna) are fundamental part of all aspects of management. In diagnosis and treatment of disease, the body components are assessed in terms of its normal and abnormal properties. Thus, guna are tools for assessment.

Guna of a substance shall be understood properly to know cause, pathogenesis and treatment of a disease. Some examples are as given below:

Excess consumption of diet and lifestyle having similar properties to dosha and opposite to dhatu are causative factors for vitiation of channels of transport and transformation of body constituents (srotasa). [Cha.Sa. Vimana Sthana 5/23] [A.H.Sharira Sthana 3/44]

Excess use of substances having dry and cold property can cause vata dominant diseases[Cha.Sa. Chikitsa Sthana28/15], exposure to hot substances causes hemorrhagic disorders (raktapitta) and consumption of unctuous substance can cause obstinate urinary diseases (prameha).

In pathogenesis of abdominal lumps and tumors (gulma), the body channels are hardened due to dryness (ruksha).[Cha.Sa. Nidana Sthana 3/7] Skin becomes excessively dry or excessively smooth in skin diseases due to increased dryness of vatadosha and unctuousness of kaphadosha respectively.[ Cha.Sa. Chikitsa Sthana 7/34-36]

Mobility (chalatva) is a property of vatadosha. If this property is lost in a subject, that can be inferred as an abnormal reduction in vatadosha. This type of properties can be assessed in patients in the form of signs and symptoms in order to estimate the amount of dosha.

Importance in treatment

In treatment, the depleted levels of body components are increased by administration of dietary and medicinal substances (dravya) having similar properties (guna) and effects (karma). Similarly, the increased levels are lessened by administration of those having opposite properties. Thus, the equilibrium is maintained. [Cha.Sa. Sharira Sthana 6/9]

Diseases are caused due to abnormality in dosha. The skillful use of medicines, diet and regimens having opposite qualities of causative or abnormal dosha helps to cure the disease. [Cha.Sa. Sutra Sthana 1/62] The diseases caused due to aggravated vatadosha can be treated with regimens having hot (ushna) and oily (snigdha)properties. Regimen with cold (sheeta), soft (mridu) and slimy (pichchila) properties pacifies pittadosha. Regimen with sharp (tikshna), dry (ruksha) and non-slimy (vishada)properties reduce kaphadosha.[Su.Sa.Sutra Sthana.41/11] The physician must know properties of the herbs. Usage of herbs without knowing its complete properties can cause harmful effects. [Cha.Sa. Sutra Sthana 1/125]

Herbs with specific properties are administered in therapeutic procedures. In therapeutic emesis (vamana),medicines with lightness property (laghuguna) are selected. This helps to expel dosha through the upward direction i.e. mouth. Similarly, medicines with heaviness (guru) property are selected for therapeutic purgation (virechana). This helps in downward movement of dosha to expel through anal route. [Su.Sa.Sutra Sthana 41/6]

Research perspectives

Based upon the objective and subjective assessment, each guna can be viewed in following probable criteria:

Sr No	Guna pair	Assessment parameter/Measurement
		Objective	Subjective
1	Heavy (guru)-Light(laghu)	Weight of solids/ volume of liquids and gaseous substances	Feeling of heaviness or lightness based on grading scores
2	Slow/dull (manda) and sharp (tikshna)	Speed of action, effect, release, slow response or fast response, fast acting, slow acting substances	Feeling of dullness or sharpness
3	Cold (sheeta)-hot (ushna)	Temperature and generation of heat, boiling point and freezing point	Feeling of warmth/burning sensation or dampness
4	Unctuous (snigdha)-dry (ruksha)	The amount of oiliness, fat content, absorption	Unctuousness on touch and visible signs of oiliness
5	Smooth (shlakshna) and coarse (khara)	Coarseness/roughness and smoothness parameters	Hardness/roughness and smoothness on touch
6	Solid (sandra) and liquid (drava)	Size of molecules, state of substance	-
7	Soft (mridu)and hard (kathina)	Softness and hardness parameters, malleability	-
8	Stable (sthira) and sara/chala (mobile)	Speed of movement of particles	Speed of movement
9	Subtle (sukshma) and sthula (gross)	Size of particles, fineness, molecular structure, penetrability	-
10	Vishada (non-slimy/clear) and slimy (pichchila)	Passage of particles or clarity in appearance	-

Contemporary views

The physical properties are measurable, whose value describes a state of a physical system. These are listed as below. The probable correspondent guna is given as below. However, it shall be clear that the guna concept of Ayurveda shows some biological effect after interaction with human biology. Whereas the physical properties of a substance are observed in vitro and not necessarily show the same biological effect as of guna. More research is needed to study the degree of co-relation of the same.

Physical property	Guna
Absorption (physical)	Ruksha
Area, distribution, mass	Sthula
Brittleness	Khara
Boiling point, melting point, temperature, specific heat	Ushna and Sheeta
Color, radiance, refractive index, luster, albedo (whiteness)	Rupa
Concentration, fluidity, pressure, viscosity, volume	Sandra, Drava
Density, flow rate (mass), flow rate (volume)	Guru, Laghu
Solubility, opacity	Vishada, Picchila
Efficacy, intensity	Manda, tikshna
Elasticity, hardness, ductility, stiffness, strength, plasticity, malleability	Mrudu, Kathina
Spin, velocity, frequency, momentum	Sthira, chala, sara
Permeability	Sukshma

Current researches

Some experimental research studies have been conducted to refine the objective parameters used for assessing unctuousness-dryness (snigdha-ruksha) and cold-hot (sheeta-ushna) properties by employing suitable pharmacological models. Absolute evaluation of one guna is not possible in a living body since there are infinite factors related to each and every biological event. Metabolic study (dipana pachana experiment), intestinal secretion and motility test, and swimming stress test (swimming induced hypothermia) have been employed to assess the effects of various drugs having unctuous-dry, cold-hot properties. Drugs with cold and unctuous properties have shown to increase in body weight in metabolic experiments compared to drugs with hot and dry properties. Drugs with unctuous property alleviated stress-induced hypothermia, drugs with dry property aggravated it.

In another clinical research, the administration of drugs with dry property showed significant reduction in serum cholesterol levels in patients of hyperlipidemia. Hyperlipidemia is considered as elevated unctuousness in body.

A research on combination of drugs (samyoga) can enhance efficacy. The combination of Terminalia chebula (Haritaki) and rock salt (saindhava lavana) showed enhanced efficacy in patients of cough with expectoration(kaphajakasa) as compared to their effect as separate drugs.

List of theses done

1. Rao T Srinivas (1970), Panchabhauticguna (A study w.s.r to guru and laghu) - Department of basic principles, IPGT&RA Jamnagar
2. Supriya S Bhalerao (1998), A comprehensive study of gunas and evolution of some objective parameters in the context of snigdha and rukshaguna [PhD Thesis] - Department of basic principles, IPGT&RA Jamnagar
3. Santosh Mane (2009), Evolution and evaluation of some objective parameters for ushna and it's gunas based on panchabhautik theory and experiments. [PhD Thesis] -Department of basic principles, IPGT&RA Jamnagar
4. Anand Buchake (2002), An assessment of the activities of rooksha guns w.s.r to sthaulya. Department of Dravyaguna, IPGT&RA Jamnagar
5. Nalage Dilip H (2004), A study of samskara and its role in alteration of pancha-bhautika composition of dravya, Department of basic principles, IPGT&RA Jamnagar
6. Balaji Potbhare(2005), Concept of snigdaguna and applied study to evolve some objective parameters - Department of basic principles, IPGT&RA Jamnagar
7. Rout Ajaya Kumar (2009), Conceptual and applied study of Paradiguna w.s.r to Samyoga guna – Department of basic principles, IPGT&RA Jamnagar
8. Sunny C Patil (2014), Fundamental and applied aspect of yukti as pariksha and guna in Ayurveda, Department of basic principles, IPGT&RA Jamnagar

Related Chapters

Deerghanjiviteeya Adhyaya, Atreyabhadrakapyiya Adhyaya, Ayurveda, Kaarya Kaarana Siddhanta, Samanya Vishesha Siddhanta, Dravya, Padartha, Karma, Disha,Samavaya,Abhava

List of references

The list of references for Guna in Charak Samhita can be seen here

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