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== [[Sharira Sthana]] Chapter 5 ==                                           

== [[Sharira Sthana]] Chapter 5 ==                                           

=== Abstract ====

=== Abstract ===

Purusha Vichaya literally means detailed (or comprehensive) search or analysis of the person (or purusha). While the two preceding chapters explain the developmental phases of an embryo from its inception as a fetus to the growth factors that culminate with the birth of the child, this chapter deals with factors that help transform the child into a fully grown purusha. An important takeaway from this chapter is the view that the purusha is a microcosm mirroring the universe, or the macrocosm. This is briefly indicated in the preceding chapter (Garbhavakrantim, verse 13), where it is said that the purusha epitomizes the universe. All the structural forms that exist in the universe also exist in purusha and vice-versa. A study of the purusha, in Ayurveda, is not simply restricted to studying the physiology of a human being. Rather, the purusha is said to be formed of the same shad dhatu (pancha mahabhuta, or the five fundamental elements, and the supreme consciousness) that the universe is made of, and thus signifies an interdependence between the microcosm and the macrocosm. The person is also called shaddhatuja purusha. This study underscores Ayurveda’s premise that a person – or a human being – should not be seen in isolation, but in the context of a harmony between man and the environment.  

Purusha Vichaya literally means detailed (or comprehensive) search or analysis of the person (or purusha). While the two preceding chapters explain the developmental phases of an embryo from its inception as a fetus to the growth factors that culminate with the birth of the child, this chapter deals with factors that help transform the child into a fully grown purusha. An important takeaway from this chapter is the view that the purusha is a microcosm mirroring the universe, or the macrocosm. This is briefly indicated in the preceding chapter (Garbhavakrantim, verse 13), where it is said that the purusha epitomizes the universe. All the structural forms that exist in the universe also exist in purusha and vice-versa. A study of the purusha, in Ayurveda, is not simply restricted to studying the physiology of a human being. Rather, the purusha is said to be formed of the same shad dhatu (pancha mahabhuta, or the five fundamental elements, and the supreme consciousness) that the universe is made of, and thus signifies an interdependence between the microcosm and the macrocosm. The person is also called shaddhatuja purusha. This study underscores Ayurveda’s premise that a person – or a human being – should not be seen in isolation, but in the context of a harmony between man and the environment.  

Keywords: Purusha, Man, microcosm, loka, macrocosm, universe, cause of disease and happiness, serenity, path to emancipation.

Keywords: Purusha, Man, microcosm, loka, macrocosm, universe, cause of disease and happiness, serenity, path to emancipation.

=== Introduction ===

=== Introduction ===