Vatashonita by Prof. S.N. Ojha

Vātaśonita is the disease produced by vitiated vāta dośa and rakta which impede the gati of each other causing the disease. 

This disease is also renamed as ādhyaroga i.e. mainly affluent people are affected by the disease as said by Chakrapāni.

 Very detailed aetiological factors had been mentioned in Caraka Samhita which were in practice during that very time and now has become either out dated or localized to very remote places in India, like pinyaka (in ancient time, the residue of oil seeds were eaten after oil had been extracted), madya like arnāl, sauvir, sukta, surā, āsava like alcoholic beverages which were in use which have been replaced by refine alcoholic drinks like beer, wine etc. Again during old time horse, camel and yāna (carts) were used for travelling which may be co related with travelling means of modern era. 

The disease is predominant among the people who in general are not habitual to physical activity rather they have more sedentary lifestyle. People of pitta prakriti (pitta constitution) are prone to develop vātaśonita, sukumāratwa (delicate personality) is the characteristic feature of pitta prakriti.

Each of the three dośa, which are physiological entity can be subdivided into three types depending on the mode of action which each of the three execute in the normal and pathological stages,

 a) normal physiological activities of the body are dhātu dośa (normal dośa), 

b) abnormal physiological activities of dośa in the body- (vitiated dośa) and 

c) by products of abnormal physiology will be the mala dośa (waste product) only which have anatomical entity and are removable from the body. 

All normal micro and macro movemental activities in the body are dhātuvāta, all the activities responsible for heat production and regulation are dhātu pitta and all the synthesis or productive activities of the body are dhātu kapha. Dośa (normal physiological activities) are very essential for the body so in that context they are called as dhātu, but when they are prone to vitiation they are called as dośa. All abnormal movemental (macro and micro) activities in the body are caused by vitiated vāta dośa, abnormality in heat production and regulation in the body are caused by vitiated pitta dośa and abnormal synthesis in the body are caused by vitiated kapha dośa and by products of abnormal activities (pathological activities) are mala dośa, they tarnish (malini karnat) the body so called mala.

In case of vāta śonita there should be abnormality in movemental activity (vāta dośa) as well as abnormality of rakta. Due to metabolic disturbances (dhātwāgni vaishamya) there is overproduction of metabolites like uric acid, calcium pyrophosphate, etc. High concentration of these metabolites in blood should be considered as raktaduśti, high concentration of uric acid and other metabolites in blood slows the propulgation of blood in capillaries and hence there is stagnation of it near the joints and dependent parts of the body. Uric acid escapes and enters into the joints and other tissues from the stagnated hyperuricemic blood, and the same time there may be reduced excretion of uric acid through kidneys, these all disturbed movemental activities are considered as vāta duśti and over production of uric acid during metabolism of nucleoproteins and through de novo pathway may be considered as agniduśti. It is observed that patients suffering from vātaśonita also have visamāgni (disturbed digestive capability), it is a rule that if the jatharāgni (digestive capability) is disturbed the other types of agnī (metabolism) will also be disturbed. It is the beauty of Ayurvedic science that has mentioned all and very different etiological factors responsible for a) agni vaisamya b) dośa prakopa and c) dhātu dushti directly or indirectly.

Inflammation of joints may also occur by some other metabolites like calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition which is also a by product and resultant of agni dushti (disturbed metabolism).

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Prof. Satyendra Narayan Ojha

MD PhD (Kayachikitsa)

Director

Yashwant Ayurveda College & P.G. Training & Research Center

Kodoli, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India.

Mobile No. +91 9822177155

email: drsnojha@rediffmail.com