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Introduction

It is often said that having a good vyadhikshamatva keeps on better health or having a good Oja sarata means having a good health or ‘aarogya’ or having a good balance. All the three factors are extremely important for having good health condition, but for one’s Health three different things are said to be important causes and that too of equal importance.[1] To understand the main base of this Health (Aarogya) and that how all the three factors are important for aarogya, we need to understand the relation between the three things viz. Vyadhikshamatva, Oja, Dosha.[2]

Vyadhikshamatva is explained as Vyadhi bala virodhikam(this term refers to the ability of body to resist the any Disease(vyadhi) Or in other terms it is said as the ability of body to overcome a disease in the least possible time according to body's immunological power and vyadi utpad pratibandhak. (this refers to the power of body to resist even the occurrence of a disease.[3] Body’s immunological power is developed to the level where body is able to prevent itself from the imbalances inside or outside the body as the two main types of diseases are-Nija(disease caused due to internal causes) and Agantuj. (Disease caused due to external factors as microbial/fungal infection etc.)[4]

Oja- It is explained as the essence of all the seven dhatus, that means, when all the seven dhatus are formed serially as rasa, rakta, mansa, meda, asthi, majja, shukra after that the essence of all the 7 dhatus forms Oja, and this Oja becomes the reason of strength in the body.[5]

Dosha- It is explained as the base(Structural and functional unit)of body through which this Chaturvinshati Sharir is made up of. The doshas are of two types- Sharir dosha and Mansik dosha. Each dosha is of three types. Sharira dosha are three- Vata, Pitta, Kapha and Manasik dosha are three- Satva, Rajas, Tamas.

Relation between Vyadhikshamatva, Oja, Dosha.

               Vyadhikshamatva, Oja and dosha all are deeply correlated with each other. Vyadhikshamatva and Oja are correlated as Oja it provides strength to the body, and this strength does not only refer to bodily strength, but it overall includes all the aspects of strength starting from muscle power, to brain capability to the level of body's strength to recover and resist from various diseases and such diseases that have already occurred , to prevent them from reoccurrences and this is what is the definition of body's Vyadhikshamatva. In this way immunity is correlated with Oja.[6]

               Connection of Oja with doshas, Oja which is said to be the factor responsible for providing strength to the body. And Doshas, that are the base of this body, these are deeply connected as well as, On doshas being balanced the dhatus formed will be of good quality and good dosha level of balance will keep Jatharagni in a good position leading to formation of a good quality to aahar rasa which will further lead to formation of good quality of dhatus which is depicted by dhatu sarata and as an end product of this quality of dhatu sarata leads to the formation of good quality of Oja.[7]

               So having a good balance between the sharirik tridosha leads to formation of good quality of Oja, but only sharirik dosha is not responsible for the formation of good quality of oja, the contribution of Manasik dosha into the formation of good quality of Oja as having good satva gives your body adequate support to help it function properly and thus leads to proper formation of oja, while having high amount of rajasik and tamasik guna in one's body then in such a condition the body is not able to be properly coordinated and thus these rajasik and tamasik guna makes our ‘Mana’ to be tempted towards aetiological factors that creates disbalance of our sharirik dosha and thus affecting dhatu Sarata-oja, Sarata and at last it affects vyadhi kshamatva.[8] In this way, satva becomes the health promoting factor that helps us in controlling our ‘Mana’ and also maintains the mental health and thus helps in balancing the doshas, while the Rajas and tamas becomes the doshas (health deteriorating factors) due to its properties and out of all the manasik dosha that affects the most is Tamasik dosha due to its properties.[9]

Properties of Manasik and Sharirik dosha:[10]

 

Manasik Dosha-

Satvik- This can be explained as all the good that is happening inside the body. The intelligence that one possesses, the balance that one has over one's body, the strength one has to overcome the fear etc. All of these activities are responsible because of satva.

Rajasik- Rajas is responsible for the stimulatory action and for the mobility present in the body. The bravery that one possesses is a result of the rajasik guna that the person possess.

Tamasik- Tamas s meant the heavy properties in the body, it induces guna like aalasya, nidra, tandra etc and puts a stop at various activities and in this way, it acts as a controller of mind.

Features of Sharirik dosha:[11,12]

Vata- ruksha(dry), laghu(light) , sheeta(cold) , khara(roughness) , sookshma(subtle) , chala(mobility)

Pitta- sa-sneha(slight oily), tikshna(sharp), ushna(hot), laghu(light), vistra(unpleasant smell), sara(fluidity), dravam( liquid content)

Kapha- Snigdha(unctuous), sheeta(cold), guru(heavy), manda(slow), shlakshna(slimy), mrutsan (sticky), sthira(stable).

Oja as a barrier between Health and diseases:

Oja and Vyadhikshamatva has a deep connection in itself it is very well observed till now but how does this relation helps in providing better protection against diseases?

               For this, if we see that having good quantity of oja i.e.½ Anjali oja in our body indicates a good dhatu sarata and thus further indicates a good balance between the sharirik and manasik doshas, so this is a clear indicative of a good physique and a person who is with a good physique is less prone to various disorders or diseases for such a person with a good sarata and doshas are balanced, a critical disease also becomes easily curable while for a person with asarata and vikruta doshas a simple disorder or disease becomes a blunder for them and is difficult to treat. So, this explains that oja is one of the most important barriers between health and diseases, some other barriers are having a good mental health i.e. Satva guna in person. And considering all the factors oja creates a base for a good vyadhikshamatva thus acts as a barrier against diseases.[13,14]

Effect of Oja dushti on Vyadhi kshamatva:

Oja, which acts as a barrier for diseases and thus prevents us from various kinds of ailments. , if such an important defence system of body weakens then there are greater chances of getting diseases, this is to understand the effect of Oja dushti on vyadhikshamatva but different dushtis shows different effects on Vyadhikshamatva and thus on external body. So, basically there are 3 types of oja dushti, these are[15]

1. Oja visrams
2. Oja kshaya
3. Ojo vyapat

1. Oja visrams- In this type of Oja Dushti, Oja is contaminated by the vitiated doshas and this contaminated oja when gets into systemic circulation, it disbalances the Dhatavagnis and thus manifests its effects as numbness, weakness, inactivity etc.

               Some symptoms of Oja visramsa given by Aacharyas are-

1. Sandhi vishlesha(looseness of joint)
2. Gatra sada(weakness of body)
3. Dosha chayavanam(moving of doshas away from their normal sites after chaya stage)
4. Kriya sannirodha(Inability to perform normal functions)
5. Shrama(lethargy in organs)
6. Aprachuryam kriyanam (it also results in impairment of function of body)

1. Oja kshaya- It depicts to the reduction of oja quantitatively , by oja here it refers to apara oja, and when oja is decreased in systemic circulation due to various aetiological factors, it manifests itself as weakness, fatigue, fear, imbalanced mind, depression, etc.

• Some symptoms of oja kshay as said by Acharyas-

According to Acharya Sushruta-

• Murchha(unconsciousness)
• Mamsakshay(Decrease in muscles)
• Moha(mental disturbance mainly in judgement)
• Agyan(loss of sense)
• Pralap(delirium)
• Mrutyu(death)

According to Acharya Charak

• Bibheti(person suffers from fear complex)
• Durbalo abhikshanam(physical and mental debility)
• Vyathita indriya(feel discomfort in the sense organs)
• Duschhaya(developed impairment)
• Durman(bad mentation)
• Ruksha(dry)
• Shyama(black colour)
• Kshaya(emaciation)

1. Oja  Vyapat- In this dushti of oja, the path of oja in strotas is obstructed and due to this obstruction, the flow of oja in body is not adequate and thus it manifests itself as varna bheda, heaviness in body, odema, drowsiness, excess sleep etc

               Some symptoms of oja vyapat as said by Acharyas-

1.Stabhta Gurugatrata (Feeling of Heaviness and Stiffness in Body)

2.Vata Shopha (Swelling Caused by Vata Dosha Impairment)

3.Varna Bheda (Change in Colour)

4.Glani (Exhaustion)

5.Tandra (Drowsiness)

6.Nidra (Sleep)

               All of these Oja dusht is finally leads to Oja kshay and its symptoms are clearly visible in some disorders such as Madhumeha (Diabetes Mellitus), Grahani (irritable bowel syndrome), Rajayakshama (Tuberculosis) etc. [16]

Discussion

In Ayurved, we explain Vyadhikshamatva as the vyadhibalavirodhak and vyadhiutpadpratibandhak that synchronizes with the two factors of immunity i.e., Providing strength to body to recover from ongoing disorders and strength to prevent from diseases. Also, it’s (vyadhikshamatva) relation with doshas, oja and our daily aahar-vihar , all of this helps us to understand why and how does our sedentary life style, bad eating habits that includes junk foods, soft drinks etc affects our internal bodily functions i.e., Physiology and thus helps in planning proper treatment for the patients so that they can be cured from the root of the disease to prevent reoccurrence. Vyadhikshamatva and Dosha relation are very closely correlated and all are equally significant for proper immunity. Vyadhikshamatva is the capability of body to prevent itself from different types of diseases, vyadhikshamatva as well Oja and it are important part of defence system of body. So, if this Oja is reduced or is contaminated/obstructed etc then this would affect vyadhikshamatva in a negative manner by reducing it, also what is the possible reason for oja dushti, so oja is mostly affected by Doshas(Both sharirik and manasik doshas) and there are many possible reasons for doshas that can be broadly classified into aaharaj and viharaj aetiological factors.

Conclusion

After deep analysis of different aspects of Vyadhikshamatva- Oja and Dosha relation it is clearly known that all the three are very closely correlated and all are equally important for proper immunity development in the body. Vyadhikshamatva is the capability of body to prevent itself from different types of diseases and Oja is the essence of all the seven dhatus in the body that gives the mental, physical and internal power and this power includes immunity or vyadhikshamatva as well and it acts as a very important part of defence system that prevents us from different diseases.