Gunas or Qualities : An Ayurvedic perspective (आयुर्वेदे गुणाः)

The word guna (Samskrit: गुणाः) literally translates to values, virtues, qualities etc. In Ayurveda, guna is one among the 6 padarthas (पदार्थाः) dravya (द्रव्यम्) , guna (गुणाः), karma (कर्मन्), samanya (सामान्य), vishesha (विशेषः) and samavaya (समवायः) accepted by Ayurveda which are essential to bring dhatu samyata (धातुसाम्यता । good health) in the body. Guna is a quality/property of a dravya (substance). The dravyas (substance) can only perform different karma (actions) because of the presence of specific guna (quality) in them.

निरुक्तिः॥ Etymology

The word guna is derived from

गुणा आमन्त्रणे । “Guna Amantrane”

which translates as 'to attract or invite'. The Guna (quality) is that property of a substance to which one gets attracted towards that substance. In short, guna is the criteria for selection of any dravya (substance) for use to get desired action and result.

परिभाषा॥ Definition

The term guna has been defined at many places in Ayurveda treatises. Although the concept of guna as one of the padartha is similar to Darshana shastras there are some minute differences owing to the nature of Ayurveda where their practical application is highly important in the treatment and diagnosis parts.

...समवायी तु निश्चेष्टः कारणं गुणः ॥ (Char. Samh. 1. 51)

That which is in perpetual co inherence with the dravya (substance) and which is motionless, or which is devoid of action is termed as guna.

समवायोऽपृथग्भावो भूम्यादीनां गुणैर्मतः| स नित्यो यत्र हि द्रव्यं न तत्रानियतो गुणः॥ (Char. Samh. 1. 51)

There is perpetual and inseparable relationship of a dravya with its guna. There is no existence of dravya without its guna, thus this relationship is eternal and hence a dravya(substance) cannot exist or act without its guna(properties)

गुणभेदाः॥ Types

• Acharya chakrapani has categorized gunas in three ways,

          …. अनेन त्रिविधा अपि वैशेषिकाः सामान्या आत्मगुणाश्चोद्दिष्टाः ॥ (Char. Samh. 1. 49)

1. Vaisheshik guna (वैशेषिक गुणाः)
2. Samanya guna (सामान्य गुणाः) Which is further classified into,
   1. Guruvaadi guna (गुर्वादि गुणाः)
   2. Paradi guna (परादि गुणाः)
3. Atmaguna (आत्मगुणाः)

• For better understanding of gunas, Acharya Charaka in sutrasthana has described two basic categories of guna. The total number of gunas is believed to be 41.

सार्था गुर्वादयो बुद्धिः प्रयत्नान्ताः परादयः| गुणाः प्रोक्ताः ...॥ (Char. Samh. 1. 49)

Meaning: Sartha, Gurvadi, Buddhi-prayatnanata and Paradi (sets of gunas) are (total 41 types of qualities) called as gunas.

41 gunas listed in Charaka Samhita

Sr No	Sartha / Vaisheshika	Gurvadi	Paradi	Prayatnanta / Adhyatmika / atmagunas
1	Shabda	Guru	Paratva	Buddhi
2	Sparsha	Laghu	Aparatva	Ichha
3	Rupa	Manda	Yukti	Dvesha
4	Rasa	Teekshna	Samkhya	Sukha
5	Gandha	Shita	Samyoga	Dukha
6		Ushna	Vibhaga	Prayatna
7		Snigdha	Pruthakatva
8		Ruksha	Pariman
9		Shlakshna	Samskara
10		Khara	Abhyasa
11		Sandra
12		Drava
13		Mrudu
14		Kathina
15		Sthira
16		Chala
17		Sukshma
18		Sthula
19		Vishada
20		Picchila

गुणवर्णनम् Brief Explanation about gunas

All the gunas included in above categories are useful for assessing the imbalances in the body, diagnosing and planning management.

सार्थगुणाः॥

“अर्थाः शब्दादयो ज्ञेया गोचरा विषया गुणाः” (शा.अ.१) इति॥ (Chakrapani commentary on Char. Samh. 1. 49)

Meaning: Sound etc. qualities that can be perceived by (5) sense (Eyes, Ears, Tongue, Skin) organs are known as arthas (अर्थाः । subjects or the sense organs).

गुर्वादि गुणाः॥ Guruvadi gunas

Gurvadi gunas refer to the 20 gunas starting from 'Guru' which is the first in order. Among these 20 gunas, there are 10 pairs of gunas having exactly opposite property to each other. guru-laghu, manda-tikshna, hima-ushna, snigdha-ruksha, shlakshna-khara, sandra-drava, mrudu-kathin, sthira-chala are these 10 pairs comprising of total 20 gunas.

Each of the gurvadi gunas and its unique panchamahabhuta composition is described in the table below.

Guna	Karma (Required for this activity)	Panchamahabhuta dominance
Guru(heavy)	Nourishing, strengthening, increasing mass	prthvi and jala
Laghu(light)	Bringing lightness	Akasha, vayu, agni
Sheeta(cold)	Generate cooling, stop the flow or movement of body component	Jala, vayu
Ushna(hot)	Generate heat and sweating	agni
Snigdha(unctuous)	Develop moisture, unctuousness, lubrication	Jala
Ruksha(dry)	Generate dryness, absorption	Vayu, agni
Manda(mild)	Pacifying aggravated doshas	Prthvi, jala
Teekshna(sharp)	Extracting out the unwanted accumulated wastes	Agni
Sthira(stable)	Hold something, sustain, maintain the balance, stabilize	Prthvi
Sara(unstable)	Stimulate something (secretion or action), mobilize	Jala, vayu
Mrudu(soft)	Develop softness, elasticity	jala
Kathina(hard)	Develop firmness, hardness, toughnes	Prthvi
Vishada(non-slimy)	Cleansing activity, separating	Vayu
Picchila(slimy)	Protecting, covering, smearing, coating	Jala,vayu
Slakshna(smooth)	Healing	Jala
Khara(rough)	Scraping	vaayu
Sukshma(tiny)	Navigating through the minute channels of the body due to its fine and delicate nature	agni, vayu and akasha
Sthula(coarse)	Increasing the mass leading to blockage	Prthvi
Saandra(solid)	Soothing	Prthvi
Drava(liquid)	Drip through, dossolving, liquifying	Jala

परादि गुणाः॥ Paradi Guna

The samskrit term Paradi can be spit into 2 parts viz. Para (परः । one) of the gunas & Adi (आदिः । etc). Thus Paradi gunas refer to the set of gunas starting from the guna called as 'Para'. These are 10 gunas in number.

Acharya charaka has described these gunas as belows,

परापरत्वे युक्तिश्च सङ्ख्या संयोग एव च| विभागश्च पृथक्त्वं च परिमाणमथापि च॥ संस्कारोऽभ्यास इत्येते गुणा ज्ञेयाः परादयः॥ (Char. Samh. 26.29)

Meaning: Paratva, Aparatva, Yukti, Samkhya, Samyoga, Vibhaga, Prthaktva, Parinama, Samskara and Abhyasa are known as Paradi gunas.

परत्वम् ॥ Superiority

तच्च परत्वं प्रधानत्वम्

Paratva means superiority. This guna is essential while selecting a particular species of dravya in treatment as of which is superior.

अपरत्वम्॥ Inferiority

अपरत्वम् अप्रधानत्वम्|

The opposite of paratva is aparatva, which means inferior. Again, a dravya which is inferior in specie is apara, thus this helps while selecting a dravya.

युक्तिः॥ Rationality

युक्तिश्च योजना या तु युज्यते॥ (Char. Samh. 26.31) युक्तिश्चेत्यादौ योजना दोषाद्यपेक्षया भेषजस्य समीचीनकल्पना ॥ (Char. Samh. 26.31, chakrapani commentary)

Considering dosha etc aspects the rational application of a dravya for treatment is yukti.

संख्या ॥ Number

सङ्ख्या स्याद्गणितं ॥ (Char. Samh. 26.32)

Enumeration of any dravya, disease, etc is sankhya.

संयोगः ॥ Combination

योगः सह संयोग उच्यते

The conjunction between two dravya is known as sanyoga. It is further of 3 types,

द्रव्याणां द्वन्द्वसर्वैककर्मजोऽनित्य एव च॥

Meaning: Samyoga is of 3 types as below,

1. Dvandvakarmaja (द्वंद्वकर्मज)
2. Sarvakarmaja (सर्वकर्मज)
3. Ekakarmaja (एककर्मज)

विभाग ॥ Disjunction

Disjunction is known as vibhaga.

द्रव्याणां द्वन्द्वसर्वैककर्मजोऽनित्य एव च|

Like Samyoga, Vibhaga is also of 3 types

1. Vibhakti (विभक्तिः)
2. Viyog (वियोगः)
3. Bhagasho graha (भागशो ग्रहः)

पृथकत्वम्॥ Separation

पृथक्त्वं तु ‘इदं द्रव्यं पटलक्षणं, घटात् पृथग्’ इत्यादिका बुद्धिर्यतो भवति

The property which separates one dravya from another is pruthakatva.

पृथक्त्वं स्यादसंयोगो वैलक्षण्यमनेकता|

Prthktva is of further 3 types

1. Asamyoga (असंयोग)
2. Vaylakshanya (वैलक्षण्य)
3. Anekata (अनेकता)

परिमाण ॥ Measurement

मानं प्रस्थाढकादितुलादिमेयम्

The weight or length etc of dravya must be measured, which is with the help of parimaan guna.

संस्कार॥ Processing

The guna because of which there is conversion in the form of  dravya due to application of a certain process is sanskar.

Vaisheshika darshana states 3 types of sanskar,

संस्कारस्त्रिविधो वेगो भावना स्थितिस्थापकश्च| (prashastapada)

Samskara is of 3 types.

1. Veg (वेगः । impulse)
2. Bhavana ( भावना । impression)
3. Sthithisthapak ( स्थितिस्थापकत्वम् । elasticity)

अभ्यासः ॥ Practice

भावाभ्यसनमभ्यासः शीलनं सततक्रिया|

Usage or practice of a same dravya or padartha again and again is abhayasa

अध्यात्मिक गुणाः॥ Adhyatmik guna

Acharya Charaka has called a set of gunas by the name of first and last guna in it. The first is Buddhi (बुद्धिः) and the last in sequence in Prayatna (प्रयत्नः). These are total 6 in number. In Tarka samgraha (तर्कसंग्रहः) based on Nyaya (न्यायः) and Vaiseshika darshanas (वैशेषिकदर्शनम्) these gunas are called as Adhyatmika gunas since those are related to the Atman i.e. life energy and capable of independently bringing about some karma (action or activity). Those are described in brief hereafter.

बुद्धिः॥ Buddhi

सर्वव्यवहारहेतुर्गुणो बुद्धिर्ज्ञानम्। सा द्विविधा स्मृतिरनुभवश्च। संस्कारमात्रजन्यं ज्ञानं स्मृतिः। तद्भिन्नं ज्ञानमनुभवः।

Buddhi is intelligence required for any doing any type of activity.

सुखम्॥ Sukha

सर्वेषामनुकूलतया वेदनीयं सुखम्॥

The pleasant effect or feeling is sukha.

दुःखम्॥ Dukkha

सर्वेषां प्रतिकूलतया वेदनीयं दुःखम्॥

That which causes unpleasant feeling is dukkha.

इच्छा॥ Iccha

इच्छा कामः॥

Any kind of desire, wish or intentions is known as iccha.

द्वेषः॥ Dvesha

क्रोधो द्वेषः॥

Any kind of anger leads to dvesha or enimity.

प्रयत्नः॥ Praytna

कृतिः प्रयत्नः॥

A deed to be done or action leading an outcome is praytna.

आयुर्वेदे गुणानाम् माहात्म्यम् ॥ Importance of Gunas in Ayurveda

Gunas are qualities of dravyas (susbstances) present in the universe. 9 dravyas including 5 mahabhutas, atman, disha, kala and manas possess gunas. Vaisheshika and Gurvadi gunas are related to 5 mahabhutas. Adhyatmika gunas are related to Atman while paradi gunas come into the consideration when there comes a necessity to select one from the choice of many dravyas and also to determine the possible action of the combination of 2 or more dravyas Ayurvedic pharmaceutics. May it be any category of gunas, it is ultimately related to and responsible for the final specific action of a substance/person.

In Ayurveda, gurvadi gunas (गुर्वादि गुणाः) are widely applied to understand the pathology, imbalances in body components and to find the ways to treat these imbalances. The medicines, herbs or formulations to treat any illness are selected on the basis of their gunas. In Ayurveda any dosha (दोषाः), dhatu (धातवः), mala (मलाः), herb, metal, mineral, food article is described on the basis of its rasa (रसः), guna (गुणः), veerya (वीर्यम्), vipaka (विपाकः), karma (कर्म) and prabhava (प्रभावः) if any. Gunas describe the ability of any substance to perform specific action. It is basis for selection of the right substance for any desired activity or karma.

• There is presence of guruvaadi guna in shareera dhatus, and in the same way in aushadh dravya and ahara(food).
• When there is guru guna ahara (आहारः) or aushadhi dravya consumption there is increase in that guna(property) of that particular dhatu and in the same way if there is laghu guna ahara or aushadhi consumption there is decrease in guru guna of the dhatu, and increases the laghu guna(lightness), thus the guna also act against each other..
• In the similar way gunas can be utilized for planning treatment based on the above principle, for example usage of mamsa rasa (meat soup) in mamsa dhatu (मांस धातुः) kshaya..

Guna being an inseparable aspect of dravya can only be inferred through the depiction of their actions i.e through its karma.

• In obesity, medicines or herbs of laghu (लघुः), ruksha (रुक्षः) etc guna can be used according to various ayurvedic parameters to perform scraping action on the meda dhatu (मेद धातुः) to reduce weight. Also, the ahara (food) or pathya or diet planning can be done based on above said guna.
• Similarly, Various karma(action) or therapeutic procedures can be planned considering the properties of target or affected dhatu and the gunas or properties of medicinal substance (herb/metal/mineral/combination).

Vishishta guna (विशेष/विशिष्ट गुणाः) like shabda (शब्दः), sparsha (स्पर्शः) etc are are indriya (इन्द्रियाणि) specific (sensory organ related) and are also used as parameters of patient examination as well.

Adhyatmik guna (अध्यात्मिक गुणाः) like sukha, dukkha etc , also have an impact on overall health of patient. For example, when there is happiness(sukha)experienced by patient the the aushadh or ahara dravya gets digested properly and overall health is in good state.

While opting for an herb for chikitsa (चिकित्सा) purpose in Ayurveda practice, one must consider the guna of a dravya, alongside rasa, veerya vipaka etc for the desired outcome.

Guna(properties) are not situated within themselves, thus a physician must consider the gunas of rasas as the gunas of dravyas.