Pathways of diseases /Rogamargas
The body is divided into three sections to explain different diseases.
Antarogamarga – internal path – refers to gastro intestinal tract.
Bahi roga marga – external path – refers to Rakta, Mamsa etc Dhatu (tissues) and skin.
Madhyama rogamarga – middle path – it includes vital organs such as brain, heart, blood vessels, joints, nerves etc.
Bahi Koshta / Bahi roga marga – External pathway
Rakta- blood and others tissues (Blood, muscles, bone, fat, bone marrow and sex related secretions) and skin continue the Bahya Rogamarga – external pathway of disease.
It is related with diseases such as moles, discolored patches on face, Gandalaji- goiter, glandular
on the face, malignant tumors, hemorrhoids, abdominal tumor, swelling and other external diseases.
Anta Koshta / Anta Rogamarga – Internal path
Amashaya – stomach and small intestine,
Pakwashaya – large intestine
The above two, along with the entire gastro intestinal tract is called as Mahasrota. (The big channel). This constitutes the Anta Koshta.
Diseases which affect this path are – vomiting, diarrhea, cough, dyspnoea, enlargement of the abdomen, fever, dropsy, hemorrhoids, abdominal tumors, Visarpa (herpes), abscess etc.
Madhyama Koshta / Madhyama Rogamarga – The middle path
The head, heart, urinary bladder and such other vital organs, joints of bones, blood vessels, tendons, ligaments, nerves constitute the madhyama rogamarga. From it arise, consumption , hemiplegia, facial paralysis, diseases of the head and other organs, pain, stiffness- loss of movement of the joints, bones, waist etc.
Three kinds of diseases based on cause – Trividha roga
Diseases are of three kinds viz,
Karmaja Vyadhi – Includes Diseases that originate due to bad deeds of the past lives, or of present life or of both past and present lives. Usually the cause for such disease is not clearly known.
Doshaja Vyadhi – Diseases which arise from the specific causes, which lead to Dosha increase and then to disease manifestation.
Doshakarmaja Vyadhi – combination of bad deeds and indulgence in causes of disease result in disease. Usually the symptoms are profound in this case.
Treatment for such diseases
The Doshaja diseases get cured from indulgence in food, activities and medicine that have opposite qualities to the cause.
Karmaja diseases get cured after the termination of the effects of such acts of previous / current lives.
Dosha-Karmaja diseases get cured after the mitigation of Dosha and nullifying of effects of past deeds.
Two kinds of diseases – based on cause – Dvividha roga
Svatantra Roga – independent/ primary – have their own specific causes, comforting methods and clearly manifest features.
Paratantra Roga – secondary diseases, associated diseases. Those which do not have their own specific cause. It is further of two types.
Purvaja – premonitory symptoms – the symptoms that are seen at the initial stage of a disease
Upadrava – complications of diseases.
The secondary disease (Paratantra Roga) usually subsides when the primary diseases is treated.
If they do not get subsided then, treatment has to be given- for the secondary diseases as well.
If powerful, secondary affections should be treated soon because these- complication cause more troublers to the body which is already debilitated by the primary disease.
The very same Doshas, depending upon the nature of the causative factors, travels to many parts of the body and produces many disease, hence treatment of the disease, its abode- site should be judged very quickly with the help of knowledge of the disease.