A dosha which is responsible for the digestion. Extracts life from the food to support the life on one side. And on other side can bring complicated diseases like bleeding disorders etc. So here we will discuss all about Pitta Dosha.
We all human beings are the “make” of one and same thing- the Food. Whosoever is living on the planet earth, lives due to the proper use of the materials available in surroundings. This adequate use makes us living. This is food. But we cannot use these materials as it is. These are raw and complex. Before ingestion and before making these foods available to the body. Body needs to work on these. This work is done in a sequence. As process.
- Digestion
- Metabolism
- Assimilation
These three different steps/phases change the food in energy- what we know as – Life.
These all three processes are regulated by a particular kind of workforce. This workforce decides all how, why and what about the digestion. This workforce is a Dosha- Pitta.
What makes Pitta Dosha
Pitta represents the Fire and Water- both! This dosha is responsible for proper working of all the three steps discussed above. Along with digestion, Pitta also works for other factors in the body. Management of the color and glow of the skin. Hormonal system of the body, coloration of the blood (Hemoglobin) and capability of the eyes to watch and look. All these works are also main in the list of what Pitta does.
Pitta is a mixture of the Fire and Water. The two which are incompatible and cannot stay together. This seems confusing.
Fire here is not the fire we light or which burns. Fire represents a power, a capability- the capability which can cook something, digest something. Cooking and digestion are one and same things- in both there will be disintegration of longer chains of the food into smaller ones. Smaller ones are more compatible with the body and body can use these smaller chains more easily.
This process of cooking starts with the ripening of the food on the trees and ends in our kitchens. Everywhere in this process there will be an involvement of something fiery- sunlight/heat in oven/heat of a stove….whatever we may use.
This is a fact that we cannot cook with cold.
The same applies to the human body too.
So the factor responsible for the Pitta Dosha- will be mainly containing the “fiery” component. This fire cannot and should not be dry- otherwise it will burn the tissues of the body. Therefore it accompanies the water.
You can better understand the combination of fire and water by just recalling- Acids and Alkalis. This is a brief scientific explanation about the Pitta Dosha.
The Qualities of Pitta
All doshas inherit certain qualities. These attributes decide their actions and impacts on the body. Therefore it is important to know about these characteristics of Doshas one by one.
Pitta Is Oily
Presence of the water in the Pitta dosha, makes it unctuous. This oily nature of the Pitta dosha is an important factor. Which brings smoothness in the activities of the Pitta dosha.
Pitta Is Sharp
Fire is sharp, so is this dosha with fire within it. This sharpness helps in disintegration of the food as well as thoughts. Because without this sharpness, the dissecting capacity of the Pitta Dosha will not be adequate.
Pitta Is Hot
Along with sharpness, hotness also comes from the Pitta Dosha. The hotness is not just a temperature based aspect. Here hotness means the activities of the Pitta dosha will cause “exothermic” activities in the body. Whatever is exothermic, yields energy for the activities of the life.
Liquidness of Pitta
This again comes from the water part of the Pitta. This liquid nature brings possibility for the pitta to work on the larger aspects.
Pitta Spreads
Oil, which is watery, will certainly spread. So is pitta dosha. Pitta is stable, not moving like Vata. But this characteristic helps in movement of the pitta dosha.
Diseases of Pitta Dosha
Just like, Pitta, all the diseases of Pitta are related with the working of the Pitta so there will be three conditions:
Excessive Pitta in The body
This is a condition, in which Pitta will be on a higher side and it will burn/utilize/consume the foods available very fast and once it will not get the foods- it will start burning the useful for the body-for its own survival. This is a condition similar to Peptic Ulcers which can lead to the penetration of the lining of the stomach.
Less or Low Pitta Dosha
In this particular condition, the Pitta won’t be able to do the desired effects for the body. Food whatever one takes, won’t be digested properly and this leads to the excessive production of the toxins like by products. What we call Ama in Ayurveda. These by products later on cause a lot of problems with the body.
Improper Behavior of Pitta
This is the third and complicated condition. The Pitta inside the body goes that much upset that it leaves body in an alternate condition, again by again- repetitively. This is also improper, behavior of any activity inside the body- when this is irregular.
So over all command of the whole digestion is only with the Pitta and if we broaden the term- everything related to food and nutrition inside the human body is concerned with Pitta Dosha alone.
Pitta is fire so it needs some water to avoid the condition of the burnout so water accompanies this. This water brings smoothness in the Pitta and makes the process of “burning” body friendly. This is the beauty of a science- Ayurveda that they have classified and detailed everything beautifully and properly and there is no lacunae in any of these theories of Ayurveda.
Pitta Dosha’s slight unctuousness is to protect the organs of the body against the fiery quotient of its. The same is applicable with all digestive enzymes of the body. If body won’t have a protection system for these digestive enzymes then surely our body will be dissolved in itself. We are complicated, think about unicellular animals, what will happen to those, because Pitta is present in them also.
