Introduction

The Siddha system of medicine mainly practised in the Southern part of India is one of the earliest traditional medicine systems in the world and deals with physical, psychological, social and spiritual well being of an individual. The roots of this system are intertwined with the culture of ancient Tamil civilization.

Basic Concept

In the Siddha system of medicine, man is viewed as a microcosm and the universe as a macrocosm. In other words, man is a miniature universe in himself. The whole universe in turn is believed to be constituted of five primordial elements or Panchabhootham viz. Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space and so is man. The Pancheekaranam theory (Five Fold Combination) of Siddha science explains the origin and formation of these basic elements as well as the role of these five elements in the formation of every substance both in the universe and in humans.

According to Pancheekaranam theory, each of these five elements is said to possess two properties viz. subtle and gross. These elements always act in mutual co-ordination and can never act independently. The various proportions in which they combine gives rise to different substances. Thus, this theory proposes that 96 basic factors exist, which is the basic concept underlying this holistic medical science.

The human body formed by these 96 basic factors is conditioned mainly by:

1. Uyir Thathukkal (also called Trithodam or Mukkutram) are the three humours, viz. vaatham, pitham and kabham.
2. Udal Thathukkal are the physical constituents, or the seven tissues viz. Saaram, Senneer, Oon, Konzhuppu, Enbu, Moolai and Sukkilam.

The 96 factors include physical, physiological, psychological, intellectual aspects of every human. The five primordial elements manifest themselves as a human through these 96 basic factors.

Panchabootham	Five elements	5
Pori	Sense organs	5
Pulan	Five senses	5
Kanmenthiriyam	Motor organs	5
Gnanendiriyam	Functions of motor organs	5
Karanam	Intellect	4
Arivu	Self realization	1
Naadi	Channels of life force	10
Vaayu	Vital nerve force	10
Aasayam	Metabolic sheaths	5
Kosam	Five sheaths	5
Aathaaram	Nerve plexus	5
Mandalam	Sheaths of humours	6
Malam	Impurities related to soul	3
Thodam	Humours	3
Edanai	Attachments, desires related to the soul	3
Gunam	Qualities of mind	3
Vinai	Physical and mental acts	2
Raagam	Emotional status of mind	8
Avasthai	Status of consciousness	5
TOTAL BASIC FACTORS		96

Relationship between the basic elements (Panchabhootam), five sense organs (Pori) and functions of these sense organs (Pulan) can be understood from the tabulation below:

Panchabhootam	Sense organs	Functions of sense organs
Earth (Nilam)	Nose	Smell
Water (Neer)	Mouth	Taste
Fire (Thee)	Eyes	Vision
Air (Kaatru)	Skin	Touch
Space (Aagayam)	Ears	Hearing

It can be deduced from the above table that the sense of smell perceived by the sense organ nose, is due to the action and properties of the element, ‘earth’. Similarly, the other senses can be linked to corresponding elements.

Uyir Thathukkal (Three Humours)

Uyir thathukkal literally means ‘life force’. In Siddha, Vaatham, Pitham and Kabham which are the three humours, are responsible for the creation, preservation and destruction of human body and health. When they are in the state of equilibrium (4:2:1-the ratio in which they exist) our body remains in a healthy state while any disturbance in this ratio leads to diseased state or death.

Vaatham

Vaatham represents the elements ‘air’ and ‘space’. It is responsible for all movements of mind and body. Motor, sensory activities are governed by vaatham. Although vaatham is present all over the body, it predominates in the region below navel and based on its function it is classified into the following ten types:

S.No	Type of Vaatham	Function
1	Piranan	Controls respiration and circulation
2	Abanan	Controls excretory acts
3	Viyanan	Spread all over the body and controls body movements
4	Samanan	Controls digestion, absorption and assimilation
5	Udhanan	Controls speech
6	Naagan	Responsible for knowledge and skills
7	Koorman	Provides strength, vision
8	Kirugaran	Responsible for taste, appetite, reflexes
9	Devathathan	Responsible for emotions like anger
10	Thananjeyan	Gets expelled out from the body on 3rd day after death

Roughness, dryness, lightness and mobility are certain attributes of Vaatham.It also strengthens the five sensory organs, and regulates respiration, the functions of physical constituents (Udal thathukkal) and physiological reflexes (also called Vegangal).

Pitham

Pitham represents the element-‘fire’ (thee)in our body and is responsible for the preservation of health. It maintains the body heat for normal physiology and dominates the chest and abdominal area. It exhibits itself in five forms within our body. They are:

S.No	Type of Pitham	Function
1	Anala Pitham	Involved in digestion
2	Ranjaga Pitham	Involved in blood cells production
3	Saathaga Pitham	Involved in intellectual acts
4	Aalosaga Pitham	Gives colour and shine to skin
5	Pirasaga Pitham	Involved in visualizing and analyzing process

Kabham

Kabham is formed by the elements ‘earth and water’. It is responsible for strength, joint movements, body built and endurance. It dominates the head and neck region. There are five forms of Kabham as follows

S.No	Type of Kabham	Function
1	Avalambagam	Located in the lungs and co-ordinates the other forms of kabham
2	Kilaetham	Aids digestion
3	Pothagam	Helps in perception of taste
4	Tharpagam	Cools the eyes
5	Santhigam	Responsible for movements of joints

Udal Thathukkal (Physical constituents)

The human body is constituted of seven tissues as its physical constituents, which are known as the Udal Thathukkal.

Physical constituents (Udal Thathukkal)	Related Body Constituents	Basic Elements
Saaram	Plasma	Water
Senneer	Blood	Fire + Water
Oon	Muscle	Earth + Water
Kozhuppu	Adipose tissue	Water + Earth
Enbu	Bone	Earth + Air
Moolai	Marrow	Water + Air
Sukkilam/Suronitham	Male or Female Hormones, Reproductive tissue.	Fire + Air

Each of the above physical constituent is responsible for certain functions:

Physical constituents (Udal Thathukkal)	Functions
Saaram	Growth and development, nourishment
Senneer	Nourishes the muscle, imparts colour and improve intellect
Ooun	Responsible for shape of the body
Kozhuppu	Lubricates joints, maintains balance
Enbu	Supports body structure and responsible for posture and movement
Moolai	Imparts strength, endurance and shine
Sukkilam/Suronitham	Responsible for reproduction

The food we intake nourishes each of the physical constituent in a sequence beginning from Saaram and provides total nourishment to the body on eighth day, after nourishing each constituent.