Shloka 22

Cikitsā-sāra: Doṣa Nidāna–Lakṣaṇa, Agni, Ajīrṇa/Āma Cikitsā, Daśamūla, and Prognostic Signs

Devanagari script

रसवीर्यविपाकानामाश्रयं द्रव्यमुत्तमम् / रसपाकान्तरस्थायि सर्वद्रव्याश्रयं द्रुतम्

Transliteration

rasavīryavipākānāmāśrayaṃ dravyamuttamam / rasapākāntarasthāyi sarvadravyāśrayaṃ drutam

Translation

درویہ ہی اعلیٰ ترین سہارا ہے جس میں رس، وِیریہ اور وِپاک قائم رہتے ہیں۔ رس اور ہضم کے بدلتے مرحلوں میں بھی جو برقرار رہے، وہی تمام درویات کا بنیاد و آسرہ ہے۔

Word by Word

• रसवीर्यविपाकानाम्: of tastes, potency, and post-digestive effect
• रसवीर्यविपाकानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रस (प्रातिपदिक) + वीर्य (प्रातिपदिक) + विपाक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; समासः—इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः, ततः षष्ठी-बहुवचन-रूपम्

• आश्रयम्: support; substratum
• आश्रयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• द्रव्यम्: substance
• द्रव्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• उत्तमम्: excellent; supreme
• उत्तमम्: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying द्रव्यम्)

• रसपाकान्तरस्थायि: remaining between taste and digestion (i.e., in the intermediate stage)
• रसपाकान्तरस्थायि: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रस (प्रातिपदिक) + पाक (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थायिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी/सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषः (अन्तरे स्थायि = ‘remaining within/between’), विशेषणम् (द्रव्यम्)

• सर्वद्रव्याश्रयम्: the support of all substances
• सर्वद्रव्याश्रयम्: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + द्रव्य (प्रातिपदिक) + आश्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सर्वेषां द्रव्याणाम् आश्रयः), विशेषणम् (द्रव्यम्)

• द्रुतम्: fluid; quick-moving
• द्रुतम्: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्रुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (द्रव्यम्)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in instruction to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Dravya as the substratum in which rasa, virya, and vipaka inhere; continuity of substance through transformations.

Vedantic Theme: Substratum-and-attributes (adhara–adheya) reasoning; persistence of an underlying basis amid change (parinama-vada style analysis).

Application: In diagnosis and pharmacology, distinguish the stable substance from its changing sensory/digestive manifestations; avoid judging a drug only by immediate taste.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.168.23 (virya/vipaka definitions); Garuda Purana 1.168.24-25 (chikitsa-anga and clinical assessment)

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Garuda

FAQs

Why is dravya (substance) called the basis of rasa, virya, and vipaka?

Because, as this verse states, taste, potency, and post-digestive effect are understood to inhere in a substance; without dravya they have no locus.

How does this verse explain transformation during digestion?

It indicates that even when taste or digestive outcomes change, the underlying substance remains the continuing support through those stages.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

When choosing herbs or foods, consider the whole substance (not only immediate taste), since its potency and post-digestive effect shape the long-term result.