Clearness Quality – Vishada Meaning, Action, Therapeutic Uses

By Dr Raghuram Y.S. MD (Ay) & Dr Manasa B.A.M.S

Vishada Guna means ‘clearness’ quality. Substances has this quality are said to be clear in nature. Read – Dravya: Meaning, Ayurvedic Explanation

Table of Contents

Introduction

Clearness is one of the 20 gurvadi qualities. It is opposite to pichchila guna i.e. sliminess quality. Clearness and sliminess are opposite qualities. They also balance each other. Clearness helps in clearing things which stick in the body orifices and channels and cause blocks due to richness in sliminess while sliminess is responsible for things getting adhered in body. Clearness, being antagonistic to sliminess, helps in clearing sliminess and stickiness from body, especially sliminess happening in cells and channels of the body.

Clearness quality is defined on basis of capability and strength of things to remove sliminess from body and also to cause division, separation and demarcation of cells and body parts. Therefore, foods and medicines which cause clearness in components of body and destroy sliminess are considered as having vishada guna i.e. clearness quality. Read – Rasa Panchaka – 5 Qualities Of Substance (Dravya)

Sometimes multiple blocks occur in tissues and channels of transportation due to excessive increase sliminess quality caused by pathologically increased kapha, ama or tissues like fat. When this happens, essential nutrients and materials needed for building and supporting the tissues will not circulate freely. Tissues get destroyed due to depletion of nutrition and support.
Read – Ama Chikitsa: Treatment For Ama And Saama Conditions

At the same time excreta and waste products of metabolism, including the tissue toxins produced during cellular metabolism are not expelled out of body. Stagnation of toxins and wastes will further damage tissues and hamper many functions. To treat this pathological process caused by increased sliminess, an antagonist quality which has strength to remove this sliminess will be needed. To achieve this, intervention in the form of medicines, foods and treatments which have clearness quality i.e. vishada guna should be administered.
Read – Different Causes For Vata Dosha Imbalance, Increase

Clearness quality would remove excessive sliminess, thereby removing blocks and treat conditions caused by increased sliminess.

Sliminess is caused due to increased kapha in body. Clearness is caused due to increase of vata. Also, clearness causes increase in vata. Vata is antagonistic to kapha.
Read – Kapha Increase Symptoms – Kapha Vruddhi Lakshana

Clearness caused by vata antagonizes and balances sliminess caused by kapha, ama or fat. When kapha and other pathological components which have caused sliminess are controlled by clearness quality, the sliminess too decreases. Thus, clearness quality antagonizes the activity of sliminess quality and clears the blocks. This will help in reestablishment of normal functions in the body.
Read – Medo Dhatu: Fat Tissue, As Explained In Ayurveda

Salient features

Salient features of clearness quality

Clearness in terms of substances medicinal herbs and food substances Clearness is a quality which can be perceived by eyes. Since sliminess can be felt by touch, clearness, the opposite quality of sliminess too can be felt by skin. Read – Pratyaksha Pramana: Knowledge Perception Through Sense Organs Clearness is said to be a quality which is determined by absence of fibres, thread-like or cobweb like appearance. Inside the body, clearness can be known through its action, i.e. its ability to clear sliminess and blocks caused by increased kapha. Absence of sliminess or reduction of kapha symptoms is the signs that depict presence and action of clearness. Reduction of sliminess is achieved after consumption of foods, medicines and treatments which have vishada guna i.e. clearness quality in them. Read – Activities And Diet For Kapha Balance

That which is devoid of fibers or thread like structures and looks clear and clean is said to be vishada i.e. clear in nature.

‘Those which has capability of destroying sliminess is called vishada guna i.e. clearness quality. This quality also causes separation and differentiation of different body parts and thus becomes responsible for loss of adhesiveness between structures and loss of integrity in body. This demarcates one structure from the other, rather being in close proximity to one another’

Clearness quality may be introduced by administering medicines, food or activities having clearness quality predominantly.
Read – Understand Kapha Dosha By Its Functions

Elemental relationship

Clearness quality is related to four elements i.e. earth, air, fire and ether elements. Therefore clearness quality is formed by the presence and predominance of the above mentioned four elements in any substance.

Medicines and foods rich in earth and other elements mentioned above will naturally induce clearness in body parts.
Read – Panchamahabhuta: Application, Areas of Utility in Ayurveda treatment

Effect on doshas

Clearness quality increases vata and hence mitigates kapha. Clearness is one of the qualities of vata. Vata induces clearness in body owing to the clearness quality it has. Similarly anything which increases vata increases clearness. Anything which increases clearness also increases vata.
Read – Symptoms Of Vata Dosha Increase And Imbalance – Vata Vruddhi Lakshana

Kapha has opposite quality of clearness, i.e. sliminess quality. Increase in kapha increases sliminess in body. This increases tendency to stick to the walls of cells and channels. Increase in kapha and consequent increase of sliminess and stickiness qualities will cause multiple blocks in tissues and channels of transportation.

The same happens when sliminess increases due to other kapha group components like increased ama and fat tissue, both of which have a tendency to cause multiple blocks at different parts of body.

This causes depletion of nutrition to tissues, stagnation of wastes and toxins and consequent damage to tissues creating a susceptible environment for manifestation of many systemic disorders. Therefore too much sliminess is harmful.
Read – Kapha With Ama – Sama, Nirama Kapha – Treatment Principle

Excessive sliminess should be effectively handled by inducing its opposite quality i.e. clearness. Sliminess in tissues and channels should be removed by administering foods, activities, medicines and therapies which has clearness quality in them.

Clearness quality increases vata which is antagonistic to kapha. This increased vata and the clearness quality which subsequently increases will destroy the increased kapha, balances it and also will reduce excessive sliminess. Read – Lightness Quality – Meaning, Action On Doshas, Therapeutic Uses

Effect on Tissues

Clearness quality scrapes tissues, sucks off excessive fluidity from tissues and enables healing of wounds. Destroying sliminess from tissue is the quality of clearness. While it is therapeutic in many conditions, this quality becomes harmful for tissues when it increases beyond limitations.
Read – Lekhaneeya Gana Herbs: Weight Reducing Benefits, Review, Medicines

When there is excessive stagnation of fluids in tissues leading to build up of pressure within tissues and hampering smooth conduct of tissue functions, that fluid and deposit of excessive wastes and undesired tissue should be cleared. Foods and medicines having clearness quality clears the congestion in tissues and channels by clearing accumulation of fluid and scraping tissues.

But if this clearing activity becomes more owing to abnormal increase in clearness quality, the normal tissues are scraped off and protective fluids which are needed for the body functions are also sucked off. This leads to destruction of tissues leading to the pathological increase in vata. This vata further destroys tissues leading to many vata diseases and lowering of strength and immunity.

Even in wounds and ulcers, we can see a lot of congestion and collection of inflammatory fluids and unwanted tissues in vicinity of the damage. The medicines and foods having clearness quality would clear the fluids and congestion, scrap tissues and help in quick healing of wounds.

Congestion and collection of fluids is caused by increased kapha in tissues and channels. Clearness quality increases vata. Vata being antagonistic to kapha, destroys kapha and also the congestion caused by kapha. Even in this way clearness quality helps in curing and clearing unwanted fluids and tissue collection in body.

Effect on Excreta

Clearness quality drains up moisture and liquidity of excreta, mainly the faeces and dries it up. When faeces become dry it is expelled with difficulty. This quality can be administered as treatment in the form of foods and medicines having clearness quality.
Read – Tri Malas – The Three Major Waste Matters Of Body

Clearness makes the stools dry, devoid of liquidity and hard and thus helps in curing conditions like diarrhea etc or in all conditions wherein there is excessive discharge of fluids in the form of excreta. Clearness also increases vata. Increased vata further dries up faeces.

Effect on systemic functions

Clearness quality can be used to treat pathological manifestations caused in the body due to excessive pichchila guna i.e. sliminess quality and consequential increase of stickiness in tissues and passages of body. Therefore it is used in treating diseases caused by high kapha, ama and fat.

Clearness is used to clear off congestion and blocks produced by increased sliminess and stickiness by increased kapha, ama and fat tissue. When blocks and congestion are removed, channels get opened up. This will enable free transport of nutrients and essential components to various parts of body.
Read – Channels Of Circulation And Doshas

Tissues will be nourished and body gains strength. Clarity produced in passages by clearness quality will also enable flushing out of excreta, toxins and metabolic wastes from body.

Clearness also suck off excessive fluidity and congestion from tissues and channels. Clearness will also help in scraping off pile of unnecessary tissues, dead tissues and debris which are root causes for many diseases.

These properties will also help in curing wounds in quick time. Clearness absorbs excessive moisture from the faeces and makes it rough. This property will help in curing diseases like diarrhea and mal-absorption wherein there is excessive loss of fluids and salts from body.
Read – Role Of Doshas In Excretory System And Its Functions

Clearness quality increases vata in body. This vata is antagonistic to kapha. Therefore this quality is used to treat high kapha conditions and pathological manifestations, congestion and accumulations caused due to increased kapha.

Increased vata due to excessive clearness will damage tissues severely and deplete strength. To counteract effect of excessive clearness quality, foods and medicines having pichchila guna i.e. sliminess quality should be administered.

Effect of excessive consumption

If foods having clearness quality are excessively consumed, it leads to excessive loss of tissues and fluidity of body and also excessive drying of faeces leading to conditions like constipation. Excessive clearness also causes abnormal increase in vata. Increased vata destroys tissues and also causes many vata disorders. Excessive clearness may totally destroy its antagonist property in body i.e. sliminess which is essential for many body functions.
Read – Excessive Thirst – Ayurvedic Understanding And Treatment