Examination Of Treatment Of Diseases: Karya

By Dr Raghuram Y.S. MD (Ay) & Dr Manasa, B.A.M.S
Karya is the fourth factor to be examined according to Master Charaka’s ten factors to be examined i.e. dashavidha parikshya bhavas. The first three factors are –
Karana – the physician who is responsible to establish health
Karana – instrument or medicines which help the physician in bringing balance of doshas in the body
Karyayoni – the source of action – i.e. the imbalance of doshas in the body which leads to causation of diseases

Karya is the action itself i.e. ‘action of bringing the doshas to a state of balance’.
Read – 10 Factors Of Patient Examination – Dasha Vidha Atura Pareeksha

Definition, Symptom of Karya

Karya is that action (treatment) to achieve which the doer (physician) indulges himself with work mindedness. Master Charaka defines karya as ‘bringing about dhatu samya i.e. equilibrium of the doshas and body components’.

The symptom of karya i.e. action having been effective is ‘vikara upashamana’ i.e. ‘cure of the disease on which the action was taken’.

Dhatu vaishamya – i.e. imbalance in the doshas is said to be the chief cause of diseases. This was defined as karyayoni i.e. source of action. Once imbalance of doshas occurs, they tend to contaminate the body components, mainly the tissues, channels and organs of the body by getting lodged in them. This vicious amalgamation of doshas and tissues is a mandatory step in the manifestation of diseases.

The physician identifies these imbalances of doshas and diagnoses the disease. Identification of source of action paves way for the physician to take action i.e. provide treatment using the medicines. When proper treatment has been initiated the doshas will come back to their state of balance and the disease process will be aborted. This indicates the cure of the disease and disappearance of its signs and symptoms.

Bringing the doshas back to a state of balance along with balancing the other components of the body by administration of suitable medicines and consequent cure of the diseases is considered as karya.
Read – Chikitsa: Treatment Types, Ayurvedic classification

Examination of balance of doshas

The balance of doshas shall be examined by the below mentioned aspects –

Rug upashamana – pacification of pain
Svara varna yoga – voice and color of the body becoming normal
Sharira upachaya – nourishment of muscles and other body parts
Abhyavaharya abhilasha – interest towards consuming food
Abhyavahrutasya cha aharasya kale samyag jaranam – the food consumed getting properly digested at proper time
Vaikarikanam cha svapnanam adarshanam – person not getting bad dreams and nightmares during sleep
Vata mutra purisha retasaam mukti – proper and timely elimination of fart, urine, feces and semen in a natural way
Mano buddhi indriyanam cha avyapat – healthy status of mind, intellect and senses
Read – Balanced Doshas And Their Contribution To Comprehensive Health

Sanskrit Verses

Karya in terms of research

Karya means action. The researcher (physician) would keep the accomplishment of this action in sight before proceeding to achieve it. It is also a state of equilibrium which the physician targets to achieve i.e. is the objective for a physician.

If a researcher is to be considered in place of a physician, the action can be considered as aims and objectives (purpose) of a research study.
Read – Roga, Rogi Pareeksha: Examination Of Disease And Patient

Research involves finding solutions to queries by applying scientific procedures. This is also the purpose of research. Finding the hidden truth which hasn’t been discovered or explored forms the main aim of research. Every research study is different by its own means and has its own purpose. Therefore the research objectives falls into many categories as said below –

Exploratory research study – aims at gaining familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it
Descriptive research study – aims at portraying the characteristics of a given individual, situation or a group in an accurate way
Diagnostic research study – aims at determining how many times something occurs or with which it is associated
Hypothesis testing research studies – aims at testing hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables

Karya can also be regarded as an operational phase of research work or studies. This comprises construction of tools of data collection, pretesting tools, collection, processing and analysis of data and interpretation of results.
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