Page:Sushruta Samhita Vol 1.djvu/213

Chap.XIV.] born in its origin, and hence an intelligent person should carefully preserve his bodily Rasa (lymph chyle) by adopting a proper regimen of diet and conduct.

The term Rasa is derived from the root "Ras", to go, and the substance is so called from the fact of its continually flowing through and permeating every vital principle of an animated organism.

The Rasa is successively transformed into each of the six remaining fundamental principles of the body, and continues in the shape of each for the period of three thousand and fifteen kalas five days according to our modern computation. Thus the Rasa is converted into semen, or into the menstrual blood (ovum) in women, in the course of a month.*