Principle of Hot (Ushna) and Cold (Sheeta) and Its Clinical Application in Ayurvedic Medicine.

Hot (Ushna) and cold (sheet) are two fundamental precepts of Ayurvedic medicine reflected variously within the context of health and disease. These are fundamental for being essential attributes of three doshas, namely, Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, forming the very basis of Ayurvedic constructs of health and disease. Ushna is the inherent property of Pitta, symbolizing fire both inside and outside the body. There are pathologies of Pitta where this Ushna property participates in pathogenesis to present the features like burning, sour eructation, and fever. In such cases, the course of treatment eventually focuses on reducing Pitta or reducing the Ushna property of Pitta, in particular. A similar cold association is found with Vata and Kapha, where the pathogenesis is reflected as heaviness, cold and cough, and edema. The treatment of Vata and Kapha diseases eventually focuses upon their reduction or reducing cold-related pathogenesis, in particular. This is evident that these two form an essential and integral component of Ayurvedic understanding of health and disease and are practically applied to make a diagnosis and define the treatment. In this chapter, we are expanding the details of Ushna and Sheeta constructs of Ayurvedic medicine and elaborating on their health and disease application.