Srotas — The Channels of Circulation and Transformation
Srotas (channels, streams, passages) are the anatomical and energetic pathways through which all substances flow in the body — 13 major channel systems govern the intake, transformation, circulation, and elimination of all the body's tissues.
Srotas (from 'sru' — to flow) are the macroscopic and microscopic channels through which all substances flow in the body. The 13 major Srotas systems include: Pranavaha Srotas (respiratory channels), Annavaha Srotas (digestive channels), Ambuvaha Srotas (water metabolism channels), Rasavaha Srotas (plasma and lymph channels), Raktavaha Srotas (blood channels), Mamsavaha Srotas (muscle channels), Medovaha Srotas (fat and connective tissue channels), Asthivaha Srotas (bone channels), Majjavaha Srotas (bone marrow and nerve channels), Shukravaha/Artavavaha Srotas (reproductive channels), Mutravaha Srotas (urinary channels), Purishavaha Srotas (digestive waste channels), and Svedavaha Srotas (sweat channels). Disease arises when Srotas are blocked (Sanga), ruptured (Sira Granthi), or diverted (Vimarga Gamana). The clinical art of Panchakarma is fundamentally aimed at cleansing and restoring the proper function of all Srotas.
All diseases arise from obstruction of the channels; health is the free flow of all substances through their proper pathways.
The fascia network — the continuous web of connective tissue that surrounds every cell, organ, and structure in the body — is emerging as a candidate anatomical substrate for the Ayurvedic Srotas system: it provides contiguous channels for fluid flow, electrical signaling, and cellular communication throughout the entire body.
Charaka Samhita
Written about in
- What Ayurveda says about breath and prana
The body is described as a set of channels, and the respiratory one is the first named among them. Charaka's account of disease is largely an account of obstructed flow.