Marma Points — Ayurvedic Vital Energy Junctions
Marma points are the 107 vital energy junctions in the body (plus the mind as the 108th) identified in Sushruta Samhita — sites where flesh, veins, arteries, tendons, bones, and joints intersect and where Prana is concentrated.
Marma (from 'mri' — death, from 'mara' — to strike, to kill) are the 107 physical vital points (plus Manas/mind as the 108th) described in Sushruta Samhita's Sharirasthana (anatomy chapter) as sites of concentrated Prana where injury is particularly dangerous and therapeutic intervention particularly powerful. Located at the intersections of muscles, blood vessels, tendons, bones, and joints, Marma points are organized into five categories based on their tissue composition and into five categories based on their vulnerability. Surgeons were required to memorize all 107 Marma locations to avoid damaging them during operations. Therapeutically, Marma massage (Marmabhyanga) and Marma pressure therapy are used to regulate Prana flow, balance the doshas, and treat specific conditions — similar in many respects to acupressure and acupuncture but embedded in the Ayurvedic rather than Chinese medical framework.
There are 107 Marmas in the body; injury to any of them is potentially fatal. Knowledge of them is essential for the surgeon.
Anatomist Robert Schleip's research on fascial mechanoreception documents that many traditional acupuncture and Marma points correspond to locations of unusually high density of mechanoreceptors, proprioceptors, and free nerve endings in the fascia network — providing an anatomical basis for their documented therapeutic sensitivity.
Sushruta Samhita