Tissue Membrane

Each tissue in your body needs a boundary, something that gives it form and keeps it distinct from its neighbors. In Ayurveda, that boundary is also where the tissue is nourished and built.

It is called the Tissue Membrane (Dhatu Dhara Kala). Dhara means holding and kala means membranous structure, so the name describes the membrane that holds each tissue (Dhatu).

Between every two dhatus lies one of these membranes. It separates one tissue from another and houses the tissue fire (Dhatu Agni) along with Ojas, Tejas and Prana, which together govern that tissue's functions.

It separates and gives form

One function of kala is to separate two tissues from one another, giving them distinct form. It works like a fascial boundary that preserves tissue integrity.

It is the mother of the dhatu

Kala is described as the mother of the dhatu because it holds and nourishes it.

It houses the tissue fire

The dhatu agnis are present within the kala. They transform raw, unprocessed tissue into processed, formed tissue.

Each tissue has its own membrane

Every dhatu has its own kala and agni. Plasma tissue has rasa dhara kala and rasa dhatu agni, blood tissue has rakta dhara kala and rakta dhatu agni, and so on.

Ojas, tejas and prana sustain it

Within each kala there is also dhatu ojas, dhatu tejas and dhatu prana. These maintain the function of the kala.

The tissue membrane is where tissue formation actually happens. On one side of the kala lies immature tissue (Asthayi Dhatu), which the kala helps transform into mature tissue (Sthayi Dhatu).

That transformation is driven by the dhatu agni within the membrane, supported by dhatu ojas, tejas and prana. In this way the kala regulates the change from immature to mature tissue.

Each channel (Srotas) is made up of its own related dhatu tissue, and the kala houses the agni that drives the transformation and nourishment of that tissue.

For understanding your own body, the concept shows that tissues are not static. Each one is continuously held, nourished and rebuilt at its membrane.

• Seven Dhatus (Sapta Dhatu): the seven bodily tissues, each held and separated by its own dhatu dhara kala.
• Tissue Fire (Dhatu Agni): the fire housed within each kala that transforms immature tissue into mature tissue.
• Immature Tissue (Asthayi Dhatu): the unprocessed tissue on one side of the kala, waiting to be transformed.
• Mature Tissue (Sthayi Dhatu): the processed, formed tissue that the kala helps produce.

Dhatu dhara kala is the membranous structure that holds each dhatu. Dhara means holding and kala means membranous structure. One function of kala is to separate two tissues from one another, giving them distinct form. Kala is described as the mother of the dhatu because it holds and nourishes it.

The dhatu agnis are present within the kala and transform raw, unprocessed dhatu into processed, formed tissue. Each dhatu has its own kala and agni — for example, rasa dhatu has rasa dhara kala and rasa dhatu agni, rakta dhatu has rakta dhara kala and rakta dhatu agni, and so on. Within the kala of each dhatu there is also dhatu ojas, dhatu tejas, and dhatu prana, which maintain the function of the kala. On one side of the kala lies asthayi dhatu (unprocessed), which kala helps transform into sthayi dhatu (processed) through its dhatu agni, ojas, tejas, and prana.