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Varman Model
The Dravidian varman model
The Ayurvedic use of the word marman (acupoint) is synonymous with the word
varman in South India. Dravidia refers to the regions of South India and includes the
spoken languages of Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, and Tulu. There are three
subgroups within the Dravidian linguistic family: North Dravidian, Central Dravidian,
and South Dravidian, matching for the most part the corresponding regions in the
Indian subcontinent.
Dravidian medicine includes much of Ayurvedic theory, but also recognises distinct varman
therapeutics. Dravidian practitioners have identified two main groups of varman, supported
by classical Dravidian texts on Siddha medicine and varman techniques. This grouping of
varman is not found in Ayurvedic theory, although both systems philosophically agree upon a
common source of varman.
The two groups of Dravidian varman are:
1. padu varman, and
2. thodu varman.
According to Dravidian theory, these two groups are believed to incorporate the
entire nervous system of the human body. Padu and thodu varman allows the
intangible signs of life (such as the mind, desires and intellect) to manifest within the
life-centres of the body, and to express action in the world (Nair, interview, 17/9/98).
Dravidian varman theories
The Dravidian Siddha theory concerning the 12 padu varman and their relationship to the 96
thodu varman demonstrates an important addition to the theories commonly held by
Ayurvedic practitioners. This information is significant to Ayurvedic theory when attempting
to understand the relationship between groups of marman and their theoretical role in
maintaining balance in the human body. The importance of Dravidian varman theories is
further highlighted by the opinion of scholars who hold that the Dravidian text Odivu Murivu
Sara Suthram by the sage Agastya is likely to predate the records of the Ayurvedic author
Susruta.
The Dravidian text Odivu Murivu Sara Suthram holds that the three kalai (primal influences
of kundalini Ida, Pingala and Sushumna) support the 108 varman as three groups of four
padu varman and 12 groups of eight thodu varman (see table 1).


According to Dravidian practitioners, the 12 padu are considered to be very
important, and of these, three varman are believed to be the most important. They
are identified in Sanskrit as basti, hridaya and sthapani marman and are believed to
be the three root marman associated with the tripod of life(See fig.1 left)

Chinese acupuncture similarities to Ayurvedic and Dravidian theories of
varman
1. The three marman basti, hridaya and sthapani correlate with the Chinese
points on Ren and Du mai. These points are guanyuan (Ren4), shangzhong
(Ren17) and yintang (Du24.5) respectively (see Figure 1 right). These three
points are important energy centres in Chinese theory. They are significant in
Daoist health exercises, as well as Chinese martial arts and alchemy, and
play an important role in Chinese acupuncture.
2. There appear to be similarities between the Dravidian concept of the three
primary channels supporting the 12 padu channels and the Chinese idea of
the three primary (ancestral) channels of Ren mai, Chong mai and Du mai,
giving rise to the 12 channels of the body:Chong mai and Ren mai originate
from the inside of the uterus, a branch rises up in front of the spine, making the ocean
of the twelve meridians (Huang Di Neijing Lingshu, Chapter 65, quoted by
Matsumoto and Birch, 1986, p 31).

The Chinese believe that the three channels of Chong mai, Ren mai and Du
mai originate from an ancestral (prenatal) source and are interrelated:
This is why we can say the Du mai, Ren mai and Chong mai have different names but are all
the same (Wang Bing; quoted from the Nei Jing Jie Po Sheng Li Xue; Matsumoto and Birch,
1986, p 17).
Similarly, the Dravidian view of the 12 padu varman is that they are manifested from the
three energies (kalai) (see Table 1), which are believed to have a single origin universal
prana. An apparent correlation between the two systems of Chinese and Indian theory
regarding the origin of the channels is presented (see Table 2) and their location on the
human body with a comparison to Chinese acupoints (see Table 3).


Kundalini

Practitioners from the state of Tamil Nadu and Kerala believe that the life centres
(chakras) were the key to understanding the varman effect. These life centres are
also recognised in Ayurveda but they are mainly used by those practitioners of yoga
who develop the kundalini, the essential energy which is said to flow through the
region of the spine in the human body. It is believed by Ayurvedic and Dravidian
practitioners that the three major energy channels (kalai) which constitute the
kundalini, commonly known as the Ida, Pingala and Sushumna, form the main nerve
centres (chakras) in the body and are the intermediaries of marman effects. The
Sushumna is said to flow up the spine and the Ida and Pingala alternate sides
between the chakras, represented by the early Vedic symbol shown in Figure 2.


Dravidian practitioners often refer to the theory of a central energy source in the human body.
In this theory, the seven major nerve centres (chakras), which act as a plexus for the three
primary nerve channels of the kundalini, make possible the effects of the varman. The
network of varman is believed to exist because of an indirect connection to the source of the
kundalini and its associated chakras. This connection is brought about through a hierarchy of
varman which can be summarised in two primary groups, the padu and thodu varman (Nair,
interview, 19/9/98). Each of the 12 padu varman collects impulses from, and distributes to,
eight thodu varman. In line with Ayurveda, a total of 108 varman may also be found in the
Dravidian system, although Dravidian medicine observes many additional varman.

According to Manickavasagam (1993), the Tamil text Odivu Murivu Sara Suthram
lists each of the 12 Padu varman and 96 thodu varman. He further claims that there
are internal associations between the 96 thodu varman and the 12 padu varman:
Every padu varman point is a collective junction of eight thodu varman. That is, one
padu varman contains eight thodu varman (see table 4).


There is a need for further translation of writings concerned with the Dravidian tradition as
many aspects of varman therapeutics are believed to be contained in these texts:

Unfortunately, no systematic attempt has been made so far, either by Tamil savants
or by Siddha [Dravidian] medical practitioners, to render with critical evaluation even
the major Tamil texts into English. The two main reasons being the enigmatic nature
of the texts and the secretive attitude of Siddha practitioners. Nonetheless, an
appreciable number of texts in Tamil have been printed, although many of them are
still in manuscript form, preserved in libraries in Tamil Nadu. According to Velan,
there are over 700 Siddha texts in Tamil, of which 180 have been
printed (Subbarayappa, 1997).
The Dravidian varman model #2
Translation of Varman-adi Shastra

Interviews with varman practitioners in districts of Kerala, South India, revealed other
sources of information for varman-adi (action of varman) that presented different
locations for the twelve Padu varman on the human body.
According to Balachandran Nair, a Kalaripayattu practitioner in Trivendrum, much of the
deeper knowledge of varman has gone underground. Issues to do with correct point
location and techniques for opening and closing the varman were not openly taught for many
reasons. Modern ideas concerning varman lack the keys for the understanding of their use
and their connection to the primal force that maintains life (Nair, private communication
17/10/98).
In what is believed to be the first English translation of a part of an ancient, privately held
text, belonging to a practitioner in Kerala, a different padu varman model has emerged.
The part translation of the unpublished Dravidian (Siddha) text, originally recorded on
bamboo, was provided by a Dravidian practitioner. This text, and other bamboo records, were
claimed to be over 300 years old (see Figure 1) and provided the location of secret padu (see
Figure 2), which differ from the standard locations represented in previous tables (see
previous article Dravidian Varman Model #1). This is strong evidence in support of the
theory that there are secret varman records in southern India which are not openly taught or
revealed.


Master Nair confirmed the above information as correct and provided illustrations of his own
family traditional teachings of varman that appears to incorporate varman from models
represented in previous tables ie. padu and thodu varman (see Fig 3 & 4).


Dravidian Varman-adi practitioners claim that knowledge of varman is contained in scripture
which has been kept intact and secret for thousands of years. These texts support the
Dravidian family heritage of martial and therapeutic varman use. The key features of yoga
theory and Varman-adi practice lie in the internal connections between varman, underpinning
the types of varman and nadi (channels) used in the internal practices of these traditional
philosophies. The kundalini, the primal channel which is composed of three pathways, the Ida,
Pingala and Sushumna, forms the basis of all channels and varman in the body. According to
Dravidian practitioners, the kundalini is the activating principle of life and ascends to the top
of the head from its root at the perineum. Chinese medicine recognises three primal channels
as Chong mai, Ren mai and Du mai. According to Chinese theory, these three channels are
believed to be the first to activate and bring about life in the womb. Originating in the
kidneys and then passing to the perineum, their influence ascends to the top of the head along
the spine (Matsumoto and Birch, 1986).
According to the marman research by Zarrilli (1992), it is believed that there are physical and
subtle marman which exist in a complimentary and symbiotic relationship. Zarrilli has
cited a set of 32 yoga varman which, according to his published interviews with Nair,
constitute the conceptual and practical link between the gross and subtle paradigms of the
body (Zarrilli, 1992, p10). The 32 yoga varman listed by Zarrilli in his research are not
referenced, but the varman names appear to originate from Sanskrit sources rather than Tamil
or Keralan languages, as used by traditional Dravidian or kalaripayattu practitioners. This
suggests that the 32 yoga varman have a probable link to the Vedic yoga system (see
Figure 5).


An additional view of the yoga chakras (see Figure 6) places an emphasis on major
and minor varman. It is reported by Tansley (1998) that the major chakras are
formed by the intersection of twenty one energy strands at the site of the chakra.
He further states that the minor chakras are formed by the intersection of forteen
energy strands and that the marman are locations where seven energy strands
intersect.
The minor chakras illustrated in Figure 6 appear to be disassociated from the major chakras
which have a strong resemblance to the Chinese Daoist tien (energy collection) centres, as
used in Tai ji Chuan exercises (see Figure 7). In addition to the 108 varman, Pillai, a Siddha
practitioner, claimed that a further 720 varman points are recorded in Dravidian texts and
make up a vast network of nadis (Pillai, private communication, 26/11/99).


SOURCE
http://www.markphillips.com.au/
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