Advising a particular diet or drug to a patient is based on the qualities of that drug. These drugs possess different qualities. 20 attributes/ qualities are always taken into consideration by AAayurveDa scholars during the treatment of diseases. This group of 20 qualities is termed as GurvaaDi Guna as the first attribute in this list is Guru. These qualities are described in pairs i.e. Guru-Laghu, Ushna-SheeTa, MaNDa-TeekShna, SNigDha-RookSha etc. Hence they are also termed as DwamDva Gunas. They are generally available in all the five elements i.e. PRuThvee, Jala, Teja etc. Therefore they are also termed as SamaaNya Guna. Due to their special action in the treatment, BhaDaNTa NaagarjuNa has called these attributes as KarmaNya Gunas. As these 20 qualities have a special relation with body and various drugs and diet used for the body they are also termed as Shaarira guna by Kaviraaj GamgaaDhar.
