Marma Points (Suśruta-saṃhitā)
Marma Points (Suśruta-saṃhitā) is a Hindu / Ayurveda — Suśruta-saṃhitā body system as transmitted through the lineage Marma classification of the Suśruta-saṃhitā, Śārīrasthāna 6 (the chapter on vital points); 107 marmas grouped by injury-class. This Stage 1 foundation ships a curated subset of 13 of the most clinically and textually significant marmas; the full 107 will land incrementally.. This page lists every point in the system with sourced placements and links to cross-tradition correspondences curated for The Body Spiritual.
Open in interactive explorerPrimary sources
- Suśruta-saṃhitā (Sanskrit text with the Nibandha-saṃgraha commentary of Ḍalhaṇa, ed. Yadavji Trikamji Acharya (Chaukhamba, repr. 1992)) — The locus of the marma classification; Śārīrasthāna 6.16–41 enumerates the 107 marmas by anatomical class, region, and injury-prognosis.
- Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna, An English Translation of the Sushruta Samhita (Calcutta, 1907 (3 vols.); repr. Chaukhamba Sanskrit Series) — The standard English translation; Śārīrasthāna chapter 6 is the marma chapter.
- P.V. Sharma (ed.), Suśruta-saṃhitā with English translation (Chaukhamba Visvabharati, 3 vols., 1999–2001) — Modern critical English edition with Sanskrit and notes.
- Frank Ros, The Lost Secrets of Ayurvedic Acupuncture (Lotus Press, 1994) — Comparative study of marma loci and TCM acupoints; useful for cross-referencing but not authoritative on Sanskrit lineage.
- David Frawley, Subhash Ranade, Avinash Lele, Ayurveda and Marma Therapy (Lotus Press, 2003) — Modern English-language reference; topographically reliable; therapeutic claims should be read against the Suśruta classifications.
Known lineage variants
- South Indian Kalari-payattu (Tamil/Malayalam) marma traditions enumerate a subset and add their own combat-and-healing applications; not strictly aligned with the 107-point Sanskrit classification.
- Aṣṭāṅga-hṛdaya (Vāgbhaṭa, c. 7th c.) and Aṣṭāṅga-saṅgraha preserve the Suśruta marma list with minor topographical variants; not adopted as the primary text here.
- Modern 'marma point therapy' literature (Frawley, Lad, etc.) sometimes maps marmas to chakras and nāḍīs as a unified energy-anatomy; Suśruta itself does not make these correspondences — flag and avoid blending.
- The Suśruta enumeration is 107 marmas grouped by anatomical class (māṃsa / sirā / snāyu / asthi / sandhi — flesh, vessel, ligament, bone, joint) and by injury-prognosis class (sadyaḥ-prāṇa-hara / kāla-antara-prāṇa-hara / viśalya-ghna / vaikalya-kara / rujā-kara — instantly fatal, fatal-after-time, fatal-on-extraction, disabling, painful). This subset is selected for textual prominence and topographic clarity.
Cross-tradition overlaps
- Nābhi ↔ Nābhi (distance 0.005)
Related systems
No other systems share this tradition label.
Points
- Adhipati — The lord — anterior fontanelle (sandhi-marma)
- Sthāpanī — Brow centre — between eyebrows (sirā-marma)
- Śaṅkha (right) — Right temple (asthi-marma)
- Śaṅkha (left) — Left temple (asthi-marma)
- Kṛkāṭikā — Cervico-cranial junction (sandhi-marma)
- Hṛdaya — Heart (sirā-marma)
- Nābhi — Navel (sirā-marma)
- Basti — Bladder (māṃsa-marma)
- Kūrpara (right) — Right elbow (sandhi-marma)
- Kūrpara (left) — Left elbow (sandhi-marma)
- Kṣipra (right hand) — Right hand — between thumb and index (snāyu-marma)
- Kṣipra (left hand) — Left hand — between thumb and index (snāyu-marma)
- Talahṛdaya (right foot) — Right foot — sole centre (māṃsa-marma)
Frequently asked
What is Adhipati?
Adhipati — 'the overlord' — at the crown of the head, corresponding to the anterior fontanelle / coronal-sagittal suture region. Classified by Suśruta as a sandhi-marma (joint-class) and as sadyaḥ-prāṇa-hara — instantly fatal if struck. In the topography of the head this is the highest of the head marmas and presides over the others, hence its name.
What is Sthāpanī?
Sthāpanī — at the glabella between the eyebrows. Suśruta classifies it as a sirā-marma (vessel class), viśalya-ghna (fatal on extraction of an embedded foreign body) — that is, a wound is non-fatal so long as the implement remains in place. Topographically coincident with the Yogic ājñā cakra and the Chinese yintang acupoint (M-HN-3); these correspondences are noted but the marma classification is independent.
What is Śaṅkha (right)?
Śaṅkha — 'conch' — at the temple, over the squamous part of the temporal bone. Bilateral; Suśruta lists two śaṅkhas. Asthi-marma (bone-class) and sadyaḥ-prāṇa-hara — instantly fatal if injured, on account of the thinness of the temporal bone over the middle meningeal vasculature. This point places at the RIGHT_TEMPLE landmark of the project's coordinate system.
What is Śaṅkha (left)?
Bilateral counterpart of śaṅkha (right). Same classification: asthi-marma, sadyaḥ-prāṇa-hara.
What is Kṛkāṭikā?
Kṛkāṭikā — at the joint of the head and neck, the cervico-cranial junction (atlanto-occipital articulation). Sandhi-marma, vaikalya-kara — disabling if injured (causing tremor / unsteadiness of the head). Rendered on the back view, where the bony substrate is most accessible.
What is Hṛdaya?
Hṛdaya — the heart marma, at the precordial centre. Sirā-marma and sadyaḥ-prāṇa-hara: instantly fatal if penetrated. Suśruta describes hṛdaya as the seat of consciousness (ojas) and the central regulator of the body's vital channels. The topographic locus is the precordial region rather than the anatomically-precise cardiac silhouette; classical Indian iconography places hṛdaya at the midline.
What is Nābhi?
Nābhi — the navel marma. Sirā-marma, sadyaḥ-prāṇa-hara on a deep penetrating injury through the umbilical region (where the great vessels run). In Ayurvedic physiology nābhi is the topographic centre of the body and the meeting-point of the principal sirās.
What is Basti?
Basti — the bladder marma, in the suprapubic region. Māṃsa-marma (flesh-class) and sadyaḥ-prāṇa-hara on penetrating injury that ruptures the bladder, owing to urinary peritonitis.
What is Kūrpara (right)?
Kūrpara — the elbow marma, at the cubital fossa. Sandhi-marma, vaikalya-kara: disabling if injured (causing tremor or paralysis of the limb on account of the brachial neurovasculature).
What is Kūrpara (left)?
Bilateral counterpart of kūrpara (right). Same classification: sandhi-marma, vaikalya-kara.
What is Kṣipra (right hand)?
Kṣipra — 'swift' — between the thumb and index finger, in the first interosseous space. Snāyu-marma (ligament-class), kālāntara-prāṇa-hara: fatal after a delay if injured (Suśruta attributes the lethality to convulsive seizure following a wound here). The coordinate is approximate; the true location is on the dorsum of the hand at the interosseous space, not visible in the standard front-body silhouette.
What is Kṣipra (left hand)?
Bilateral counterpart of kṣipra (right hand).
What is Talahṛdaya (right foot)?
Talahṛdaya — 'heart of the sole' — at the centre of the plantar surface of the foot. Māṃsa-marma (flesh-class), kālāntara-prāṇa-hara. The foot has a parallel hand-marma (talahṛdaya of the hand, at the centre of the palm) of the same class.