Kaṭu rasa — pungent
Sharp / heating teaching proxy
Kaṭu, the pungent taste, is represented at the navel and digestive-fire proxy because its standard description emphasises sharpness and heating action. This target-organ projection visualises a substance property and must not be read as a direct anatomical map of digestion.
Point 4 of 6 in Ṣaḍ Rasa — Six Tastes
Cross-tradition overlaps
No overlapping points are registered for this point.
Sources
Caraka Saṃhitā (primary_canonical)
Sūtrasthāna 26–27 classifies kaṭu and details its sharp, heating qualities and doṣic effects; the navel point is an editorial target-organ proxy.
Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdayam (primary_canonical)
Sūtrasthāna 10 supplies the canonical taste profile for kaṭu; it does not establish a normalized navel coordinate.