Last verified: April 2026
Trunk Marma — 14 Vital Points
काया मर्म — Kaya (trunk/body) Marma
Sushruta Samhita documents 14 Marma in the trunk region — including three of the most critical Sadyah Pranahara Marma (Hridaya, Nabhi, Stanamula) that govern the fundamental life forces of consciousness, digestion, and respiration.
Sushruta Samhita, Sharira 5.33
Nabhi sarvanadinam moola — The navel is the root of all Nadi (channels). From the Nabhi, the 72,000 Nadi of the body radiate outward. It is therefore simultaneously the most important therapeutic Marma and one of the most dangerous — injury to Nabhi disrupts the entire channel system simultaneously.Trunk Marma documentation
| Marma | Location | Category | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hridaya | Centre of chest — cardiac region | Sadyah Pranahara | Seat of Ojas. Injury is immediately fatal. The most important Marma in the trunk — governing Prana, consciousness, and the root of Rasavaha Srotas. |
| Stanamula | Base of each breast (bilateral) | Sadyah Pranahara | Governs Stanya (breast milk) channels and the cardiac-respiratory junction. |
| Stanarohita | Upper chest, above Stanamula (bilateral) | Kalantara Pranahara | Upper respiratory-cardiac junction. |
| Apastambha | Bilateral chest, flanking Hridaya | Kalantara Pranahara | Governs Pranavaha Srotas laterally. |
| Nabhi | Navel | Sadyah Pranahara | The seat of Samana Vata and the convergence of all 72,000 classical channels (Nadi). The umbilicus is documented as the primary Marma for digestive and systemic assessment. Injury produces death through the central nerve-Vata disruption. |
| Basti | Suprapubic — urinary bladder region | Vaikalyakara | Governs Mutravaha Srotas. Injury produces urinary dysfunction. |
| Guda | Anal region | Vaikalyakara | Governs Purishavaha Srotas and Apana Vata. The seat of the primary downward Vata force. |
| Katikataruna | Posterior iliac spine (bilateral) | Vaikalyakara | The lumbosacral junction — governs lower limb innervation and the pelvic channel. |
| Kukundara | Bilateral gluteal — sacroiliac region | Vaikalyakara | Governs hip joint function and the descending Vata channels. |
| Nitamba | Upper gluteal (bilateral) | Vaikalyakara | Hip joint connection. |
| Parshvasandhi | Lateral thorax — axillary line (bilateral) | Vaikalyakara | The lateral thoracic junction — governs the lateral channel flow. |
| Vrihati | Posterior thorax, bilateral paraspinal | Vaikalyakara | Posterior respiratory channels. |
Nabhi as the therapeutic centre
The Nabhi Marma is the most therapeutically targeted trunk Marma in classical Ayurveda. Nabhi Basti (warm oil pooled in a dough ring on the navel) is a classical procedure for digestive conditions, lower back pain, and Vata disorders — the oil's warmth and pharmacological compounds act directly through the Nabhi Marma on the concentrated channel junctions it governs. The procedure is documented in Ashtanga Hridayam's Bahya Snehana section.