Purusha

Description
In Ayurvedic system, the synonym of purusha is soul. It means soul resides (lives) in the body, so it is called purusha.

Body is meaningless without a soul (purusha). There are two meanings of purusha in ayurveda; the first one is soul (jeevetma) and the other meaning is body along with the soul.

It is the second meaning that holds significance because soul without a body is hollow and needs body for its proper functioning.

The whole ayurvedic system has been amassed for the good of body.
Classification

Purusha can be classified into nine (9) categories. They are Ek dhatwatmak Purusha, Karma Purusha, Dwi dhatwatmak Purusha, Tri dhatwatmak Purusha, Panchadhatwatmak, Shad dhatwatmak Purusha, Sapta dhatwatmak Purusha, Chaturvinsati dhatwatmak Purusha, Twenty five dhatwatmak Purusha. The description of each category is as follows:         

1. Ek Dhatwatmak Purusha

Ek means one. So, Ek dhatwatmak refers to soul (Jeevatma). Its synonym is shuddha Purusha.

1. Karma Purusha

It refers to body along with soul.

1. Dwi Dhatwatmak Purusha

Dwi means two. So, Dwi dhatwatmak Purusha means the combination of jeevatma and body.

4. Tri Dhatwatmak Purusha
Tri means three. So, Tri dhatwatmak Purusha refers to the combination of soul and body is associated with mind or truth

5. Panchadhatwatmak
Pancha means five. So, Panchadhatwatmak means the visible part in karma purusha because the entire body according to Hindu philosophy is made up of panchmahbhoota.

6. Shad Dhatwatmak Purusha
Shad means six. So, Shad dhatwatmak Karma Purusha refers to six elements and the sixth element is soul which is called atma in the language of Hindi. The combination of all 6 constituents is the essence of Shad dhatwatmak Karma Purusha.

 7. Sapta Dhatwatmak Purusha
Sapta means seven. There are two presumptions in Sapta dhatwatmak Purusha.
The first one states that there's a composition of panchamahabhoot, mind (mana) and soul (atma) and the second presumption states that it is composed of seven elements (dhatus) , i.e., Ras, Rakta (blood),  Meda, Mansa(muscles ) ,Asthi (bones), Majia and shukra (reproductive tissue in the body).

8. Chaturvinsati Dhatwatmak Purusha
Chaturvinsati means twenty-four. So, Chaturvinsati dhatwatmak Purusha means of all 24 elements of this theory are inter-related to each other and are responsible for the augmentation of one another. For instance, stating the theory of evolution of the universe, the element of Avyaki gave push to the growth of Mahat, mahat started Ahankara (pride), and ahankara gave birth to Pancha gyanindrya (Pancha Karma indriya and one ubhaya indriya).

Tamasik ahankar along with Rajsik ahankar give rise to 5 tanmatra and the combination of these ahankars gives birth to panchamahabhoota.  All elements are divided into 2 parts: Prakruti (nature);( the sub-division of which is Aviakt, Mhat, Ahankar, Shabde, Sparbhe, Rupa, Rase and gandha (smell) and the 2nd One is Vikar (by-product);(the sub-division of which is as follows: 5 gyan indriya , 5 Karma Indriya, 1 Ubhaya Indriya and 5 maha bhootas.

 
9. Twenty-Five Dhatwatmak Purusha
The grouping of atma and 24 elements karma purusha takes the tally to 25. Here, the growth takes place but with the increase in life (age) and hence, the ultimate end is death.