rakt

Rakt is a transliteration of the Sanskrit word rakta, meaning blood or red. In many Indian languages that borrow from Sanskrit, including Hindi and Marathi, the word is written as रक्त and commonly read as rakt or rakta. In Sanskrit literature and in traditional medical systems, rakta appears as a fundamental concept related to blood and to the color red.

Etymology and usage: The term originates in Sanskrit and has been carried into several modern languages through cultural and scholarly transmission. As a root concept, rakta is used in medical, philosophical, and literary contexts to denote blood or blood-related matters. In everyday Hindi and Marathi, forms derived from rakta appear in phrases and terms associated with health, medicine, and anatomy, such as rakta-daan (blood donation).

Ayurveda and traditional medicine: In Ayurveda, rakta is one of the seven dhatus, or bodily tissues, and is central to discussions of physiology and disease. Classical texts discuss rakta in the context of blood-related health, balance, and pathology, often in conjunction with doshas and other dhatus. This framework continues to influence modern discussions of traditional Indian medical concepts in some regions.

Notes and variations: The exact transliteration and pronunciation can vary by language and script. For example, Bengali uses rokto for blood, whereas rakt appears in transliterations from Sanskrit or in Hindi and Marathi medical terminology. Outside Indian linguistic contexts, rakt may occur in scholarly or transliterated Sanskrit terms.

See also: Rakta (Sanskrit term), Rakta dhatu, Rakta-daan.