Prakriti Assessment

Origin. Ayurvedic medicine, systematized in Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita (c. 1st millennium BCE to early CE). Prakriti is an individual's constitutional type, determined by the balance of three doshas: vata, pitta, kapha.

Mechanism. People differ in fundamental constitution. The three doshas — vata (air/movement), pitta (fire/transformation), kapha (earth-water/structure) — combine in different proportions to create constitutional types. Each type has characteristic physical features, temperament, disease tendencies, and responses to food, climate, and treatment. Knowing a person's prakriti allows prediction of vulnerabilities and customization of interventions. Treatment that works for one type may harm another.

Procedure. Assess through three modalities: (1) Darshana (observation) — examine body frame, skin, hair, eyes, gait, gestures. Vata: thin frame, dry skin, small eyes, quick irregular movements. Pitta: medium frame, warm oily skin, sharp penetrating eyes, purposeful movements. Kapha: large frame, thick smooth skin, large calm eyes, slow deliberate movements. (2) Sparshana (touch) — note skin temperature, moisture, texture through pulse examination and palpation. (3) Prashna (questioning) — ask about sleep patterns, appetite, digestion, temperature preference, emotional tendencies, stress response, disease history. Synthesize observations into a constitutional profile: single-dosha dominant, dual-dosha, or tridoshic (rare). Compare current state (vikriti) to baseline constitution (prakriti) to identify imbalance.

Applies to. Personalized medicine. Understanding individual differences in response to intervention. Any context where one-size-fits-all approaches fail.

Limitations. Assessment requires training; novices over-weight obvious features. The three-dosha model is a simplification; individuals do not fit types cleanly. Constitutional typing can become stereotyping that ignores individual variation within types. The system's predictions require empirical validation in modern terms.