the concept of prakriti

7/31/2019 The Concept of Prakriti

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The concept of Prakriti

Dr. K.M. Shyam Sundar

The author is an ayurvedic physician in Chennai.

A characteristic feature of traditional medicinal systems is that they consider the individualas a whole, rather than just the disease. Treatment is fine-tuned, taking into consideration

the individual's constitution, susceptibility to diseases, mental make up, lifestyle and other

factors. This has been refined to a very high degree in Ayurveda with its powerful conceptofprakriti. This article aims at providing a general introduction to this concept.

The wordprakriti means "nature" or natural form of the build and

constitution of the human body. Pra means the "beginning",

"commencement" or "source of origin" and kruthi means "toperform" or "to form". Put together,prakriti means "natural form"

or "original form" or "original source". Disease occurs when there is achange in this original form at the psychological or physiologicallevel.

Ayurveda lays emphasis on examining theprakriti or the natural

state of an individual first. The disease vikruthi is examined later.

While the expert in modern medicine analyses the disease, theAyurvedic expert is also interested in the individual who is suffering from the disease.

Prakriti: The three types

All material in the universe, animate or inanimate, is composed of five basic elements orPancha Mahabhoothas - namelyAkaasha, Vaayu, Teja,Jala andPrithvi.Akasha, or space,

is omnipresent and all pervading, a substratum to the other four elements and due to itspresence one can separate or differentiate material. Vaayu, or air, is responsible for the

movement of all types and is vital for the existence of all creatures. Teja, orAgni, is the

element of energy or heat.Jala, orAapa, is the element of water essential for sustenance oflife. Prithvi, or earth, is responsible for structure and bulk of the material.


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However, in terms of the functioning of living beings, Ayurveda sees all actions based on

three basic functions called doshas - namely vata,pitta and kapha. Vata is responsible forrespiration and control of movement.Pitta is responsible for maintenance of body heat and

Kapha is responsible for maintenance of body form and structure. These doshas are the

manifestations of the bhootas in the living systems.Kapha dosha consists ofPrithvi andJala,Pitta ofTejas and Vata ofVayu andAkasha.

Before a detailed description of eachprakriti type, the qualities of each of the doshas are

given. These qualities are manifested in the individual's personality.


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Vata is dry, light, mobile, expansible, quick, cold, rough, clear and astringent in taste. So

vataprakriti individuals tend to have dry and rough skin, are lightly built, quick in their

mental process and initiation of action.

Pitta is hot, penetrating, slightly foul smelling, liquid, sour and pungent in taste. So pitta

prakriti individuals tend to sweat a lot and tend to have a higher than normal bodytemperature.

Kapha is unctuous, smooth, soft, sweet in taste, stable, dense, slow, rigid, cold and clear.Kapha prakriti individuals tend to have soft limbs, slow gait and are slow to understand.

The cold quality means that their agni or digestive power is low.

Vata prakriti

The dry quality of vata is manifested in the body as dry skin and thin structure i.e. lean

body. The hair, nails, teeth and eyes appear dry. The voice is weak, low, crackling and

hoarse. These individuals require little sleep and are hyperactive. The movements of theindividuals - especially of the eyebrows, chin, lips, tongue and limbs are quick and

unsteady. The expansive nature is manifest in prominent blood vessels. Due to quickaction, the individual shows early initiative in work but because of the dry quality he loses

strength and becomes tired. Their memory is weak but they have a quick grasp. Due to the

cold nature, the body temperature is low and body stiff. The natural desires and craving forfood and environment are opposite to the qualities of vata. They have meagre seminal fluid

and have only a few children. They tend to have a short life span.

Pitta prakriti

Due to the inherent hot quality of pitta, these individuals have a high metabolic rate, atendency to eat and drink a lot and are often thirsty. They develop moles and skineruptions. They possess soft and scanty hair and tend to be prematurely grey and bald.

They are unable to bear even minimum heat. They are brave and courageous but cannot

tolerate exertion. They get easily provoked and upset. The fluid quality makes the bodyparts, muscles and joints soft and flabby. The high metabolic rate leads to excessive

perspiration and excretion. The foul smell of the pitta tends to give them a strong body

odour. The quality of heat and pungent taste leads to limited sexual urge, scanty semen andlimited progeny. Due to the sharp and quick action, they have a very good intellect,

grasping power, memory and are of moderate strength and the life span is medium.

Kapha prakriti

Due to the unctuous nature ofkapha, the individuals ofkapha prakriti possess unctuous

and oily skin. The soft quality ofkapha makes the face soft, the looks gentle and clear. Thesweet quality gives them a large quantity of semen and they have a strong sexual urge. The

stable and steady quality endows them with a well-built and steady body. The dense nature

provides fullness to the body and organs. The slow quality ofkapha makes the individualsslow in their activities but they have strong perseverance and are emotionally very mild.


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They have steady and slow body movements. The cold quality results in poor appetite

(their agni or digestion is poor) and low body temperature. The steady and dense quality

gives them steady joints and ligaments. The clear quality gives rise to a pleasantappearance, colour and voice. All the qualities of kapha endow the individual with strength,

wealth and energy and also a long life.

Most people are a combination of two doshas i.e.Dwandvaja prakriti. They possess

characteristics of both doshas involved depending on the percentage of the combination. Abalanced constitution is ideal and extremely rare in which the balanced state of all the three

doshas neutralises the bad or unwanted qualities, support and bring out good qualities of

the other.

Prakriti and diet

Dietary requirement should be modified according to theprakriti (constitution) of the

individual. In general, an individual with vata prakriti should take unctuous, warm, and

sweet substances. One withpitta prakriti should take cool, heavy, sweet, bitter andastringent food articles and kapha prakriti person should consume food in which dry,

warm, light, pungent, bitter and astringent tastes predominate. The diet chart gives the

beneficial and non-beneficial food articles.

Susceptibility to diseases

Vata prakriti individuals are prone to diseases of the neurological system especially motorfunctions. The disease mostly affects the lower limbs since they are the predominant seat of

Vata dosha. Also, these diseases are pronounced during the old age which is the period of

Vata (vata kala). Some of these diseases are tetany, wasting disorders (muscular atrophy),

spasms, hemiplegia, convulsions, headache, insomnia, angina (hridgraha), dysuria,rheumatism (amavatha), osteoporosis (asthisosha), fissures on palm and soles (vipaadika),

swelling and stiffness of the thighs (urushthambha), brachial palsy (avabahuka).

Those withpitta prakriti are prone to diseases of the digestive and metabolic systems. Thediseases mostly affect the abdomen ie. the area between the breast and umbilicus. Also,

pitta disorders are pronounced in the middle aged which is the period of pitta (pitta kala)

like intense localised burning sensation, stomatitis, acid regurgitation, jaundice, bleedingdisorders, bluish discoloration of the skin.

Individuals with kapha prakriti are prone to disorders of the respiratory system especially

phlegmatic disorders. The diseases affect the upper parts of the body ie. chest and above.Also, the disorders are pronounced during the early ages (childhood) which is the period ofkapha (kapha kala). For example: Drowsiness, excessive sleep, obesity, swelling of the

neck (galaganda), thick skin eruptions, congestion of the chest withphlegm,polyuira.

Prakriti and the seasons


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Human beings constantly struggle against the changing environmental conditions to

maintain optimum health and vigour throughout the day and in all seasons. The human

body depends on the continuous holistic interaction between internal and external factors.When this interaction is in a state of equilibrium, man enjoys health and when this fails,

either due to internal deficiency or hostile environmental factors, the balance is disturbed

and leads to disease and disharmony. Environmental factors include the nature of the land,water and various atmospheric phenomena such as temperature, humidity, wind, rain and

snow.


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Effect of seasons on the prakriti types

In summer, due to extreme heat and its dry and rough qualities, the digestive power is very

low and the body loses water due to perspiration. These factors aggravate vata dosha which


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The examination ofprakriti is an important subject and is an expert's work. An Ayurvedic

expert adopts two broad methods to determine theprakriti of an individual. They are

interrogation and physical examination.

Interrogation involves specific questions put to the individual. The physical examination

involves looking for specific physical and behavioural aspects.

The Ayurvedic system of diagnosingprakriti offers unique insights into understanding and

assessing one's health. It is comprehensive in scope, spanning both physical and mentalaspects. It is not merely a diagnostic device but also a guide to action for good health. It

provides detailed guidelines to adapt one's food and behaviour to suit one'sprakriti.

But diagnosing ourprakriti should not become a rationalisation for poor health. It should

be a guide for intelligent action to tell us in which direction we should move and how weshould act to improve our physical and mental well-being.

Superficially it may appear that someprakritis are better than others. Each type has itspositive and negative aspects. What is required is not regret that one is of the "wrong"

prakriti type or aspire to be of a different one. We need to start from wherever we are. Thismeans that we need to understand where we stand and accept it. Then we need to plan

intelligently to attain the most healthy state by realising our potential. The Ayurvedic

understanding ofprakriti provides a way to do both these - to analyse and assess where westand and to provide guidance to attain perfect health.

Seasonal variations

Knowledge regarding changes in our digestive power with

the varying seasons, has been well understood in society. Asper the Ayurvedic view, food is digested by agni within us -

just as it is cooked by agni outside. According to Ayurveda,

there is a "stimulus-response" relation between the agniwithin us and the outside agni - namely the sun. When the agni outside is strong (i.e. in

summer) the agni inside us (our digestion) is weak and vice-versa. This is reflected in the

way in which our food customs have been adapted to seasonal changes.

For Ramnavami, which comes during the summer months, the prasadam is very light

and easily digestible. The prasadam for Krishna Jayanthi which comes during winter,

is varied and comprises of food articles which are heavy to digest.

For example, during winter, the breakfast taken is more guru i.e. heavy (to digest) than

what is consumed in summer; this is in keeping with the greater strength of our inner agnii.e. the power of digestion, in winter. In South India, a variety of sweets are prepared to

celebrate Gokulashtami, which is celebrated in winter. In contrast Ramanavami which is

celebrated in summer, usually merits only neermoar (diluted buttermilk) and paanakam (aginger - jaggery lemonade)!


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The effect of various seasons on health has also been noted. For example, in Andhra

Pradesh, it is a custom to partake of preparations containing neem flowers and leaves at

the onset of the Vasantha Rithu (spring season) and to continue taking it during thatseason. This is indeed a sound practice, since this serves as a corrective measure for kapha

dosha, which gets vitiated in this season.

the concept of prakriti

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