3. Prakriti — Knowing Your Constitution

Prakriti is the unique proportion of the three doshas fixed at conception. It does not change over a lifetime; what changes is the current state (vikriti). Most people are a combination — Vata–Pitta, Pitta–Kapha and so on — and a few are balanced in all three. Knowing one's prakriti explains why the same meal suits one person and disagrees with another.

The questionnaire below is a self-reflection tool, not a diagnosis. Answer for how you have been for most of your life, not how you are this week. Tick one column per row and count the ticks.

Feature	Vata	Pitta	Kapha
Body frame	Thin, light, prominent joints	Medium, muscular	Broad, solid, heavy
Weight	Hard to gain	Gains and loses easily	Gains easily, hard to lose
Skin	Dry, rough, cool	Warm, oily, freckles, prone to rashes	Thick, smooth, moist, cool
Hair	Dry, frizzy, thin	Fine, early greying or thinning	Thick, wavy, lustrous
Eyes	Small, active, dry	Sharp, penetrating, sensitive to light	Large, calm, moist
Appetite	Irregular — sometimes hungry, sometimes not	Strong; irritable if a meal is missed	Steady but can skip meals easily
Digestion	Gas, bloating, constipation tendency	Fast; acidity, loose stools tendency	Slow; heaviness after meals
Thirst	Variable	High	Low
Preferred climate	Warmth; dislikes cold and wind	Coolness; dislikes heat	Warm and dry; dislikes damp cold
Sleep	Light, interrupted, 5–6 h	Moderate, sound, 6–8 h	Deep, long, hard to wake
Energy	Bursts, then fatigue	Purposeful, intense	Steady, enduring, slow to start
Speech	Fast, talkative	Sharp, precise, persuasive	Slow, calm, melodious
Mind	Quick, creative, restless	Focused, analytical, critical	Calm, methodical, steady
Memory	Learns fast, forgets fast	Sharp, clear	Slow to learn, never forgets
Under stress	Anxious, worried	Irritable, angry	Withdrawn, stubborn
Walking	Fast, light steps	Purposeful, medium	Slow, steady
Spending	Impulsive	Planned, on quality	Saves
Joints	Crack, stiffen in cold	Loose, sometimes inflamed	Large, well-lubricated
Bowel habit	Dry, hard, irregular	Soft, frequent, loose	Regular, heavy, well-formed
Weather illnesses	Dryness, aches, insomnia in autumn–winter	Heat, rashes, acidity in summer–autumn	Colds, congestion in late winter–spring

Reading your score If one column has clearly the most ticks (for example 12 of 20), that dosha is your dominant one. If two columns are close (for example Vata 9, Pitta 8), you are dual-doshic — read both sets of guidance and favour foods that suit both. If all three are close, you are tridoshic (sama prakriti) — follow the seasonal guidance in Volume I. After 55, nearly everyone shows some Vata signs regardless of prakriti; that is vikriti (current state), and it is addressed by the Vata principles of this book. A vaidya assesses prakriti properly through pulse (nadi), observation and history — the questionnaire is a starting point only.

Figure. Example scoring of three guests: a Vata–Pitta, a Pitta–Kapha and a tridoshic profile