Ragini, a 35-year-old teacher, has been suffering from chronic digestive issues and fatigue for months. She has seen multiple doctors, gone through several diagnostic tests, and tried various medications, but hasn’t found lasting relief. Feeling frustrated, she decides to consult an Ayurvedic physician as a last resort.
The Ayurvedic doctor, instead of immediately prescribing treatments, takes Ragini through a comprehensive 10-point examination process called Dasha Vidha Pareeksha. This involves assessing Ragini’s prakriti (natural constitution), vikriti (imbalanced state), sara (tissue excellence), samhanana (compactness of body), pramana (proportions), satmya (adaptability), sattva (mental strength), ahara shakti (digestive ability), vyayama shakti (stamina) and vaya (stage of life).
Through this thorough examination, the physician discovers that Ragini has a Pitta prakriti but is currently in a Vata-aggravated state. Her Sara is diminished, suggesting depleted tissues; her Agni (digestive fire) is visibly weak, and her sattva is low, indicating poor stress-coping ability. All these are compounded by bad dietary habits and an erratic lifestyle not suitable for her Prakriti.
The doctor now has a clear, comprehensive picture of Ragini as a whole being rather than just focusing on her digestive complaint. He creates a customized treatment plan including diet, lifestyle, herbs, and panchakarma (detoxification) specifically to pacify Vata, strengthen agni, and build ojas. Ragini starts noticing improvements within weeks and feels dramatically better in a few months.
This case illustrates the power of Dasha Vidha Pareeksha, an ancient diagnostic approach that is highly relevant to today’s medical practice. Modern medicine often focuses on treating a specific disease or symptom, while this approach provides a holistic understanding of an individual’s baseline health, imbalances, and risk factors.
Here’s a closer look at the 10 points of examination and their modern relevance.
1. Prakriti (constitution)
Assessing the inborn ratio of doshas that determines physical and mental attributes. Knowing prakriti helps predict health risks, disease tendencies, and treatment suitability. It’s like knowing your genotype.
2. Vikriti (imbalanced state)
Identifying deviation from one’s Prakriti indicates current imbalances and disease progression. It’s like assessing phenotype influenced by epigenetic factors.
3. Sara (tissue excellence)
Evaluating the quality of seven tissues from rasa (plasma) to shukra (reproductive) reflecting overall health and immunity. Reduced Sara indicates compromised tissue functions and depleted reserves, increasing vulnerability to diseases.
4. Samhanana (body compactness)
Examining structural integrity and proportions of musculoskeletal system impacting strength, endurance. A well-knit body is generally healthier.
5. Pramana (proportions)
Assessing anthropometric measurements as markers of growth, development, and nutritional status. Underweight or overweight both imply health risks.
6. Satmya (adaptability)
Determining the suitability of diet, climate, and lifestyle based on one’s constitution. Wrong satmya causes imbalances. It’s about epigenetic alignment.
7. Sattva (mental strength)
Gauging mental resilience, cognition, and emotional health is vital for overall well-being and prognosis. Weak sattva means poor coping skills.
8. Ahara shakti (digestive ability)
Evaluating appetite, digestion, assimilation – key indicators of agni. Impaired agni leads to ama (toxins), the root of diseases.
9. Vyayama shakti (stamina)
Measuring physical activity tolerance, aerobic capacity, and fatigue levels. Reduced stamina points to systemic insufficiencies.
10. Vaya (life stage)
Considering age-related changes in physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. Each stage (bala, madhya, jirna) has different health needs and treatment modifications.
Modern research is validating these principles. Prakriti assessment is being correlated with genomic variations predicting disease risks. Sara matches with BMI and body composition analysis. Pramana aligns with anthropometry while Vyayama Shakti relates to exercise testing. Sattva has parallels in psychometric scales.
Even the latest advances, like personalized medicine and functional medicine, owe their foundational principles to this ancient wisdom. The current focus on personalized, preventive, participatory, and predictive (P4) medicine also resonates with Dasha Vidha Pareeksha’s essence.
- Dasha Vidha Pareeksha offers a personalized and integrative treatment strategy
- Relies on clinical history taking and observation rather than advanced diagnostic tools
- Requires an in-depth understanding of Ayurvedic principles and keen observation
- Integrating its principles can significantly improve patient care
- A thorough clinical examination exploring multiple facets of health is indispensable
