Ayurveda (Dosha System)

Ayurveda ("knowledge of life" in Sanskrit) is the traditional medical system of India, spanning over three thousand years and still officially recognized as a healthcare system in India and Sri Lanka.

Classical texts. Its foundational texts — the Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita — were composed in the early centuries of the common era but draw upon a considerably older oral tradition.

Three doshas — the core. At its core lies the concept of three doshas — bioenergetic principles governing all processes in the living organism.

The Three Doshas and Their Elements

The doshas are formed from five panchamahabhuta (great elements):

• Vata (wind + ether) — governs movement, respiration, and the nervous system
• Pitta (fire + water) — governs digestion, metabolism, and intellect
• Kapha (earth + water) — governs structure, immunity, and stability

Prakriti and Vikriti

Innate constitution. Individual constitution — prakriti — is determined by the ratio of doshas at birth and remains unchanged.

Current state. The current state — vikriti — reflects present imbalances caused by lifestyle, diet, season, and psychological condition.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis includes:

• Pulse diagnosis (nadi pariksha)
• Examination of the tongue, eyes, and skin
• Detailed inquiry into habits, preferences, and symptoms

Approach to Treatment

Not disease, but balance. Treatment targets not the disease itself but the restoration of dosha balance:

• Diet
• Lifestyle
• Herbal preparations (rasayana)
• Purification procedures (panchakarma)
• Meditative practices

A dynamic process. Each season and time of day is also associated with particular doshas, making Ayurvedic diagnosis a continuous dynamic process.

Place in Errarium

A somatic method with navigation. In the Errarium atlas, the dosha system is classified as a somatic method with diagnostic and navigational function.

Kinship with Wu Xing. It is related to the Wu Xing system in traditional Chinese medicine (#25) — both work with elemental principles and balance as the foundation of health — yet the ontology, elemental sets, and interpretive logic differ fundamentally.

Unique integrality. Ayurveda is unique in integrating physiology, psychology, and spiritual practice into a single system.