thumb|The three doshas and the five great elements they are composed from
Dosha (, IAST: doṣa) is a central term in ayurveda originating from Sanskrit, and which refers to three categories or types of substances that are believed to be present conceptually in a person's body and mind. These Dosha are assigned specific qualities and functions. These qualities and functions are affected by external and internal stimuli received by the body. Beginning with twentieth-century ayurvedic literature, the "three-dosha theory" (, ) has described how the quantities and qualities of three fundamental types of substances called wind, bile, and phlegm (, , ; , , ) fluctuate in the body according to the seasons, time of day, process of digestion, and several other factors and thereby determine changing conditions of growth, aging, health, and disease.
Doshas are considered to shape the physical body according to a natural constitution established at birth, determined by the constitutions of the parents as well as the time of conception and other factors. This natural constitution represents the healthy norm for a balanced state for a particular individual. The particular ratio of the doshas in a person's natural constitution is associated with determining their mind-body type including various physiological and psychological characteristics such as physical appearance, physique, and personality.
The ayurvedic three-dosha theory is often compared to European humorism although it is a distinct system with a separate history. The three-dosha theory has also been compared to astrology and physiognomy in similarly deriving its tenets from ancient philosophy and superstitions. As the tenets of ayurvedic medicine have no basis is science, using the concept of dosha to diagnose or treat disease is pseudoscientific.
Role in disease, Roga
The ayurvedic notion of doshas describes how bad habits, wrong diet, overwork, etc., may cause relative deficiencies or excesses which cause them to become imbalanced in relation to the natural constitution () resulting in a current condition () which may potentially lead to disease. For example, an excess of is blamed for mental, nervous, and digestive disorders, including low energy and weakening of all body tissues. Similarly, excess is blamed for blood toxicity, inflammation, and infection. Excess of is blamed for increase in mucus, weight, oedema, and lung disease, etc. The key to managing all doshas is taking care of ; it is taught that this will regulate the other two.
Doshas are not supported by any Western experimental approaches to science.
Principles
The doshas derive their qualities from the five elements (; ) of classical Indian philosophy.
- Vāta or vata is characterized by the properties of dry, cold, light, subtle, and mobile. All movement in the body is due to properties of vata. Pain is the characteristic feature of deranged vata. Some of the diseases connected to unbalanced vata are flatulence, gout, rheumatism, etc. Vāta is the normal Sanskrit word meaning "air" or "wind", and was so understood in pre-modern Sanskrit treatises on ayurveda. Some modern interpreters prefer not to translate Vata as air, but rather equate it with a modern metabolic process or substance. It is etymologically related to the Sanskrit word pīta "yellow".
- Kapha is the watery element. It is a combination of earth and water. It is characterized by heaviness, coldness, tenderness, softness, slowness, lubrication, and the carrier of nutrients. It is the nourishing element of the body. All soft organs are made by kapha and it plays an important role in the perception of taste together with nourishment and lubrication. Kapha (synonym: ) is the normal Sanskrit word meaning "phlegm".
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! width="33%" | 5 types of vata dosha
! width = "33%" | 5 types of pitta dosha Alternative medicines used in ayurvedic treatments have been found to contain harmful levels of lead, mercury, and other heavy metals. Even some Ayurvedic scholars have expressed reservations about the Tridosha theory, arguing that it should be viewed as a useful framework rather than a definitive, universally applicable concept, and instead be employed as a heuristic tool to inform practice and decision-making.
See also
- Dhātu (ayurveda)