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Ayurveda mainly works on two principles:
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 Tridosha: |
Imbalances in Vata, Pitta and Kapha. |
| Rejuvenation
of Ojas: |
A subtle form of Sukra. |
1. Tridosha:
Tri means “three”.
Dosha means “imbalance”.
The imbalances in Vata, Pitta and Kapha are called as Tridoshas.
Elements – World – Body:
This whole world is created by five elements. These five
elements are called as Panchabhootas in Sanskrit. They are:
- Earth
- Water
- Fire
- Air
- Space
These five elements are affecting the world as well
as the body through different forms.
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| Element’s combination |
Forms affecting the world |
Forms affecting the body |
| Air and space |
Air |
Vatam [Vata] |
| Fire |
Sun |
Pittam [Pitta] |
| Water and Earth |
Moon |
Kapham, Sleshma [Kapha] |
For example the element fire is related to the sun in the
world. This fire is also related with Pitta of the body.
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Importance of Vata, Pitta and Kapha:
The Vata, Pitta and Kapha play very important roles in human
anatomy and physiology.
They are as follows:
| Vata |
Body movements, running, walking, excretion of urine
and feces. |
| Pitta |
Digestion of food, functionality of eye, body colour,
hunger and thirst. |
| Kapha |
Movements of joints, strength, braveness, weight of
the body. |
Balancing these Vata, Pitta and Kapha in order to
maintain a healthy life, is the one of the basic principles
of Ayurveda.
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Tridosha - food:
In order to balance these Vata, Pitta and Kapha, a person
has to take proper food according to their body nature.
In nature every matter contains a taste created by the six
basic tastes [Shadruchis]. They are sweet, sour, salty, spicy,
astringent and bitter.
These six tastes are also formed by the combination of the
five elements:
| Union of elements |
Taste |
Effect |
| Earth+Water |
Sweet |
It gives cooling effect, increases Kapha diseases and
decreases Vata and Pitta diseases. |
| Earth+Fire |
Sour |
It gives heat effect, increases Kapha diseases and decreases
Vata and Pitta diseases. |
| Water+Fire |
Salty |
It gives heat effect, increases Vata diseases and decreases
Kapha and Pitta diseases. |
| Fire+Air |
Spicy [Chili taste] |
It gives heat effect, decreases Kapha diseases and increases
Vata and Pitta diseases. |
| Earth+Air |
Astringent |
It gives cooling effect, increases Vata diseases, decreases
Kapha and Pitta diseases. |
| Space+Air |
Bitter |
It gives cooling effect, increases Vata diseases and
decreases Kapha and Pitta diseases. |
The Vata, Pitta, Kapha and all six types of tastes are present
in human. Just like in human beings, they are also present
in trees, plants and food materials.
So basically Ayurveda deals with the knowledge about
which food contains which taste, which taste cures which dosha.
And it then prescribes a remedy to cure a disease by balancing
the related dosha. It can only be done by knowing the nature
of disease and remedy.
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Seasons –Tridosha – Disease:
The seasons have some effect on Vata, Pitta and Kapha of
our body. This effect may cure some doshas and may cause new
doshas. To cure doshas of a particular season, nature provides
proper herbs to human in that season. By knowing this fact,
ancient yogis developed some festivals in such seasons and
prescribed some rituals to take those herbs in various forms
to balance tridosha in that season.
Along with seasonal herbs, nature provides some herbs with
good medical properties, throughout the year. Some of them
are Azadirachta indica [neem], Ocimum sanctum [holy basil],
Aegle marmelos [bilva], Ficus relegiosa and Curcuma longa.
These herbs and spices developed important roles in daily
rituals and in food, too. By treating trees and plants as
gods and goddess, the yogis enhanced the purity and importance
of those herbs.
Some of these herbs are:
| Name of the plant |
God and goddess |
| Ficus bengalensis, Butea frondosa |
Brahma [creative principle] |
| Ficus religiosa |
Vishnu [developing principle] |
| Aegle marmelos |
Siva [including principle] |
| Bramhi |
Saraswati [goddess of knowledge] |
| Azadirachta indica |
Lakshmi [goddess of property] |
| Curcuma longa |
Parvati [goddess of energy] |
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2. Rejuvenation
of Ojas:
Accoring to Ayurveda human physical body is composed of
seven constituents. These seven constituents are called as
“Sapta dhatus” in Sanskrit. Sapta means seven
and dhatu means constituents. They are
- Rasa [chyle]
- Rakta [blood]
- Mamsa [muscle]
- Majja [marrow]
- Asti [bone]
- Meda [brain and nervous system]
- Sukra [sperm and ovum]
Some other medical systems also deal with these Sapta dhatus.
But Ayurveda additionally deals with Ojas, which is a subtle
form of Sukra.
This Ojas protects all physical constituents from deterotation.
One can develop this Ojas by practicing Vajeekaran prakaran
[one of the Ashtanga chikitsa].
The combinations of medicines which develop this Ojas are
called as rasayanas.
In Ayurveda, along with the usage of these rasayanas, the
person has to follow some moral values and has to practice
good attitude.
Conclusion:
Thus Ayurveda works on nature of Body, nature of
herbs and the effect of those herbs on the body to balance
Vata, Pit ta and Kapha.
It also reveals that in order to protect seven constituents
of the physical body, the person has to develop Ojas, which
is a subtle form of Sukra. This can be done by practicing
good moral values and character. So Ayurveda says that for
a good condition of health, a proper body and a pure mind
are essential. This is also the same principle of Yoga.
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