PRAKRITI: A SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE

Here is an effort to make assessment of Prakriti easier, precise and uniform. The above questionnaire has been prepared on the basis of Charaka Samhita. This helps one to assess one’s own Prakriti easily without having to face any uncomfortable / embarrassing question from the investigator. Also, this questionnaire helps one to expresses the dominance of particular Dosha in terms of percentage, thus minimizing the need to express Prakriti in terms of Ekadoshaja or Dvandvaja and so on.

How to use the questionnaire?

1.Read carefully the questions/ statements in the 2^nd column of the table.

2.Decide your response in the form of YES or NO.

3.Read the 3^rd column where a particular response is given. If your response      matches with the one found here, allot yourself with the score given against the response.

4.If your response does not match with the one that is given, just allot ZERO in the last column.

5.When you are finished with allotment of scores, start adding up all scores you have allotted for yourself for three Doshas separately.

6.Use the formula provided at the end of each Doshik section to express the dominance of that particular Dosha in terms of percentage.

What is the Rationale behind these scores, which look somewhat complicated?

It is very simple and is based on specific Gunas of Doshas, which help in quantifying the dominance. While explaining the different features/ characters found in specific people belonging to specific Prakriti, Caraka has used Gunas to illustrate them. Total number of Gunas being different for different Doshas, comparison of dominance is difficult among three Doshas. To avoid this problem, here all scores are so planned that Doshik dominance can be expressed through percentage

PRAKRITI: A Self-Assessment Questionnaire

Sl. No.	Question/Statement	If Answer Is:	Score to be allotted	Score of the individual
	Kapha
1	Whether your skin remains oily throughout the year in comparison to others?	Yes	100
2	Are your body-hairs & skin shiny, even when no oil or moisturizer is used?	Yes	100
3	Are you considered attractive among your friends?	Yes	33.33
4	Do even mild or trivial injuries on your body make you upset?	Yes	33.33
5	Among your family members is your complexion considered fairer?	Yes	33.33
6	In comparison to your friends do you watch adult movies more often or have a desire to watch them?                                          Or                  Do you like reading magazines/ novels containing romantic /pornographic literature?	Yes	50
7	What is your frequency of sexual intercourse/masturbation per week? Is it more than 5 times?	Yes	50
8	You have got well built muscles.	Yes	25
9	Is your BMI in between 22 and 25? BMI= Weight in Kg/Height (in m2)	Yes	25
10	You don’t feel like changing your body postures frequently. You can manage yourself in a stable posture for long duration.	Yes	50
11	You have a well- nourished & normally developed body. (You don’t have dwarfism/ cretinism like abnormalities & malnourishment disorders.)	Yes	100
12	Are you lazy and disinterested in activities like morning walk/ jogging/ swimming or any type of outdoor sport?                   Or  You complete a work given to you slowly in comparison to others.	Yes	33.33
13	Are you slow in consuming the food? (Even after all have left the dining hall, are you still consuming?)	Yes	33.33
14	When you go to morning walk or college or office, do you walk slowly in comparison to others?	Yes	33.33

Sl. No.	Question/Statement	If Answer Is:	Score to be allotted	Score of the individual
15	If you are assigned any work, do you take some time to start it?	Yes	33.33
16	Do you get irritated easily? (For e.g., when you don’t get the bus for office or college on time or when power goes off while you are watching your favorite TV serial.)	No	33.33
17	After the consumption of Ice cream / Cold drinks/Oily items, do you get pharyngitis/ common cold/ breathing problems from the very next day?	No	33.33
18	Does your gait (Style of walking) change with respect to speed or manner frequently?	No	100
19	Do you feel hungry more frequently and do you consume more food in comparison to others?	No	25
20	Do you tolerate heat easily?	Yes	25
21	Do you consume liquids in more quantity and repeatedly in comparison to others?	No	25
22	Do you perspire less in comparison to others?	Yes	25
23	On body movements, are any sounds produced in your joints frequently?	No	100
24	You have got a good/attractive complexion.	Yes	50
25	You have got sweet & pleasant voice.	Yes	50
	Total = Percentage of Kapha = K/12		1200	K =
	Pitta
1	Do you prefer cold drinks to warm drinks?	Yes	6.25
2	Are you more comfortable in winter than summer?	Yes	6.25
3	Do even mild or trivial injuries on your body make you upset?	Yes	12.5
4	Among your family members is your complexion considered fairer?	Yes	12.5
5	Is your temperature of oral cavity towards upper limit of normal range? (Normal Temperature = 97.6 0 to 98.4 0 F) (Is it in between 98.2 and 98.4?)	Yes	12.5

Sl. No.	Question/Statement	If Answer Is:	Score to be allotted	Score of the individual
6	Do you have excessive black moles, freckles etc on your skin? (More than 20)                                          Or Have you noticed new appearance of black moles often on your skin?	Yes	12.5
7	Do you feel excessive hunger & thirst in comparison to others?	Yes	12.5
8	Have you experienced premature graying, wrinkling of skin & early baldness?	Yes	12.5
9	Do you have soft, scanty, brown hair on your face, body & head?	Yes	12.5
10	Do you involve yourself in risky & heroic activities requiring physical strength often?	Yes	20
11	Do you have ability to digest large quantities of food easily?	Yes	20
12	Do you take large quantities of food & drinks in comparison to others?	Yes	20
13	Do you get easily irritated for small / negligible problems in day-to-day life?	Yes	20
14	Do you keep consuming food frequently?                     (5-6 times/day)	Yes	20
15	Do you have soft & loose muscle bulk especially around the joints?	Yes	50
16	In comparison to others, do you pass urine& stools in large quantities and do you perspire more?	Yes	50
17	Do your friends complain of bad smell being emitted from your body & mouth?	Yes	100
18	In comparison to your friends do you watch adult movies often or have a desire to watch them?                                         Or Do you like reading magazines / novels containing romantic / pornographic literature?	No	100
	Total =                     Percentage of Pitta =P/6		600	P =
	Vata
1	Whether your skin remains dry throughout the year in comparison to others?	Yes	20
2	Is your body undernourished/ emaciated?	Yes	20
3	Is your BMI in between 18 and 21?	Yes	20
4	You’ve got a rough, low, broken or obstructed voice.	Yes	20

Sl. No.	Question/Statement	If Answer Is:	Score to be allotted	Score of the individual
5	Your sleep lasts for less then 6 hrs. per day.                                           Or Can your sleep be disturbed easily?	Yes	20
6	Do you change your walking speed & style from time to time?	Yes	25
7	Do you keep your body parts moving often?	Yes	25
8	Does your food habit keep changing from time to time?	Yes	25
9	Do you change your walking / jogging habits from time to time?	Yes	25
10	Do you keep your joints, eyes, eyebrows, jaw, lips, tongue, head, shoulder, hands & feet frequently moving often?	Yes	100
11	Are you considered a talkative among your friends?	Yes	50
12	Do you have prominent veins & tendons all over the body?	Yes	50
13	Do you start the work assigned to you immediately?	Yes	14.2
14	Do you get irritated easily?	Yes	14.2
15	After the consumption of Ice cream / Cold drinks, do you get pharyngitis /common cold    from the very next day?	Yes	14.2
16	Do you get frightened easily?	Yes	14.2
17	Do you make friends easily & also lose them easily?	Yes	14.2
18	Do you learn things immediately?                                            Or Do you have a good grasping power?	Yes	14.2
19	You can remember how many names of your friends of 1st standard of primary school? -Is it less than 5?	Yes	14.2
20	Are you more comfortable in summer?                    Or Do you prefer warm drinks to cold drinks?	Yes	25
21	Are you easily caught with diseases related to cold-like common cold etc.?	Yes	25

Sl. No.	Question/Statement	If Answer Is:	Score to be allotted	Score of the individual
22	Do you shiver in winter season more than your friends?	Yes	25
23	Do you get attacks of stiffness in your body often?	Yes	25
24	Are your hairs on body & face; nails teeth, hands & feet rough?	Yes	100
25	Do you have cracks on the body especially in the heels?	Yes	50
26	Are some sounds heard on movements of your joints?	Yes	50
	Total =                                                                          Percentage of Vata = V/8		800	V =

          Courtesy :- Rashmi Sharma** & Kishor Patwardhan* 

*   Lecturer

** Final Year M.D. (Ay) Scholar

Sharira Kriya Unit, Department of Basic Principles, Faculty of Ayurveda, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, U.P.