A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c10.21

v1.c10.21

The theory that each human being is endowed with a constitution (prakṛti) dominated by one of the three doṣas, because a perfect equilibrium is never habitually present,42 is rejected with the argument that health (ārogya) is identical with such an equilibrium, also called prakṛti. Persons described as having a vātala, pittala or śleṣmala constitution should therefore be regarded as suffering from a disorder. The characteristics of persons considered to be vātala, pittala and śleṣmala are described, together with appropriate treatments (6.13–18).43