Ayurveda describes the body through three governing forces, or doshas: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Everyone has all three. What differs from person to person, and from month to month, is their balance. Nadi Pariksha (pulse diagnosis) was one of the traditional ways to sense that balance, and a Tridosha Analysis appears in the sample Nadi Pariksha Wellness Report PDFs this site draws on.
This article explains what each dosha governs, how it is traditionally felt in the pulse, which foods tend to increase it, and how the report presents all of this.
Three doshas, three fingers
When a practitioner lays three fingers on the radial artery, each finger is traditionally assigned to one dosha, and each dosha is said to move in its own way:
| Finger | Dosha | Movement resembles |
|---|---|---|
| Index | Vata | Snake |
| Middle | Pitta | Frog |
| Ring | Kapha | Swan |
A snake-like pulse slithers: quick, thin and irregular. A frog-like pulse jumps: strong, bounding and warm. A swan-like pulse glides: slow, broad and steady. These images are old, but they still help a learner remember what to feel for.
Vata: movement and dryness
An older Nadiswara report describes Vata as "characterised by property of dry, cold, light, muscle movement of the body and activity of the nervous system". It "governs blood flow, elimination of waste, breathing and movement of thoughts across the mind".
When Vata is high, the pulse tends to be light, fast and changeable. The sample reports' Tridosha text may mention dryness, irregular elimination, restless sleep and a mind that moves quickly from one thing to the next.
The Avoid column lists foods that increase Vata, from Nadiswara's educational deck. The Do column is general Ayurvedic guidance:
Do
- Prefer warm, freshly cooked meals eaten at regular times
- Prefer food that is moist and easy to digest rather than dry or preserved
Avoid
- Milk
- Dry fruits
- Refined oil
- Preserved foods
- Pulses
- Cold drinks
- Coffee
- New rice
- Nuts
- Beer
Pitta: transformation and heat
The same report calls Pitta "the principle of transformation energy", which "governs heat, digestion and metabolism" and provides the "mental fire necessary for will power, decision making, courage, ambition, intelligence and creativity".
A Pitta-high pulse is traditionally full, forceful and rapid. In the sample report, "Pitta High" came with a Full Rapid pulse quality and a note about a tendency towards "digestive issues with acidity". The lifestyle notes for a Pitta-high member in that report were cooling: "cooling, hydrating, and mildly nourishing foods", "meditation, pranayama, and moonlight walks", and herbs such as "brahmi, licorice, and rose".
Foods that increase Pitta:
Do
- Focus on cooling, hydrating and mildly nourishing foods
- Make time for meditation, pranayama and evening walks
Avoid
- Sour and salty foods
- Refined sugar
- Hybrid wheat
- Tea
- Pepper, garlic and ginger
- Chicken and egg
- Spices
- Millets
- Alcohol and hot drinks
- Nuts and seeds
Kapha: structure and stability
Kapha "comprises all our cells, tissues, and organs", the old report says. It is responsible for "maintaining structure", keeps the body "moist and well lubricated", and "provides calmness and steadiness".
A Kapha-high pulse is traditionally slow, deep and broad, like the swan gliding on water. The report's Kapha text may describe "slow digestion, feeling of heaviness after taking food", a tendency to water retention, and a mood that finds it "difficult in adopting new things".
For a Kapha-high member, the sample report's own DO'S and DONT'S read:
Do
- Prefer food which is light, dry, warm, pungent, astringent, bitter in taste and easy to digest
- Do good physical exercise and get exposure to sunlight
Avoid
- Avoid foods which are sweet, oily, cold and heavy to digest
- Avoid day sleep and a sedentary lifestyle
- Avoid large quantities of food, especially at night
Foods that increase Kapha, from the deck: refined sugar, milk, oil and salty food, cheese, creeper vegetables, large quantities of food, ice creams, banana, custard apple and melons, cold drinks, and frozen or canned foods.
Where the doshas sit in a Nadiswara report
The app's report screen does not show a Tridosha section. What it shows is the same pulse through the other lens: a "Five Elements" card for a pulse session, "Your main patterns" with an organ, a climate and a level chip for each finding, and a food guide written for the main pattern. The full written reading is a multi-page PDF.
In the sample PDF reports this site draws on, the Tridosha Analysis shows the three doshas side by side as a simple chart, each with a level such as Low, Normal or High, and follows the chart with three short passages: what the balance means physically, what it may mean mentally, and a DO'S and DONT'S list for the dosha that needs the most attention. It also carries a verse from the Suśruta Saṃhitā, the classical text that describes the doshas, as a reminder that the framework is old even if the sensor is new.