NADI PAREEKSHA (PULSE

DIAGNOSIS) - AN
AUTHENTIC SCIENTIFIC
APPROACH

Introduction
Foremost means of Pareeksha
First Avayava Pareeksha in Ayurveda.
Subjective and objective approach to disease diagnosis
Any ailment in body brings about a change in
constitution of Vata, Pitta, Kapha transmits through
Nadi sensed by fingers of an examiner varying pressure
Non invasive computer aided device which will
eliminate all the human errors performed manually by
the practitioners, should be developed

Mythological Origin
Shiva Brahma Indra
Kanaada
Nadi vijnana exits from the time of
origin of Ayurveda
In bruhathrayee explained based
on tridosha siddhanta

ACCORDING TO
BRIHATHRAYEE

Site of Origin and

Sankhya

Sthula and sookshma nadi 3.5 crore in number

All are connected to nabhi kantha
Forms urdhwa , adha and thiryak branches and sub
branches
1000 sthula nadis which transfers panchendriya
gunas from one place to other
700 sookshma chidra nadi circulates the annarasa
for shareera pushti
24 are clear nadi situvated at nabhi

Experts opinion
Concentration of mind is the most important thing in
nadi pareeksha
Physician should understand even the minute tactile
tactile perception even in the middle of distractions
(proper sparshanendriya jnana)
Practice of manthras daily in early morning hours.
Example : chanting of gayathri mantra and look for the
beats of his own nadi
The practice of mantras and pranayama daily to get
peaceful mind
Should understand first which part of the finger gets the
beat and the flow of the beat , path of its movement
Note the normal flow of nadi of ones own just after
waking up , after bath , after having breakfast etc.

Basic information obtained from

Nadi Pareeksha
VATA

PITTA

KAPHA

GATHI
(movement)

Sarpa

Manduka

Hamsa

VEGA (rate)

80 - 95

70 - 80

50 - 60

TALA (rhythm)

Irregular

Regular

Regular

BALA (force)

Low (+)

High (+++)

Moderate (++)

AKRUTHI
(tension and
volume)

Low

High

Moderate

TAPAMANA
(temperature)

Cold

Hot

Warm to cold

KATHINYA
(consistency of
vessel wall)

Rough , hard

Elastic , flexible

Soft , thick

Three Basic Gathis of Nadi

VATA PULSE

PITTA PULSE

KAPHA PULSE

CHARACTERISTI
CS

Fast , feeble ,
cold , light , thin
, disappears on
pressure

Prominent ,
strong , high
amplitude ,
hot , forceful ,
lifts up the
palpating finger

Deep , slow ,
broad , thick ,
cool , regular

LOCATION

Best felt under

the index finger

Best felt under

the middle
finger

Best felt under

the ring finger

GATI

Moves like a
cobra

Moves like a
frog

Moves like a
swimming swan

Examples of gati and their

conditions

Krumi gathi parasites , worms

Pippilika gathi terminal illness
Mayura gathi arterial hypertension
Kukkuta gathi diabetes , albuminuria
Ushtra gathi aortic stenosis
Gaja gathi elephantitis , lymphatic obstruction
Girija gathi heart block
Vishama gathi pulsus alterans , atrial fibrillation
Damaru gathi fatal illness , renal failure , shock
Padma gathi perfect health , enlightnment

Vega ( Rate )
Rate number of beats per minute
To get an accurate resting pulse take in early morning in a
restful condition
Physiologically vega is high (80 90 beats/min) in vata ,
moderate (70 80 beats/min) in pitta and low (50 60 beats/min)
in kapha
Relation with height tall people have slower heart rates and
short people have faster heart rates (pulse rate inversely
proportional to height)
Relation with age children have higher heart rates and older
people rate is slow
Relation with metabolism slower the pulse rate slower the
metabolism
Relation with agni when agni is strong pulse is fast , light and
hot and agni is slow pulse is slow , heavy and cool
Pathology

Tala ( Rhythm )
Rhythm defined as the time interval between two
consecutive or successive uplifts
In a healthy person the time interval is regular ,
uninterrupted and rhythmic
Balanced tala reflects symchronization function of
prana vayu , vyana vayu , avalambaka kapha , and
sadhaka pitta
If regularly irregular both kapha and vata are in
imbalanced state
If irregularly irregular both vata and pitta are in
imbalanced state
Pathology

Bala ( Force )
Force pressure of the pulse
Bala the amount of force pressing on the blood vessel is
being exerted back onto the fingers
Force / pulse pressure (PP) = difference between systolic and
diastolic pressure
If systolic b.p is 120 and diastolic b.p is 70 then PP is 50 which
is normal
If PP is 170 which is high heart is working under great stress
and if PP is 10 person doesnt receive oxygen to brain
If bala is high (+++) force is full and bounding is high , deep
pressure of finger necessary in order to stop the pulsation
If bala moderate (++) moderate pressure
If bala low (+) superficial pressure causes the pulse to
disappear

Akruthi ( Volume and

Tension )
Volume uplift to the palpating finger , amplitude
It is not necessary to depress the radial artery , just feel the uplift
while the fingers rest lightly on the artery
In order to feel the volume try to press the artery gently and feel the
throb pushing against the fingers
If throbbing is very prominent in middle finger , the volume is good
(+++) , pitta.If throbbing is felt under ring finger , it is moderate
volume (++) , kapha. If throbbing is barely felt under index finger ,
volume is low (+) , vata
Dont press too hard
Amplitude is high volume is high
The volume corresponds to systolic bp
High volume pitta type of pulse , if good amount of water intake ,
high systolic bp
Low volume dehydration , congestive heart failure , anemia

 Tension is felt by pressing the ring

finger to stop the pulsation of the radial
artery and then feeling the tension
under the middle and index fingers
Tension is the pressure between the
two uplifts , diastolic pressure.
It is the constant pressure of blood in
the artery
Water hammer / collapsing pulse

Tapamana ( Temperature )
There is relation between gati of the
pulse , the wave of the pulse , the
temperature of the pulse and the
agni or metabolic fire of the person
If pulse is cold , fast and light vata
is high , agni is low ,vishama agni
If pulse is hot , sharp and light to
touch pitta high , agni high ,
tikshna agni

Kathinya ( Consistency of the Vessel

Wall )
The consistency of vessel wall , felt by
rolling the artery between the palpating
finger and the radial bone
Palpating reveals vessel wall is thick or
thin , elastic or inelastic , rigid , hard or
rough
If vata rough and hard vessel vessels
becomes narrow
If pitta elastic and fragile , bruise easily
If kapha broad and thick

NADI IN MENTAL STATUS

MENTAL STATUS

NADI

Kaama

Fast

Krodha

Fast

Chintha

Feeble

Bhaya

Feeble

NADI ACCORDING TO DIET

Madhura rasa - vakra , mayura gathi

Amla rasa - ushna , plava gathi
Katu rasa - kulinga pakshi gathi
Tikta rasa - kechuva ?
Kashaya rasa - kathina
Taila - pushti
Ksheera - sthimitha
Guda , guda vikara - pushti , vata pitta prakopa
Mamsa - lagutakruthi ?
Phala varga Kushmanda , mulaka - manda

According to biological clock

Praatha kaala - snigdha ,manda
gathi
Madhyanna kaala ushna , vega
gathi
Saayam kaala vata nadi
Rathri kaala uthejarahitha nadi

NADI IN PREGNANCY
Nadi shifts towards lateral side (thumb side ,
radial border) or medial side (little finger side
, ulnar border)
It can be felt both right and left sides
If nadi shifts laterally male foetus
If nadi shifts medially female foetus
Can be felt within fifteen to thirty days after
conception
She should give her complete attention while
taking nadi

Jwara
Ajeerna
Athisara
Grahani
Prameha
Gulma
Raktapitta
Rajayakshma
Arsha
Muthraghata
Pandu
Amaja vikara
Malajeerna
Vrana
Visha

Pulse Conditions with Unfavorable

Prognosis
The following pulse conditions are indicative of bad prognosis
Rapidity of the pulse
Hardness (this indicates that the pulse is felt between the
beats)
Extreme slowness of the pulse
High tension pulse
Extreme smallness
Extreme arrhythmia
Displacement of the pulse from its normal site
Imperceptibility of the pulse
Irregularly irregular pulse
A pulse which is only felt under the index finger at vata
spike , is very feeble and moves like an ant

Nadi in Arishta
Vibrating and pulsating like that of lightening.
More rapid and sometimes very thin runs extremely
weak / fast / cold
Not felt in hand but in leg and mouth remains open
Creates Dehashaithya along with Swasa and Daha die
within 15 days
Teevra and Manda sometimes with Sweda die within 7
days.
Mukha Nadi sensation disappears, Shaithya and Klama
in body die within 3 days
Not felt at proximal end, cold in middle, appears tired at
terminal die within 3 days.
Feeble and felt like cloth wave and cold - die within one
yama

CONTRAINDICATIONS
1. Sadyosnatha
2. Sadyabhukta
3. Kshudhitha
4. Trushitha
5. Atapa , dhooma , dhoopa sevitha
6. Vyavaya shrantha deha
7. Bhuktha
8. Nidritha
9. Upavasina
10.Vyayama shrantha deha
11.Bhoothavesha
12.Rodana
13.Madyapana
14.Mathibhrama
15.Gandhara bhikshana
16.Pavanabhyasa sadhaka
17.Sneha avagaahina
18.Kukkuta , shasha , manduka , sarpa mamsadi bhakshaka
19.Apasmara
20.Shrantha deha
21.Tailabhyanga

CONCEPTS UNABLE TO
EXPLAIN

Seven levels of pulse

1st level vikruthi

2nd level manas vikruthi
3rd level subdoshas
4th level ojas , tejas , prana
5th level dhatus
6th level manas prakruthi
7th level - prakruthi

WHY NADI VIJNANA A SUBMERGED

AREA
In olden days through various zoological ways
Acharyas interpreted the Nadi
Achieved by feel or experience which was
unexplainable.
Needs very special skill, advanced knowledge and
sharp perception of even minute character which
is achievable after decades of study and practice.
For diagnosing we come to the curriculum
without any special acquaintance of such skills as
our Acharyas have
Minimum amount of time

SPHYGMOGAPH

SPHYGMOGRAPH
three identical piezo film based
sensors to capture the waveform
by applying varying pressure
collected are filtered, amplified and
read by the software application
which plots the graphs accordingly.
read by the software application
DVSOFT software

Percussion wave (P)

Tidal wave (T)
Dicrotic wave (D)

CONCLUSION

Simile
Blind person climbing the mountain
Person moving through darkness.
Nadi Vijnana should be known to all
Vaidhyas which is decreasing now a
days
Future researches can be done
concentrating on the diagnosis of
disease using an improved version

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