Ayurveda
What the domain tests
The NAMC BAMS Ayurveda domain samples the licensing curriculum’s core: Samhita-based theory, Sharir, Dravyaguna, Rasashastra and Bhaishajya Kalpana, Roganidana, Kayachikitsa, and Panchakarma. Expect Sanskrit term precision, applied dosha–dhatu–mala reasoning, and justification of formulations rather than memorized lists. The exam favors applied discrimination over isolated recall.
Core rules and concepts
- Tridosha derivation: Vata = Vayu + Akasha; Pitta = Agni + Jala; Kapha = Jala + Prithvi. Use this to explain qualities: Vata dry, light, mobile; Pitta hot, sharp, liquid; Kapha heavy, cold, stable.
- Seven dhatu: Rasa, Rakta, Mamsa, Meda, Asthi, Majja, Shukra; three mala: purisha, mutra, sveda. Dhatu agni governs tissue metabolism; jatharagni governs digestion.
- Drug profile: Rasa (taste), guna (quality), virya (potency), vipaka (post-digestive effect), prabhava (specific action). Do not collapse virya into rasa.
- Shat kriya kala: sanchaya, prakopa, prasara, sthana samshraya, vyakti, bheda - the staging framework for pathogenesis.
- Nidana panchaka: nidana, purvarupa, rupa, upashaya, samprapti.
- Examination: trividha pariksha (darshana, sparshana, prashna) and ashtavidha pariksha (nadi, mutra, mala, jihva, shabda, sparsha, drika, akriti).
Worked example
A patient reports burning epigastrium, sour belching, irritability, and urgent loose stools. Reasoning: burning and sourness indicate Pitta (ushna, tikshna, amla vipaka); urgency reflects Pitta’s drava and sara guna; irritability supports Pitta at the manas level. Before treating, check ama: coated tongue, heaviness, or sluggish digestion would call for pachana/langhana first, not immediate strong purgation. This is a Pitta-predominant amashaya pattern, not simply “gastric acidity.”
Traps that cost marks
- Calling ama a dosha; it is undigested material formed by agni mandya.
- Mixing prakriti (constitution) with vikriti (current pathology).
- Equating rasa with virya: amalaki is amla rasa but sheeta virya.
- Using “Kapha” as a synonym for mucus; it is a functional dosha.
- Forgetting that dhatu agni and jatharagni are distinct.