Conceptual Framework and Domain-Based Classification of Vātaprakopa Lakṣaṇas in Vātavyādhi: A Literary Review

Introduction: Vāta - one of the three Doṣas (the regulatory functional factors of the body: Vāta, Pitta and Kapha), and the one governing movement, sensory perception and cognition — is the most dominant of the three Doṣas and underlies the majority of clinically encountered Vātavyādhi (disorders of vitiated Vāta). Its aggravated state, Vātaprakopa (aggravation, or vitiation, of Vāta), is described in the classics through Lakṣaṇas (clinical signs and symptoms) that are conceptually distinct from disease-specific Vātavyādhi Lakṣaṇas, yet these descriptions remain scattered across texts in overlapping terminology, and no standardized framework or clinical tool exists to assess them systematically. Methods: A conceptual literary review was undertaken of Vātaprakopa Lakṣaṇas described in Caraka Saṃhitā and Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya, with a brief supplementary reference from Suśruta Saṃhitā. Lakṣaṇas were cross-tabulated to identify terminological overlap, then synthesized into higher-order domains using three guiding principles — functional similarity, pathophysiological coherence, and clinical applicability — restricted to disorders of the Madhyama Rogamārga (the pathway of disease manifestation centred on the Sandhis [joints], Marmas [vulnerable, or vital, points], together with the Sirā-Kaṇḍarā [vessels and tendon] — one of three classical categories of disease, distinguished not by fixed anatomical location but by the tissue or channel through which the Doṣa travels and manifests, together with Bāhya Rogamārga [Tvak, Rakta, Māṃsa and Medas — skin, blood, muscle and fat] and Antaḥ/Ābhyantara Rogamārga [Koṣṭha — the abdominal cavity, chiefly the gastrointestinal tract]). Results: Synthesis yielded eight conceptual domains: Gati Vaiguṇya (motor dysfunction), Vedanā (pain spectrum), Sparśa and Sensory Dysfunction, Kriyā Hāni (functional impairment), Mārgāvarodha (obstructive manifestations), Dhātu Kṣaya and Structural Changes, Guṇa Vaikṛta (altered physical qualities), and Varṇa Vaikṛta (colour changes). Each domain was examined for a supporting classical rationale, and overlapping domain pairs (Gati Vaiguṇya/Kriyā Hāni; Vedanā/Sparśa) were differentiated using qualitative-versus-quantitative and submodality-based distinctions respectively, each illustrated with worked clinical examples. Conclusion: This review proposes an initial domain-based conceptual framework for Vātaprakopa Lakṣaṇas specific to Vātavyādhi. It offers a conceptual basis that may, subject to future expert-panel and clinical validation, inform the development of a standardized clinical instrument to assess Vāta aggravation, stage disease, and monitor treatment outcome; these applications are proposed as future directions and have not themselves been validated in this review.