Background: Prakriti is a fundamental Ayurvedic concept describing an individual's inherent constitution, with Vata, Pitta and Kapha predominance contributing to individual variation. Classical Ayurvedic literature describes parental Shukra and Shonita, together with maternal and gestational factors, as contributors to the constitution of the offspring. The present observational study examined the relationship between parental and child Prakriti using a validated self-assessment instrument.

Methods: An observational study was conducted among 100 families, comprising 100 fathers, 100 mothers and 100 offspring. Healthy offspring aged 12–30 years were included. Prakriti was assessed using the Validated Self-Assessment Questionnaire to Determine Prakriti (SAQDP), in which responses are recorded on a 0–10 visual analogue scale and converted into percentage scores for Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Primary Prakriti was determined using the predefined 75% threshold for secondary and tertiary Dosha inclusion. Parent–child similarity was described, and Pearson correlation was used for parent–child Dosha percentage scores; chi-square findings reported in the source analysis were also considered.

Results: Forty-six children (46%) had a Prakriti similar to both parents, 31 (31%) were similar to the mother only, 17 (17%) to the father only, and 6 (6%) differed from both. Thus, 94% shared similarity with at least one parent. Broad similarity was reported as 77% with mothers and 63% with fathers. Father–child broad Prakriti association was statistically significant (p=0.016), whereas the corresponding mother–child association was reported as not statistically significant (p=0.340). All six parent–child Dosha percentage correlations were reported as statistically significant. The strongest paternal correlation was for Vata (r=0.476, p<0.001), and the strongest maternal correlation was for Kapha (r=0.377, p<0.001).

Conclusion: The findings indicate a measurable familial relationship between parental and child Prakriti, with evidence of both maternal and paternal contribution at the quantitative Dosha-score level. The results support further, larger and multicentric research integrating Ayurvedic Prakriti assessment with contemporary genetic and environmental measures.