Ayurveda 8211 Indian system of Medicine The ancient Indian wisdom of healing or medicine known as Āyurveda is a part of the spiritual tradition of the Vedas The Vedas include almost every aspect of life ie health astrology army poetry and spiritual living and behavior We find the roots of modern medicine in the Vedas The Ṛgveda a compilation of verse on the nature of existence is the oldest compilation of any knowledge system The Ṛgveda refers to the cosmology known as Sāṁkhya which lies at the base of both Āyurveda and Yoga contains verses on the nature of health and disease pathogenesis and principles of treatment कयबलगरहरधवङगशलयदषटरजरवषन 5 अषटवङगन तसयहशचकतस यष सशरत वय पतत कफशचत तरय दष समसत 6 वकतऽवकत दह घननत त वरततयनत च 8211 अषटगहदयम परथमधयय kāyabālagrahordhvāṅgaśalyadamṣṭrājarāvṛṣān aṣṭāvaṅgāni tasyāhuścikitsā yeṣu samśritā Vāyuh pittan kaphaśceti trayo doṣāh samāsatah vikṛtavikṛta deham ghnanti te varttayanti ca 8211 Aṣṭāngahṛdayam Adhyaya1 According to the Āyurveda the body is comprised of three primary forces termed Doṣa ie i Vāyuh ii Pitta and iii Kapha The state of equilibrium between the doṣa is perceived as a state of health the state of imbalance is disease Each Doṣa represents characteristics derived from the five elements of space air fire water and earth Herbs are used to heal the diseases of the mind and body and to foster longevity Aṣṭāngahṛdayam lists eight branches of the Āyurveda They are Kāya Cikitsā Internal Medicine Bāla Cikitsā Treatment of Children Pediatrics Graha Cikitsā Demonology Psychology Urdhvānga Cikitsā Treatment of disease above the clavicle Śalya Cikitsā Surgery Damṣtra Cikitsā Toxicology Jarā Cikitsā Geriatrics Rejuvenation and Vṛṣa Cikitsā Aphrodisiac therapy The Vedic priests were not only performing religious rites and ceremonies they were also Vaidyas physicians of Āyurveda The sagephysiciansurgeons were realized health as an integral part of spiritual life It is said that they received the knowledge of healing prevention longevity and surgery through divine revelation These revelations were transcribed from the oral tradition into book form at a much later date What is fascinating is Āyurveda8217s use of herbs foods aromas gems colors yoga mantras lifestyle and surgery There were two main schools of Āyurveda Ātreya8211 the school of physicians and Dhanvantari8211 the school of surgeons These two schools made Āyurveda a more scientifically verifiable and classifiable medical system In Indian tradition Brahmā is known as the creator of the world Many diseases also emerged with the advent of life on the earth To protect cure from such diseases Brahmā passed the knowledge of Āyurveda to Prajāpati Later knowledge passed on to Aśvinīkumars to Indra to Bhāradvāja to Ātreya Punarvasu Ātreya Punarvasu had six students namely Agniveśa Bhel Jatukarṇa Parāśara Hārīti and Kṣārapāṇi All of them contributed for the development of Āyurveda Agniveśa was the most intelligent and his compilation is known as Agniveśa Saṁhitā or Agniveśa Tantra Ācārya Caraka edited this text and added some commentary which was later known as Caraka Saṁhitā Suśruta a student of Dhanvantari has contributed greatly in the area of surgery Śalya Cikitsā through his text known as Suśruta Saṁhitā However there were many parallel streams of knowledge medical practiced at that time are evident through the texts like Kāśyapa Saṁhitā by Kaśyapa Śālākya Tantra by Nimi or Videha etc There are two main reorganizers of Āyurveda whose works are available today 8211 Caraka and Suśruta Caraka Saṁhitā is mainly a medical text while Suśruta Saṁhitā concentrates on surgery The third major treatise is called the Aṣṭāngahṛdayam by Vāgbhaṭa which is a concise version of the works of Caraka and Suśruta Ancient Indian healing system used mix of religious practices with secular medicine They used incantations in combination with administering drugs and performing operations It involved observing the patient as well as observing their natural environment They also used an extensive range of medicine Caraka Saṁhitā listed 500 medicines while Suśruta Saṁhitā mentioned over 700 vegetablebased medicines Indian medicine relied on the concept of marmas which identified a series of points where an injury or damage could be fatal Surgery was widely used and surgeons performed the most elaborate operations Over 121 different steel instruments were used to sew up wounds drain fluid remove kidney stones and to perform plastic surgery Āyurveda is practiced in different parts of India since Vedic times Over 70 percent of Indian population is dependent on this ancient knowledge of healing The fundamental principles of Āyurveda are at the heart of many 8220alternative8221 therapies used in the West today Through this portal an attempt has been made to establish the relevance of this ancient system of medicine in todays world by publishing the available texts and researches analysis of the knowledge using modern scientific methods and standards practiced worldwide in public domain Links Looking into the past for the future Ayurveda Dr Rama Jaisundar वदष आयरवजञनचनतनम Vedeshu AyurvijnanachintanamSurendra Pal Singh वद म मनसचकतस Psychotherapy in the Vedas SN Singh आय क वद आयरवद Ayurveda Science of Life Sharada Kusum Mishra अथरववद म वष चकतस Toxicology in Atharvaveda Purnima Acharya अथरववदय आदसकत पर आयरवदक दषट Atharvavediya Adisukta par Ayurvedic Drishti Sudha Singh औषध वजञन म धवन क उपयगत Utilization of Sound in medical Science Nand lal Chaurasia Vedic Medical Microbiology and Emerging Infection Diseases Chandradhar Frend and Sriji Kurup Physiology of Homeopoietic System in Ayurvedic Literature Kishor Patwardhan amp sangeeta Gehlot Srotas in Veda Brajesh Gupta Clippings of Gynaecology amp Obstetrics in Vedas amp Samhita Granthas Meghna Mittal amp Mukta Sinha Presentation on Ayurveda Ayurvedasutram with the commentary of Yoganandanatha Charakasamhita Sushenas Ayurveda mahodadhiAnnapana Viddh Sushruta Samhita with HindiCommentary named Ayurveda Rahasyadipika VolI Sushruta Samhita with Hindi Commentary named Ayurveda Rahasyadipika VolII List of Books on Ayurveda KALANIDHI REFERENCE LIBRARYIGNCA NEW DELHI Ancient texts on Āyurveda Brahma Saṁhitā Not available Aśvinīkumar Saṁhitā Not available Ātreya Saṁhitā Agniveśa Saṁhitā Caraka Saṁhitā Suśruta Saṁhitā Aṣṭāngahṛdaya by Vāgbhaṭa Kāśyapa Saṁhitā Śālākya Tantra by Nimi or Videha Bhāva Prakāśa by Śrī Bhāva Miśra Mādhavanidāna Śārṅgadhara Saṁhitā