Originated from India 5000 years ago, Ayurveda is regarded as one of the oldest branch of medicine in the whole world. Ayurveda is constitute up of two Sanskrit words: ‘Ayu’ which signifies life and ‘Veda’ which means the knowledge of. Ayurveda is a science that deals about living and knowledge of life. Aryuveda is just not a medicinal system but also the ability of humans to live and lead a healthy and happy life.
The origin of Ayurveda comes from a divine revelation of the Lord Brahma, who is considered the creator of this universe according to the Hindu mythology. This knowledge was passed directly to Daksha Prajapati in the form of shloka sung by Lord Brahma, and this was in turn passed to a chain of deities and ultimately to Lord Indra, the protector of dharma. During that era, diseases and immortality started dominating the planet and people were badly suffering from miseries and diseases. The lifestyle of people was also getting disturbed and this invited trouble to the society. On seeing all these mishappenings and sorrows, Lord Inda decided to put an end to it and as a result, Rishi Bhardwaj, a pious sage inherited the knowledge of Aryuveda from him and the different aspects of the knowledge was passed on to sage who in turn taught these to their students.This was then the first time Ayurveda descended on earth. A disciple of Rishi Bhardwaj, Punarvasu Atrey, devoted his full life in treating people from ayurvedic remedies.
According to tradition, Ayurveda was first described in text form which was known as Agnivesh tantra. by Agnivesh, who was a disciple of Rishi Bhardwaj. The book was later revised again by Charaka, and was recognised as the Charaka Samhitā. Another early text of Ayurveda is the Sushruta Samhitā, which was compiled by Sushrut. Sushrut is known as the Father of Surgery, and in the Sushruta Samhita, the teachings and surgical techniques of Dhanvantri are compiled and complemented with additional findings and observations of Sushrut regarding topics ranging from obstetrics and orthopedics to ophthalmology. The Charaka Samhita is regarded as the golden book of Ayurvedic medicine. Acquiring a complete knowledge of Charaka Samhita, would definitely helps a person to become an ayurvedic physician.
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The Samhitas divide Ayurveda into 8 different branches:
1. Salyatantra (surgical knowledge),
2. Salakyatantra (treatment of diseases of the ears, nose, eye, tongue, oral cavity, and throat),
3. Bhutavidya (knowledge of mental diseases and diseases with supernatural origins),
4. Kaumarabhrtya (care of children and infantile disorders), Agadatantra (toxicology) and
5. Rasayanatantra (syrup and tonic knowledge) and Vajikaranatantra (knowledge of virility).
The sole objective of Ayurveda is to enablethe healthy person to maintain good health and the diseased person to regain good health. Its practice is designed to promote human happiness at physical, mental and spiritual level. The proper balance of all vital energies in the body, can reduce physical deterioration and disease. This is accomplished through proper eating, thinking and living habits as well as the use of herbal remedies to treat illness.
Ayurvedic medicines have several key foundations that pertain to health and disease. These concepts have to do with universal interconnectedness, the body’s constitution (prakriti), and life forces (doshas).
Ayurvedic medicine holds that all things in the universe (both living and nonliving) are joined together and that every human being contains elements that can be found in the universe.
Health can be good if one’s mind and body are in harmony, and one’s interaction with the universe is natural and wholesome. Disease arises only when a person is out of harmony with the universe; disruptions can be physical, emotional, spiritual, or a combination of these.
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Ayurvedic medicine also has specific beliefs that each person has a unique body constitution (prakriti) that is a unique combination of physical and psychological characteristics and the way the body functions to maintain health. The three life forces or energies called doshas are the important characteristics of the prakriti, which control the activities of the body. A person’s chances of developing certain types of diseases are thought to be related to the way doshas are balanced, the state of the physical body, and mental or lifestyle factors.
One’s health is normally in an ideal state when all the eleven indriyas (the mind, the five sense organs, and the five organs of motion and action), the three doshas (the air, radiant energy, and water), the agni (digestive fire), the malas (excretions), the kriyas (like sleep, elimination, respiratory, etc.), and the seven dhatus (plasma, blood cells, muscular tissue, adipose tissue, bony tissue, bone marrow and the reproductive tissue) are in a normal state and in equilibrium.
Ayurvedic medicine holds the following beliefs about the three doshas:
1. Each dosha constitute of two of five basic elements: ether (the upper regions of space), air, fire, water, and earth.
2. Each dosha has a particular relationship to bodily functions and can be upset for different reasons.
3. Each person has a unique combination of the three doshas,although one dosha is usually prominent.
4. Doshas are constantly being formed and reformed by food, activity, and bodily processes.
5. Each dosha is defined by its own physical and psychological characteristics.
Vyadhis (diseases) are caused by the derangement of one or more of the three doshas and blood. According to the Samhitas, vyadhi may be of four types: agantuja (extraneous), sarira (internal), manasa (mental),and svabhavika(natural).
The doshas are known by their original Sanskrit names: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. The Vata dosha combines the elements ether and air. It is considered the most powerful dosha because it controls very basic body processes such as cell division, the heart, breathing, discharge of waste, and the mind. Vata can be aggravated by, for example, fear, grief, staying up late at night, eating dry fruit, or eating before the previous meal is digested. People with Vata as their main dosha are thought to be especially susceptible to skin and neurological conditions, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, anxiety, and insomnia).
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The Pitta dosha represents the elements fire and water. Pitta controls hormones and the digestive system. A person with a Pitta imbalance may experience negative emotions such as anger and may have physical symptoms such as heartburn within 2 or 3 hours of eating. Pitta is upset by, for example, eating spicy or sour food, fatigue, or spending too much time in the sun. People with a predominantly Pitta constitution are susceptible to hypertension, heart disease, infectious diseases, and digestive conditions such as Crohn’s disease.
The Kapha dosha combines the elements water and earth. Kapha helps to maintain strength and immunity and to control growth. An imbalance of the Kapha dosha may cause nausea immediately after eating. Kapha is aggravated by, for example, greed, sleeping during the daytime, eating too many sweet foods, eating after one is full, and eating and drinking foods and beverages with too much salt and water (especially in the springtime).
Those with a predominant Kapha dosha are vulnerable to diabetes, cancer, obesity, and respiratory illnesses such as asthma.
Under normal conditions, the doshas, dhatus and malas correspond to certain standards regarding their quantity, quality and function. However, this situation is not static, and due to several endogenous and erogenous factors, the doshas may become unbalanced, resulting in disease. Other coherent factors can be: disturbance of the biological factors (agnis), the formation and accumulation of undigested nutrients (ama), obstruction of the body channels (shrotorodha), and a disturbed assimilation in the tissues.
Ayurveda also suggests specific lifestyle and nutritional guidelines to assist the individual in reducing or increasing the doshas that has become imbalance. For example, Obesity is believed to be caused by the absence of physical activity; other causes may be sleeping during the day, intake of Kapha – increasing foods, finally resulting in accumulation of fat. These block the channels of nutrition. This blocking causes an increase in hunger because the body does not get enough nutrition. Another example is Rheumatism, which is believed in Ayurveda to be caused by eating incompatible food, lack of physical exercise. In general, doing exercise particularly after eating fatty foods, incorrect use of purgatives, causes improper digestion. The half digested food called Ama associates itself with Vata and moves about. If fill the Kapha, and blocks the transport channels of the body. This blocking of channels produces weakness of the heart, which is the seat of the disease. This results in loss of strength, feeling of heaviness and stiffness of the body.
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Disease management in Ayurveda and the principles of Ayurvedic pharmacology are fundamentally different from those of other systems of medicine, especially evidence-based medicine. Most Ayurvedic medicines are prepared from herbs.
The treatment of disease can broadly be classified as:
1. Shodhana therapy (purification treatment),
2. Shamana therapy (palliative treatment),
3. Pathya Vyavastha (prescription of diet and activity),
4. Nidan Parivaryan (avoidance of disease causing and aggravating factors),
5. Satvavajaya (psychotherapy) and
6. Rasayana therapy (use of immunomodulators and rejuvenation medicines).
Shodhana treatment aims at removal of the causative factors of somatic and psychosomatic diseases. The process involves internal and external purification. The usual practices involved are Panchakarma (medically induced Emesis, Purgation, Oil Enema, Decoction enema and Nasal administration of medicines) and Pre-Panchakarma procedures (external and internal oleation and induced sweating).
Panchakarma treatment focuses on metabolic management. It provides needed purificatory effect, besides conferring therapeutic benefits. This treatment is especially helpful in neurological disorders, musculo-skeletal disease conditions, certain vascular or neuro-vascular states, respiratory diseases, and metabolic and degenerative disorders. Shamana therapy involves suppression of vitiated humours (doshas).
The process by which disturbed humor subsides or returns to normal without creating imbalance of other humours is known as Shamana. This treatment is achieved by use of appetizers, digestives, exercise and exposure to sun, fresh air etc. In this form of treatment, palliatives and sedatives are used.
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Pathya Vyavastha comprises indications and contraindications in respect of diet, activity, habits and emotional status. This is done with a view to enhance the effects of therapeutic measures and to impede the pathogenetic processes. Emphasis on do’s and don’ts of diet is laid with the aim to stimulate warmth and optimize digestion and assimilation of food in order to ensure strength of tissues. Satvavajaya is related mainly with the area of mental disturbances,which includes restraining the mind from desires for unwholesome objects and cultivation of courage, memory and concentration.
The study of psychology and psychiatry has been developed extensively in Ayurveda and has wide range of approaches in the treatment of mental disorders. Rasayana therapy deals with promotion of strength and vitality. The integrity of body matrix, promotion of memory, intelligence, immunity against the disease, the preservation of youth, luster and complexion and maintenance of optimum strength of the body and senses are some of the positive benefits credited to this treatment. Prevention of premature bear and tear of body tissues and promotion of total health content of an individual are the roles that Rasayana therapy plays.
Ayurvedic pharmacology is termed Dravya Vijnan (wisdom about the substance).
Ayurveda believes in the classification of Dravya into five- Parthiva (Earth), Apya (water), Thaijasa (fire), Vayavya (Air) and Nabhasa (Ether).
Based on this, the material medica of Ayurveda is also categorized according to the derivatives of these elements: Taste (Rasa), Potency (virya), Action (karma), Healing property (guna) ,taste of the digestion product (vipaka) and specific properties (prabhava).
Taste (rasa) is six fold: sweet (Madhura), sour (amla), salty (lavana), sharp (tikta), bitter (katu) and astringent (kasaya).
Each taste is made of two of the five elements. The condition of the food substances after digestion is also expressed in terms of taste (vipaka), however it can only be sweet, sour or sharp.
Madhura Rasa (sweet) is cool, heavy, and viscous. Sweet taste promotes handsomeness and longevity and helps the overall growth of the body and tones up Ojas (vitality).
It is good for bettering the complexion, for sweetness of voice and cheerfulness of disposition and also nourishes the sense organs .It is pittahara (restores vitiated Pitta ) and vatahara (alleviates morbid Vata).
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It stimulates the healing process and is good for breast – feeding mothers. Earth and water elements predominate in madhura Rasa.
Amala Rasa (acidic) is viscous. It stimulates the salivary glands and promotes appetite and digestion .It is also a carminative. Having earth and fire as its prominent components, it provokes the Kapha and Pitta.
Lavana Rasa (saline) is neither heavy nor viscous. Its strong taste causes salivation and enhances the flavour of foods. It acts as a carminative and a laxative. With water and fire being predominant, it incites Kapha , vitiates Pitta.
Katu Rasa (pungent or acrid) is light and hot because of the predominant and fire elements. Katu Rasa acts as an anthelmintic, dilates the body channels and allays Kapha. It relieves intestinal dropsy and helps in the elimination of waste products from the body. According to Charaka, Katu Rasa stimulates gastric secretions and enhances the clarity of the sensory organs.
Tikta rasa (bitter) is dry and light . Ether and air are the main components in substances that taste bitter. In action, it is paraciticidal and antipyretic. It is also a carminative. Substances that taste astringent (Kashaya Rasa) are composed primarily of earth and air. It dries up moisture and allays the provoked Kapha and Pitta. Charaka says, ‘’the astringent taste is sedative and promotes healing of injuries and fractured bones. ‘’
The properties (guna), are grouped in 10 pairs, each one complementary to the other: heavy and light, cold and hot, fat and dry, slow and sharp, stable and labile, soft and hard, clear and slimy, smooth and raw, fine and massive and viscous and liquid.
The potency (virya) of a drug is defined as its capability to express its property.
Viryas are classified in to two Ushma and Sita .Drugs possessing Ushma veerya causes giddiness, thirst, sweating , heat and quick digestion . They reduce Vata and Khapha. On the contrary, the Sita veerya drugs cause a soothing and nourishing effect. The specific property (prabhava) distinguishes two drugs that have the same taste, taste after digestion and potency. This might be due to the composition of the drug or the location where the drugs acts. Finally, the action (karma) of a drug on the body is expressed in terms of the three doshas. A drug can increase or decrease the Vata dosha, the Pitta dosha and the Kapha dosha.
The first systematic knowledge of pharmacology is found in Charaka Samhita.
According to Charaka, “medicines are derived from three sources – animal, mineral and vegetal. Animals, honey, milk and milk products, bile, fat, bone-marrow, blood, flesh, excreta, urine, skin (including membranes), and semen, bone, tendon, horn, claw, and hoof, hair, down and gall-stone are also used in medicines.” The substances of animal origin include; Skin, nails and hair used for fumigation and for curing intermittent fever, meat with oils and vegetables used for combating malnutrition, consumption and nervous diseases, bones in the form of ashes with other drugs for curing children of nervous diseases and for fumigation, fats and oils externally and internally for embrocation, hair externally for embrocation and internally for combating malnutrition, gall used for treating fever and eye diseases, milk for nutritive substances and also with different broths for the nutrition of child and curing nervous diseases, urine for diseases caused by mucous and polluted air, for eradicating, worms and poisoning, leprosy, dropsy and dyspepsia and honey, eggs, Spanish flies and leeches were also used. The substances of mineral origin such as precious stones (diamond, pearls, corals, etc.) were used as nourishing substances. Salts like saltpeter, sodium black salt, borax, ammonium salt and sulphur were also used.
According to Charaka the primary pharmaceutical preparations were of five types: (1)Svarasa (expressed juice), (2) Kalka (paste or powder), (3) Srta (decoction), (4) Sita (cold infusion), and (5) Phanta (hot infusion).
According to Ayurveda, without processing any metals and minerals can’t be assimilated in the body. For preparation of drugs many instruments (yantras) and equipment were used like: furnace (angaraculli), iron plate (ayahstali), iron vessel (ayasa bhanda), water pot(acamaniya), water jar (udakumbha), water-reservoir (udakostha), mortar (udukhala), pitcher (kalasa), jar (kumbha), grinder (kurcana), ghee container (ghrtabhajana), weighing scale (tula) and tub (droni).
By 400 AD, Ayurvedic works were translated into Chinese and by 700 AD; Chinese scholars were studying medicine in India at Nalanda University. Indian thought greatly influenced Chinese medicine and herbology through Ayurveda. In 800 AD, Ayurvedic works were translated into Arabic. In the 16th century in Europe, Paracelsus, who is known as the father of modern Western medicine, practiced and propagated a system of medicine, which borrowed heavily from Ayurveda.
Today, Ayurveda is increasingly popular because it speaks of the elementary concepts of
(1) contact with nature,
(2) holism, and
(3) we are what we eat.
Ayurveda forms an integral part of the daily regimen of hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Its principles are utilized, not only to treat individuals, who are ill, but also to prepare balanced meals and construct harmonious environments. Ayurveda brings to life theconcepts of preventive health care and health promotion. The ultimate goal of Ayurveda is to help the individual discover a personal knowledge of living.
In the present day, Ayurveda represents the broadest and at the same time the easiest to understand system of natural healing. For this reason, there has been strong interest in the knowledge of Ayurveda in most western countries recently, together with a more intense concern for the practical application of the revolutionary therapeutic methods that are included in this ancient science. Therefore, in the present, some contemporary works affirm that Ayurveda can soon become the natural medical science of this planet, due to its simplicity and accessibility being an authentic source of inspiration for present-day scientific thinking.
Sushruta-Samhita writing says: “The science of life (Ayurveda) is eternal and gives merits, prestige, happiness, longevity, means of living, and offers the human being access to the divine Sky (God)”.
