The ‘mother of all healing sciences’ – Ayurveda is a complete system that evolved over time integrating centuries of wisdom derived from experience. A striking characteristic of Indian traditional knowledge sourced right from the Vedas is the principle of amalgamation. No area of study, be it philosophy, medicine, astronomy, alchemy or architecture, is expounded to…

In the early 19th century however, there was a national awakening in India which promoted a revival in Ayurveda. A government committee was constituted in 1946 which made recommendations for Ayurvedic teaching, research and education. Education of Ayurveda has been regularized by the Central Council of Indian Medicine, an autonomous body established under a Parliamentary…

India was in contact with China even during the Kushana times (1 AD). Bahlika (now located in Afghanistan) was an important centre where traders from China, India and West Asia met and exchanged ideas and goods. India’s contact with China was firmly established during the Gupta period with numerous scholars from China, Tibet and other…

Since its inception Ayurveda has had global appeal. Its influence spread to other parts of the world, namely South East Asia as early as 1000 BC. Trade and cultural relations with Mesopotamia, Gulf countries and Persia as early as the 3rd millennium BC, attracted scholars from Tibet, China, Indo-China, Sri Lanka, Rome, Egypt, Afghanistan and…

In the course of time, Ayurveda prevalent in the north supplemented itself and also enriched the Siddha system of medicine prevalent in the south. The latter’s origin is attributed to sage Agasthya and ancient texts mention 18 Siddhars or seers of knowledge as the initial proponents of this system. The therapeutics of Siddha medicine, an…

Ayurveda grew into a respected and widely used system of healing in India. Having influenced many of the other older traditional methods of healing including Tibetan, Chinese and Greek medicine, it is rightly considered as the ‘Mother of healing sciences’. Every occidental and Asian civilization has borrowed Ayurvedic knowledge and applied it to their cultural…

There are thousands of medicinal plant species found in the materia medica of Ayurveda, a tribute to the great biodiversity of the Indian subcontinent. Ayurveda has a unique way of understanding plants, with classic treatises like Charaka Samhita providing an exhaustive description of around 600 plants and their medicinal uses. It contains information on nomenclature, descriptions for identification, biological…

According to Ayurveda, food is meant for nourishment and is to be consumed based on bodily needs rather than by the dictates of taste value of the eatable. Diet is considered a more significant modifier than even drugs, which are secondarily resorted to when dietary correction is insufficient. Thus food is to be consumed with…

Each individual is born with a particular dosha predominating his or her constitution that is determined at conception. Thus permutations of vata, pitta and kapha during fertilization determine his/her constitution or Prakrti. There are thus seven basic types of Prakrti namely vata, pitta, kapha, vata-pitta, vata-kapha, pitta-kapha and vata-pitta-kapha. These basic traits are also shaped by other important factors such as diet, lifestyle, behaviour, emotions and seasons. Depending on lifestyle choices, this predominant dosha,…

The fundamental doctrines of Ayurveda describe the human system in terms of 3 doshas that describe its principle of function, 7 dhatus that describe the principle of structure and 3 malas through which bodily impurities (physical and subtle) are eliminated. A balance of these doshas, good quality structural supports – the 7 dhatus (Ras – plasma, Rakta – blood, Mamsa – muscles, Meda – fat, Asthi – bone…