Ayurveda is an age old stream of prevention and healing, hailing from ancient India. It is a Sub Veda of Atharvaveda. Word Ayurveda is conjunction of 2 words Ayu and Veda. Ayu is life or lifespan and Veda is knowledge of ultimate truth. Hence Ayurveda is a wisdom on healthy, balanced living and treating imbalances in body by using medicines prepared out of naturally obtained elements and energies for protection of lifespan.
How old is Ayurveda?
There is a saying “Medicine is as old as life itself”, but Ayurveda is considered older than life. Though Samhita’s or sacred books of Ayurveda available currently, dates back to around 5000 years ago, Ayurveda is much older that those. As per the references of those books, Ayurveda is not a human creation at all.
Ayurveda was referred as Anaadi(the one which has no beginning) and Anantya( No end) and Nithya (holds good for all time). Origin and descent of Ayurveda links itself to Hindu mythological stories and characters.
The Mythological descent of Ayurveda on Earth:
According to Hindu mythology Lord Brahma is the Creator of Universe. “बृह्मा स्मृत्वाऽयुषो वेदं” – He once had a divine spark of remembrance of this knowledge for the wellness of His creation. Hence Ayurveda is not created by the Creator Himself and it is older than any creation. It was there for the wellness of people, before sufferings begun.
Brahma later enlightened his son Daksha Prajapati with this knowledge.
Daksha was beheaded by Veerbhadra (Demon created by Lord Shiva) during the Daksha Yajna. He was treated and his head got fixed by Ashwini Kumara twins who were the healers of divine personalities. Hence later this knowledge of Ayurveda was narrated by Daksha to Ashwini Kumara twins as a token of gratitude and for wellness of others.
Indra, King of God, wished to learn this divine science from Ashwini Kumara twins and has succeeded in doing so.
When people on Earth started suffering from various illness, Sages decided to go to Indra for the solution. Indra in return enlightened Sages like Bharadwaja, Athreya, Kashyapa etc with the true knowledge of Ayurveda.
Further it was propagated orally by the Sages to their disciples. Later it was divided into different lineage on the subject interests like Bharadwaj lineage (General medicine) Dhanwantari lineage (Surgery) and Kashyapa lineage (Paediatrics).
According to Bhagavata purana, Lord Dhanvantari is considered as incarnation of Lord Mahavishnu, who emerged out of ocean carrying pot filled with Amrita(ambrosia) during Samudra manthana. This day is celebrated as festival Dhanteras just prior to Deepavali in India and Lord Dhanvantari is considered and worshipped as Diety of Health.
Samhitas -The Sacred books
Knowledge gained were then documented by the disciples in the form of Samhitas which are actual and only source of knowledge today. Different Samhitas were written by many. Among them Sushruta Samhita by Sushruta, Charaka Samhita by Agnivesha ,and Ashtanga Sangriha/ Hridaya by Vagbhata are oldest available sources today. 3 books together called as Brihatrayees ( 3 major books) of Ayurveda.
Ashtanga Ayurveda
Branches and Specialization of medical science based on the condition dealt was done very firstly in Ayurveda. Ayurveda is divided into 8 branches:
Kayachikitsa- General medicine
Bala- Paediatrics
Graha- Demonology or Psychology
Urdhwanga- Deals with Diseases above neck region(Ophthalmology, ENT, Head)
Shalyatantra- Surgery
Damshra- Toxicology
Jara- Geriatrics
Vrusha- Aphrodisiac therapy( deals sexual problems)
After the age of Brihatrayees
After the age of Brihatrayees many new books and commentaries were written on already existed books by many Vaidyas.
Some of the books from this mid age are:
Madhava Nidana- by Madhavakara (Book on Etiopathology in Ayurveda )
Chakradatta- by Chakrapani
Shrangadhara Samhita- by Shrangadhara.
Foreign invasion and rule over India vs Ayurveda
When India was invaded and invaders began to rule, many Ayurveda texts were destroyed and misplaced. Some other streams of medicines were introduced to India and were brought into limelight. This led to the setback of Ayurveda. Throughout its long history, Ayurveda has undergone many changes and has been influenced by various cultures and traditions. However, it has remained a vital part of traditional Indian healthcare and is now practiced all over the world. Today, Ayurveda is recognized as a form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and is used by many people as a way to promote good health and prevent illness.
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