Ayurveda

Ayurveda, an indigenous ancient medical science of India, is more than 5000 years old. It is considered to be an Upveda of the Atharva Veda. Mention of the use of herbs for medicinal purposes is found in the oldest available written literature of the world, the Rigveda. Literally, the word Ayurveda is a combination of two words: Ayu + Veda. Ayu means life and Veda means science. Thus, Ayurveda is a science of life, and not only a science of diseases. The aim of Ayurveda is "Swasthasya Swasthya Rakshnam, Aturasya Vikara Prashaman" — i.e. propagation of health and cure of diseases. The faith in the power of its principles, along with the availability of a vast majority of herbs in India, has always been a thrust behind the survival of this scientific art of healing. It is a science of health based on universal principles and profound insights into the connection between mind and body, and the laws of nature which structure all progress in life. It is promising to see that this ancient Vedic wisdom is now becoming more widely sought after.

Ashtanga Ayurveda

To provide specialized healthcare and treatment options, Ayurveda has been divided into eight branches, collectively known as Ashtanga Ayurveda. These branches deal with internal medicine, gynaecology, obstetrics and paediatrics, psychiatry, ENT, surgery, toxicology, geriatrics, and sexual disorders.

Texts of Ayurveda

Though the use of herbs as medicines started as early as the Vedic period, it was not until 3000 years ago that specialized treatises named Samhita were written on Ayurveda. This period may be termed the golden period of Ayurveda. The following treatises, known as Brihattrayee and Laghutrayee, provide insights to Ayurveda clinicians:

Charaka Samhita	Written by Acharya Agnivesha, Charaka and Dridbala in different historic periods, it is the most revered Samhita of Ayurveda, dealing predominantly with Kaya Chikitsa i.e. internal medicine. Here one can find a description of all the guiding principles of Ayurveda for diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
Sushruta Samhita	Sushruta is considered to be the father of surgery due to the details of surgery found in this text. This Samhita mainly deals with surgery. It amazes readers with its description of layers of skin, cosmetic surgery, grafting, etc. Spanning 184 chapters with descriptions of more than 1000 diseases, including those of the eyes, ear, nose, and throat, it has become one of the most important treatises of medicine.
Vagbhata Samhita	Written by Vagbhata, it is a combination of both the Charaka and Sushruta Samhita, with valuable additions by the author himself, making it a concise treatise used by all physicians which covers all subjects.
Madhava Nidana	This book may be termed the treatise on pathology of diseases. Causative factors, signs and symptoms, and pathogenesis of diseases in general, as well as for specific diseases, have been dealt with in great extent.
Sharangdhara Samhita	This book describes various single and compound drug formulations and their method of preparation, classified on the basis of dosage forms such as powder, decoction, tablet, medicated ghee and oil, etc. It is a very handy book for the selection of drugs in the management of various diseases.
Bhavaprakasha Nighantu	This may be termed the materia medica of Ayurveda, where one can find descriptions of more than one hundred herbs in terms of their Rasa, Guna, Veerya, Vipaka and Prabhava (specific actions). It describes the principles and pharmacodynamics of single drugs.