Ayur means span of life. Veda means knowledge. Ayurveda is the science of life. It focuses on productive, happy & satisfactory lifespan. It treats for good health, longevity & elimination of disease. Ayurveda is concerned with wellness of all life – human (Manushya Ayurveda), plants (Vriksha Ayurveda) and animals (Mrga Ayurveda). Vriksha Ayurveda is part of Agnipurana (at least 7th cent CE). It is the most ancient treatise on ayurvedic botany. Salihotra (3rd cent BCE) is considered the father of veterinary science in India. Manushya Ayurveda is well known and is the focus of our quiz. The Wikimedia image is of a painting from 1825 showing a physician in Delhi examining a patient.

Source: “Introducing Ayurveda”, NCERT Class XI

The principal elements of the general doctrines of Ayurveda are found in the Vedas. Sushruta, one of the pioneers wrote, “The Ayurveda originally formed one of the sections of Atharva Veda and originally consisted of 1,00,000 verses.” Therefore it is considered as a Upa_Veda.

Vedangas are six auxiliary disciplines – Shiksha (phonetics), Chhanda( meter), Vyakarana(grammar), Nirukta (etymology), Jyotisha(astronomy), Kalpa(rituals) – required to understand the Vedas. Sutras are cryptic rules and aphorisms designed to implement the Vedangas. Later on, sutras came to refer to a style of expressing knowledge in a concise and easy to remember fashion. Brahmanas are prose commentaries attached to the Vedas that explain the mantra section of the Vedas.

Source: Alok Kumar, “Ancient Hindu science”

Charaka is believed to be the court physician of Emperor Kanishka. Charaka Samhita is the best surviving treatise on Ayurveda. Its history is complex. Atharva Veda is the first place where knowledge of medicine is discussed but it leans towards magic & incantations as cure. By the 6th cent BCE, the knowledge of wellness had developed as a scientific discipline. Atreya is said to be the first scholar who taught medicine to his six disciples. The work of two them – Agnivesha & Bhela survives till date but in fragmentary form.

In the 2nd cent CE, the knowledge of medicine existing at the time is said to have been systematized by Charaka. Later around the 11th cent CE, the Kashmiri scholar Drdhbala expanded the text further to include works of scholars later than Charaka. Thus, the Charaka Samhita is not the work of one person but an encyclopedia of ancient Indian medicine. Charaka Samhita divides Ayurveda into eight branches and calls it Ashtanga. The Wikimedia image by Balajijagadesh shows the statue of Charaka at Patanjali campus in Hardwar.

Source: P Kutumbiah, “Ancient Indian Medicine”

Sushruta was an ancient Indian surgeon. He was known for Sushruta-Samhita, the main source of knowledge about surgery (shalya tantra) in ancient India. Sushruta lived in the 6th cent BCE. His work was documented by the great Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna in the 2nd cent CE, around the same time Charaka Samhita was being systematized. Examples of Sushruta’s technique include rhinoplasty (the repairing or remaking of a nose), removal of a dead fetus, and lithotomy (surgical incision into hollow organs such as the urinary bladder to remove stones). He also developed many unique and practical techniques to dissect the human body and study its structure. Sushruta-samhita also provides details on toxicology, pediatrics, pharmacology, and other branches of Ayurveda. The image is of Sushruta’s statue at the Royal Australian College of Surgeons in Melbourne.

Source: Britannica.com

The Buddhist Jatakas name Taxila & Kashi as the two great centres of learning in ancient India. They name Atreya as a teacher of medicine branch (which follows Charaka Samhita) at Taxila. One of Sushruta’s teacher (Surgery branch of Ayurveda) is named Kasiraja. These point to the association of ancient universities with Ayurveda. Charaka is more philosophical, stressing on an integrated view on wellness involving mind, body & soul. Surgery or shalya tantra was more associated with the science of war. It then got integrated into the science of wellness later. Tradition suggests that Indra taught medicine to Atreya & surgery to Dhanvantari who in turn taught their disciplines to their disciples. The Wikimedia image by Dr Jayan.D shows Sushruta’s statue at Varanasi.

Source: P Kutumbiah, “Ancient Indian Medicine”

Charaka, Sushruta & Vagabhatta are the famous ‘Triad of Ancients’ of Ayurveda (‘vrddha-trayi’). Vagbhatta in the 6th-7th cent CE is said to have harmonized the differences between Charaka & Sushruta in the ‘Ashtanga Samgraha.’ Vagbhatta is known for the principles of medicine (sutra). I-Tsing mentions that Ayurveda had eight bundles of knowledge which Vagabhatta made into one and popularized across India.

After Vagabhatta, the next great scholars were Madhava (pathology & diagnosis), Vagabhatta II and the two Kashmiris, Drdhbala & Chakrapanidatta. The creative period of Ayurveda comes to an end by the 11th cent CE. The Wikimedia image by Gunawan Kartapranata shows an exhibit at Indonesia’s National Museum at a display in 2017.

Source: P Kutumbiah, “Ancient Indian Medicine”

Vaisheshika says that the world has an objective existence beyond one’s perception (realism). It says the building blocks of everything are atoms (atomist). It also says God (dualist nature of world) controls their existence. Vaisheshika suggests six categories that define everything & their characteristics (vishesha – on which the school is named).

Ayurveda uses these same categories to posit that the human body consists of seven dhatus – rasa (plasma), rakta (blood), mamsa (flesh) etc. These in turn are derived from the five panchbutas (nature elements). The balance of these dhatus leads to wellness in body, mind & soul and any imbalance leads to unbalanced doshas or disease. The imbalance can be caused by extra sensation, natural elements or psychological factors. To restore balance, we require a combination of medicines, diet & lifestyle. Disease is cured if a good doctor, a potent drug, caring attendants & willing patient work together. Charaka suggests that doctors use the logical principles defined by Nyaya to come to a cure.

Source: P Kutumbiah, “Ancient Indian Medicine”; Alok Kumar, “Ancient Hindu science”

The basic theory of Ayurveda rests on the theory of three defects(Tri- Three, Doshas – defects): Kapha (phlegm – heat regulating), Vata (wind – nerve force) and Pitta (bile – metabolism). When the dhatus of the body are in balance, the doshas which control the human body functions are also balanced. Imbalance of doshas causes disease. It is the purpose of all treatments to keep the dosha balance by balancing the seven dhatus.

Before ayurvedic doctors look for cure, they inquire about the patient, their constitution, eating habits and nature to understand the imbalance. For example, diabetes is caused by elevation of kapha attributed to lack of exercise, laziness, sweet foods, alcohol and excess of newly harvested grain. We eat food to nourish the dhatus and by changing diet, we can change the balance of doshas.

Source: Alok Kumar, “Ancient Hindu science”

The Bower manuscript was found in February 1890 at Kuchar in East Turkestan (now Xinjiang, the restive Uighur Muslim province of China). It is named after the person to whom it was sold. The manuscript is in 5 parts and the first part documents the knowledge of medicine in ancient India.

The first part has three sections and the second section is called the Navnitaka manuscript. It details formulae for many types of medicine. It prescribes drugs from three sources – animal products (milk, honey etc.), minerals & metals (salt, gold, lead etc.) and plant products (turmeric, aloe vera etc.). The manuscript also quotes extensively from Charaka & Sushruta Samhita suggesting that it was composed after these texts. Paleographically, the manuscript is dated to around 300CE and is a copy of another manuscript. Thus, historians conclude that the material from Charaka & Sushruta quoted is much older.

Source: P Kutumbiah, “Ancient Indian Medicine”

Garcia de Orta wrote a landmark book (published 1561) that details the medicinal properties of Indian plants & minerals and native diseases. De Orta’s Jewish family was converted to Christianity forcibly but were suspected of being secret Jews. The inquisition in Portugal targeted the converted Jews. He escaped to India and served the Portuguese viceroy. Later, he became the court physician of the Ahmednagar Sultan.

He became famous and the Portuguese gave him a lease to the then tiny island of Bombay (one of the 7 islands that make up modern Bombay) in 1553. Apparently, his family remained closet Jews. His sister was burnt at stake in Goa in the Portuguese Inquisition. He was convicted after his death in 1568 – his body was exhumed and burnt. The Portuguese would later acclaim de Orta as a hero.

De Orta had a background in the Greek-Arab school of medicine, of Galen & Avicenna. In India, he also interacted more with Muslim physicians though his book features some Ayurvedic practitioners. His work draws attention to the other traditional medical practice in India – the Unani (Greek) school, which was developed by Indian Muslim physicians adapting Greek-Arab medicine to Indian conditions. The image is that of de Orta’s statue in Lisbon. Note the herbs in his hand.

Source: Jonathan Gil Haris, “The First Firangis”

Triphala means three fruits as it has 3 ingredients. They are Amla, Haritaki and Bibhitaki. The Arabs used a similar sounding name while the Chinese translated it as – ‘sang teng’ meaning three herbs.

Ayurvedic knowledge went to other countries very early on. The Romans in the 3rd cent CE said that Indian drugs were the most potent. The great Arab philosophers – Al Tabari (783-858), Al Kindi (800-870), Al Biruni (973-1050) and Al Andalusi (1070) mention the works of Indian scholars of medicine, especially Charaka. An analysis of Kindi’s book suggests that almost 13% of the materia medica in the book was Indian in origin. Simiao composed the Chinese equivalent of the doctor’s Hippocratic oath (Charaka made his own version too!). He quotes the work of Jivaka who was said to be the physician to Buddha. When Jivaka was asked by his Guru to find useless plants in a forest, he returned crestfallen and empty-handed and said that he could not find a single plant that has no medicinal value.

The book ‘Hortus Malabaricus’ (Garden of Malabar) deals with the medicinal plants of South India. It contains descriptions and illustrations of 742 plants, compiled over 30 years and published in Amsterdam (1678–1693). It was organised by Hendrik van Rheede, the Governor of Dutch Malabar and relied heavily on the work of a Ayurvedic physician from Kerala, Itty Achudem. The image shows a folio from ‘Hortus Malabaricus’ from www.rcseng.ac.uk

Source: Alok Kumar, “Ancient Hindu science”; Corinne Hogan, www.rcseng.ac.uk

Panchakarma means five actions. Described by Sushruta, it is a cleansing and rejuvenating program for the body, mind, and consciousness. They are 1. Vamana (therapeutic emesis) – induced vomiting helps clear the upper gastro and respiratory tract, 2. Virechana (purgation) – induced bowel movement clears the lower gastro area, 3. Vasti (Decoction Enema) – cleanses the digestive tract, 4. Nasya, Neti Kriya – nasal instillation of medicated substances helps clear the respiratory tract and sinuses, 5. Raktamoksha – the blood is purified or even taken out using needles, incisions or leeches.

This treatment is prescribed for many disorders – arthritis, rheumatism, respiratory issues, gastrointestinal problems, obesity, menstrual challenges etc. This procedure is effective when a person wants to embark on healthier lifestyle.

Source: health.vikaspedia.in