The Indian system of medicine, Ayurveda, was evolved as a system with a rational and logical foundation. The history of Ayurveda began 5000 years ago in the great Himalayas when one of the greatest sages of India, Srila Vyasadeva, wrote the vedas for the first time. He included Ayurveda or the science of life as a part of the vedas. Ayurveda, one of the systems of Indian medicine, which has been an integral part of the Indian culture, is considered to be the earliest medical science on positive health.

Ayurveda is a Sanskrit term, made up of the words ‘ayus’ means life and ‘veda’ means knowledge or science. The word Ayurveda thus means ‘the knowledge of life or the science of life’. According to Charaka, ‘ayu’ comprises the mind, body, senses and the soul. So Ayurveda can also be defined as a system, which uses the inherent principles of nature, to help maintain health in a person by keeping the individual’s body, mind and spirit in perfect equilibrium with nature.

Ayurveda is closely related to Sanskrit because traditionally Ayurvedic knowledge was imparted through gurukula system, the curriculum of which commenced with an in-depth study of Sanskrit. There was not even a single text on Ayurveda at that time as the method of teaching had been imparting the knowledge by the guru to his pupils.

The fundamentals of Ayurveda can be found in Hindu scriptures called the Vedas. Ayurveda and Veda have a relation in depth. The oldest system of medicine in the world Ayurveda, traces its roots to the vedic period in ancient India. The vedas contain practical and scientific information on various subjects beneficial to the humanity like health, philosophy, astrology etc.

In Astangahrdayam Vagbhatta states that Brahma transmitted the basic principles of this system of medicine to Prajapati and he communicated these ideas to other rishis such as Indran and they, in turn, transmitted them to the later generations.

Vedic brahmans were not priests performing religious rites and ceremonies, they also became the Vaidyas (Ayurvedic physicians). The Sage – Physician – Surgeons of that time were the same sages, deeply devoted holy people, who saw health as an integral part of spiritual health. It is said that they received their training of Ayurveda through direct cognition during meditation. In other words, the knowledge of the use of various methods of healing, prevention, longevity and surgery came through divine revelation. These revelations were transcribed from the oral tradition into book form interspersed with the other aspects of life.

Ayurveda was delineated into eight specific branches of medicine and there were two main schools –‘Atreya’, the school of physicians and ‘Dhanvantari’, the school of surgeons. These two schools made Ayurveda a more scientifically verifiable and classifiable medical system.

Ayurveda is treated as the upaveda of both Rigveda and Atharvaveda. Though medical treatment methods are mentioned in all the four vedas, it can be seen that the methods laid down in the Atharvaveda are more beneficial to human beings than those mentioned in the Rigveda, Yajurveda and the Samaveda.

While subjects related to health are described in mythological stories of the Rigveda, the Samaveda or the Yajurveda, the methods of treatment, usage of medicines in frequently occurring diseases and the study of different parts of human body are explained in the Atharvaveda. It was Dhanvantari who taught Sushruta that Ayurveda had been composed by Brahma as a sub- division of the Atharvaveda. It contains 114 hymns or formulations for the treatment of diseases. Ayurveda is said to be originated and developed from these hymns. Ayurveda lists the eight divisions of Ayurveda. They are:

1) Shalya tantra or Surgery

It deals with the descriptions and uses of various surgical instruments.

2) Shalakya tantra or Eye & ENT

It describes the diseases of outer parts of human body such as eye, nose, mouth & ears & their treatment.

3) Kaya chikitsa or General medicine

It is the study of medicines intended for internal consumption and diseases of human body such as fever, leprosy and urinary disorders.

4) Bhuta vidya or Demonology

It indicates the rules to be observed in performing the various religious procedures. It includes psychiatry and curing the influence of evil spirits.

5) Kaumarabrtya or Pediatrics

It is related to the treatment of diseases of infants.

6) Agada tantra or Toxicology

The methods of diagnosis and the treatment of poisonous bites of snakes, insects, spiders etc. are dealt with in this division.

7) Rasayana or the science of Tonics

Medicines for the preservation of youth and prolonged life, promoting intelligence and strength and giving power to resist diseases are described in rasayana.

8) Vajikarana  tantra or the science of Aphrodisiacs

This division is related to the treatment of semen disorders.

Like Atharvaveda, Rigveda is one of the main authentic texts of Ayurveda in its early history. In Rigveda there are references to the first divine physician Rudra and of how the Aswini kumaras cured Chyavana of senility. There are number of Riks addressed to Marut, Vayu etc. in which the reference to medicine is unmistakable. It contains verses on the nature of existence, on nature of health and disease, pathogenesis and principles of treatment. Also the discussions of the three doshas (Vatha,Pitha and Kapha) and the use of herbs to heal the diseases of the mind and body and to foster longevity.

One among the vedas, Yajurveda also contains the vedic rituals and practices that aim to improve health and longevity. It is in the scriptures of the Yajurveda that the concept of organs and tissues are introduced. The seven dhatus or tissues namely, Rasa, Rakta, Medas, Mamsa, Asthi, Majja and Shukra are mentioned clearly in this veda.

Here Rasa means a closer look at plasma. Rakta means a closer look at blood. Mamsa means muscles. Medas means fat. Asthi means bones. Majja means nervous system. Shukra means reproductive tissues.

The two main constituents of the Purusha, the imperishable Atma and perishable panchabhautik body are mentioned in Yajurveda as ‘combining and mutually supporting during life and disintegrating and with elements of the universe at the time of death.’ The same concept is established more clearly as shad –dhatuka purusha and pancha mahabhoot shareeri samavayah purusha and panchatwa prapti at death by Charaka and Sushruta respectively.

Another component manas is still more subtle than the body and indriyas and is the instrument of Atma to communicate with the outer world. Its dimensions and functions are poetically given in the ‘Shiva sankalpa sukta’ of Yajurveda.

Samaveda also contains musical chants that are said to bring health, harmony and well-being to body, mind and soul. Ayurveda stresses the importance of mantra, music and sound therapies for healing at the deepest level.Similarly, the secondary texts known as Upavedas contain knowledge useful to healing.

Dhanurveda, the upaveda of Yajurveda contains intricate knowledge of the marma points that promote healing in specific organs.

Gandarvaveda, the upaveda of Samaveda shows how music and movement can heal the body and mind. Vedic music is used to balance and harmonize the elements within us that change with the days and seasons.

There were descriptions of Ayurvedic surgeries, later on, by the renowned sages like Sushruta, Charaka and Kasyapa in their samhitas. The subjects covered included prosthetic surgery to replace limbs, cosmetic surgery, brain surgery and even caesarian section. Archaeological evidence proves that some of these operations were successfully performed 3000 to 5000 years ago.

Ayurveda began to develop with the compiling and editing of the samhitas. Samhitas are the sum total of the principles and practices of all the then known branches of medicines.

The masters of each samhita used to teach their disciples the principles of each branch of medicine which the disciples compiled into books of reference. The important samhitas are Charaka samhita, Sushruta samhita, Kasyapa samhita, Bhela samhita, Hareetha samhita and books of Vaghbhatta.

Written history of Ayurveda can be traced from the very ancient times. No history of earliest writers on medicine in India would be complete without a mention of Charaka and Sushruta, who were considered to be the highest authorities in all medical matters. Charaka is said to have been an incarnation of Shesha, the serpent god with a thousand heads. He was the son of the sage Vishudha. He had been the greatest physician of his days and his Charaka samhita is still held to be a standard work on medicine.

Atreya’s advices collected by his disciples Agnivesha are brought to light in the well –known book Charaka samhita. The book is named as such since it was compiled and edited by Charaka after some years.

The book is written partly in verse and partly in prose and the language bears a resemblance to that of Brahmanas. The text is the record of teaching by Atreya punarvasu to his students and Agnivesha was one of them. The work is a complete compendium of medical information, dealing with medical aspects, as etiology, symptomatology, treatment and medical care in health and disease.

Equal in importance to the Charaka samhita is another treatise called Sushruta samhita. It is believed that Sushruta, one of the disciples of Dhanvatari, wrote Sushruta samhita.

This works deals with surgical diseases and diseases of the special organs such as eyes, ear etc. The surgical instruments during the period of Sushruta were classified into blunt instruments and sharp instruments. Sushruta described 101 blunt instruments and 20 sharp instruments in his books.

Sushruta defined 8 types of surgeries. Vaghbhatta added 5 to them to constitute a total of 13 surgeries. Excision, incision, scraping, punching, probing, extracting, draining, stitching, opening, pricking, drilling, catching and catheterization were those 13 surgeries. These surgeries were grouped under 3 divisions.

• Pre- operative medication
• Main operation
• Post-operative measures

Thus, it can be stated that from the very ancient time itself, Ayurveda has developed very much in terms of general medicine and surgery.

Another important authority of Ayurveda is Vaghbhatta. The samhitas of Vaghbhatta deals with all aspects of life, health, disease and treatment. In his work ‘Astangahrdayam’ he acknowledges the information borrowed from the writings of Charaka , Sushruta, Agnivesha, Bhela and others. He wrote another book with the title Astanga sangraham. It contains 6 sections and 150 chapters. Charaka samhita, Sushruta samhita and Astanga sangraha together called ‘Brihattrayi’. They constitute the oldest and possibly the longest medical text in the world.

Indus valley civilization is older than vedas. Black balls excavated from Mohenjodaro and Harappa were identified as kanmadam after chemical tests. Horns of deers which were not available there, but brought from the Himalayas are also indication of the fact that the science and practice of Ayurveda were in vogue during this period. The yogamudras discovered from the regions show that the practice of yoga and the mental and bodily exercise which are closely related to Ayurveda, was prevalent during those days.

These examples are sufficient to show that the basic concepts of Ayurveda are mentioned in the mantras of vedas. They were developed in successive phases of Brahmana and Upanishad eras not separately but during discussions on processes of yajna or philosophical topics. However, they were discussed in detailed and systematically arranged in the post- upanishad period or samhita period of Ayurveda. It is categorically mentioned in all samhitas that they are discourses or explanatory notes, the concise text of which is extinct or is found only in the mantras of the vedas.

 

It is evident from the above that the vedas are the original sources of the subject matter of Ayurveda.