The Development of Ayurvedic Medicine

Hindu legend holds that, after seeing the suffering of human beings, Lord Brahma, the god of creation, elaborated ways to ease that suffering to Daksha, who, in turn, taught them to the Ashwin twins. Figure 32-1 presents the chronology of Ayurveda’s development.

FIGURE 32-1 The chronology of Ayurveda.

Dhanvantari and Bhardwaj separately developed the surgical and medical aspects of Ayurveda around the ninth century BC. Their students recorded these principles in great detail in compendia that are called Samhitas.

The Sushruta Samhita, one of the most widely accepted Ayurvedic texts, emphasizes the surgical aspects of therapy. Its author, Sushruta, is considered the father of surgery (particularly of plastic and reconstructive surgery). The medical teachings of Charak were a synthesis of earlier work. His material has become a classic text of the nonsurgical medical wisdom of Ayurveda. Successive generations have modified his work, the Samhita.

School of Physicians (Atreya Sampradaya)

Charak wrote a complete text on Ayurvedic medicine in which he revised the work of Agnivesh. Charak’s text described the Tridosh physiology (Vat, Pit, and Kaph), seven Dhatus (tissues), and three Malas (excretions). His text covered the pathophysiology and treatment of diseases, human constitution (Prakriti), classifications and preparations of drugs, diet, “right conduct,” medical ethics, and many other aspects of medicine.

School of Surgeons (Dhanvantari Sampradaya)

Sushruta wrote the first comprehensive works on surgery. These were later revised by Nagarjuna in the second century AD. The major subjects in his texts were the following:

Sushruta described 141 types of instruments and listed 40 types of surgeries and surgical techniques for treating cataracts, hemorrhoids, hernias, and bone problems, for cosmetic and plastic purposes, and for the removal of kidney stones and gallstones.

Branches of Ayurveda

Ayurveda encompasses eight specialties or branches. They comprise a system developed to prevent and cure disease, as well as achieve and maintain excellent health. Table 32-1 lists the branches.

TABLE 32-1 Specialties in Ayurveda

Five Basic Elements and the Universe (Panchbhuta Philosophy)

The Rishis perceived that consciousness consists of these five basic elements: ether (space), air, fire, water, and earth. At the beginning of the world, consciousness was without form, existing as the subtle vibration of the cosmic “soundless” sound Aum.

Within these vibrations appeared the element ether. Ether started to move, creating air. The movement of ether also produced friction and, through friction, generated heat, then fire. From the heat of the fire, ethereal elements dissolved and liquefied into water. Water then solidified to form molecules of earth. Thus, all matter was born from the five elements. These five elements exist in energy forms.

Five Elements and the Senses

The five elements also connect with the five senses: ether—hearing, air—touch, fire—vision, water—taste, and earth—smell, and they are present in certain physiologic functions. Expressing the functions of the sensory organs are five actions (Table 32-2). In this manner, the elements are directly related to humans’ abilities both to perceive the external environment in which they live and to respond to it:

TABLE 32-2 The five elements and the senses

Properties of Dosha

Vat, Pit, and Kaph control all human biological, psychological, and physiopathologic functions and have subtle properties, as shown in Box 32-1.

Related posts:

Botanical Medicine—A Modern Perspective Fibrocystic Breast Disease Trichomoniasis Allium sativum (Garlic) Tanacetum parthenium (Feverfew) Medicinal Mushrooms

Stay updated, free articles. Join our Telegram channel

Join