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Ayurveda (Devanagari: आयुर्वेद ) or Ayurvedic medicine is a form of alternative medicine in use primarily in the Indian subcontinent. The word "Ayurveda" is a tatpurusha compound of āyus "life" and veda "knowledge", and would roughly translate as the "Science of Life". Ayurveda deals with the measures of healthy living, along with therapeutic measures that relate to physical, mental, social and spiritual harmony. Ayurveda is also one among the few traditional systems of medicine involving surgery.
Ayurveda was first described by Agnivesha, in his book Agnivesh tantra. The book was later revised by Charaka, and renamed to Charaka Samhitā[2]. Another early text of Ayurveda is the Sushruta Samhitā, which in addition to the Charaka Samhitā, served as the textual material in the ancient Universities of Takshashila and Nalanda. These texts are believed to have been written around the beginning of the Common Era, and is based on a holistic approach rooted in earlier Vedic culture. Its conspicuous use of the word veda, or knowledge, reveals its role in early Hinduism and explains its popularity in India. The origin of Ayurvedic medical sciences is claimed to come from a divine revelation from Lord Brahma.
In 2001 archaeologists studying the remains of two men from Mehrgarh, India, made the discovery that the people of Indus Valley Civilization, even from the early Harappan periods (c. 3300 BC), had knowledge of medicine and dentistry.
The physical anthropologist that carried out the examinations, Professor Andrea Cucina from the University of Missouri-Columbia, made the discovery when he was cleaning the teeth from one of the men (see History of medicine). Later research in the same area found evidence of teeth having been drilled, dating back 9,000 years.
Documented references to the origin of Ayurveda are not available. The age of Ayurveda has been established on the basis of correlating the evidence with other disciplines as well as circumstantial evidence. Ayurveda is said to have been first complied as a text by Agnivesha, in his book Agnivesh tantra, which was written during Vedic times. The book was later revised by Charaka, and renamed to Charaka Samhitā. Other early texts of Ayurveda include the Charaka Samhitā and the Sushruta Samhitā. The system was orally transferred via the Gurukul system until a script came into existence.
- excerpted from Wikipedia, 2006 |
