Orgin Of Ayurveda
Ayurvedavatarana or the origin of Ayurveda is stated to be a divine intervention of the ancient Indian creator God, Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma, believed to be the creator of the universe passed this knowledge directly to Daksha Prajapati in the form of shlokas (sanskrit hymns) sung by Lord Brahma himself. This was in turn passed down through a successive chain of deities to Lord Indra, the protector of dharma (faith/religion). According to this account, the first human exponent of Ayurveda was Saint Bharadvaja, who
learned it directly from Indra. Bharadvaja in turn taught Ayurveda to a group of assembled sages, who then passed down different aspects of this knowledge to their students. According to tradition, Ayurveda was first described in text form by Agnivesha, in his book the Agnivesh tantra. The book was later redacted by Charaka, and became known as the Charaka samhita. Charaka is known as the Father of Medicine.
Another early text of Ayurveda is the Sushruta Samhita, which was compiled by Sushrut, the primary pupil of Dhanvantri, sometime around 1000 BC. Dhanvantri is known as the Father of Surgery, and in the Sushrut Samhita, the teachings and surgical techniques of Dhanvantri are compiled and complemented with additional findings and observations of Sushrut regarding topics ranging from obstetrics and orthopedics to ophthalmology. Sushrut Samhita together with Charak Samhita, served as the textual material within the ancient Universities of Takshashila and Nalanda. The system was transferred orally via the Gurukul system until a script came into existence. The earliest scipts were written on perishable material such as Taalpatra and Bhojpatra, which could not be readily preserved. These were later written on stone and copper sheets. Verses dealing in Ayurveda are found in the Atharvaveda, which indicates the dating back of Ayurveda to the vedas. These texts are believed to have been written around the beginning of the Common Era.
To make learning easier, Ayurveda was divided into eight branches, texts were written on each of these branches.Eight Branches (Ashthanga) of Ayurveda
The eight branches of Ayurveda are:
1. Internal medicine – Kayachikitsa Tantra
2. Surgery – Shalya Tantra
3. Ears, Eyes, Nose and Throat – Shalakya Tantra
4. Pediatrics – Kumarabhritya Tantra
5. Toxicology - Agada Tantra
6. Purification of the genetic organs - Vajikarana Tantra
7. Health and Longevity - Rasayana Tantra
8. Spiritual Healing/Psychiatry - Bhuta Vidya
1.Purana - the myth about Ayurveda:
One of the creation myths is Ksheera sagara medan (ksheera means milk, sagar means ocean and madan means churning). In this story the gods and demons churned for “elixir” (nectar of immortibility) and from this churning of the ocean of milk so many things emerged:
Kamdhenu [a holly cow],
Kalpavruksha [sacred tree],
Goddess Lakshmi [goddess of prosperity],
The Moon,
Poison (Halahala) and
A god called “Dhanvantri” with the nectar in his hand.
Dhanvantri is the god of Ayurveda. He holds the Ayurvedic descriptions and some herbs with his hand.
Whereas Ksheera sagara madan is treated as a myth, the disciple of Dhanvantri, called as “Charaka”, is well known to the world. We can still get his knowledge from a book called “Charakasamhita” written by Charaka. Along with this book, the books Sushruta Samhita [deals with Salya chikitsa = surgery] and Astanga Hridayam are also very famous books in Ayurveda.
2. Ayurveda and the Vedas:
Ayurveda and Veda have a relation in depth. Vedas are ancient doctrines of great knowledge on earth. The major Vedas are four in number and they are Rigveda, Yajurveda, Sama veda and Atharvana veda. Each main veda has one upa veda [sub veda].
Ayurveda is treated as Upaveda of Rigveda and Antharveda (internal part) of Atharvana veda.
Ayurveda is not a merely medical system or a medical kit; it is like sacred science of life.
It helps the human being to lead a happy life with pure mind by providing the whole information about it. So it is treated as Panchamaveda (5th major veda). In Ayurveda there are some “paramparas” [Knowledge from Gods] called Daiva parampara, Siddha parampara and Rishi parampara:
According to Daiva parampara, the flow of the knowledge is like this: it was revealed by Lord Brahma. The knowledge of Ayurveda transformed from Brahma to Ashwini kumar [divine healers] through Prajapati [Son of Brahma]. Ashwini Kumar taught Ayurveda to Indra. From Indra, Ayurveda was revealed to a Saint called Bhardwaj.
According to Rishi parampara: Dhanvantri - Susruuta, Vaitarana, Bambrha, Poshka bhavara, Gopura rakshita and Karaveera - Kasyapa - Atri, Bhrugu and Vasishta.
According to Saivi (worshippers of Lord Siva) sampradaya (sampradaya = cult): Lord Siva - Parvati - Nandi - Agastya - Chulastya - Tairayar.
So the origin of Ayurveda is not clearly known. But according to information from ancient texts, we can say that, Ayurveda is an ancient and higher knowledge which supports human being to lead a happy life in natural way.
Ayurvedavatarana or the origin of Ayurveda is stated to be a divine intervention of the ancient Indian creator God, Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma, believed to be the creator of the universe passed this knowledge directly to Daksha Prajapati in the form of shlokas (sanskrit hymns) sung by Lord Brahma himself. This was in turn passed down through a successive chain of deities to Lord Indra, the protector of dharma (faith/religion). According to this account, the first human exponent of Ayurveda was Saint Bharadvaja, who
learned it directly from Indra. Bharadvaja in turn taught Ayurveda to a group of assembled sages, who then passed down different aspects of this knowledge to their students. According to tradition, Ayurveda was first described in text form by Agnivesha, in his book the Agnivesh tantra. The book was later redacted by Charaka, and became known as the Charaka samhita. Charaka is known as the Father of Medicine.
Another early text of Ayurveda is the Sushruta Samhita, which was compiled by Sushrut, the primary pupil of Dhanvantri, sometime around 1000 BC. Dhanvantri is known as the Father of Surgery, and in the Sushrut Samhita, the teachings and surgical techniques of Dhanvantri are compiled and complemented with additional findings and observations of Sushrut regarding topics ranging from obstetrics and orthopedics to ophthalmology. Sushrut Samhita together with Charak Samhita, served as the textual material within the ancient Universities of Takshashila and Nalanda. The system was transferred orally via the Gurukul system until a script came into existence. The earliest scipts were written on perishable material such as Taalpatra and Bhojpatra, which could not be readily preserved. These were later written on stone and copper sheets. Verses dealing in Ayurveda are found in the Atharvaveda, which indicates the dating back of Ayurveda to the vedas. These texts are believed to have been written around the beginning of the Common Era.
To make learning easier, Ayurveda was divided into eight branches, texts were written on each of these branches.Eight Branches (Ashthanga) of Ayurveda
The eight branches of Ayurveda are:
1. Internal medicine – Kayachikitsa Tantra
2. Surgery – Shalya Tantra
3. Ears, Eyes, Nose and Throat – Shalakya Tantra
4. Pediatrics – Kumarabhritya Tantra
5. Toxicology - Agada Tantra
6. Purification of the genetic organs - Vajikarana Tantra
7. Health and Longevity - Rasayana Tantra
8. Spiritual Healing/Psychiatry - Bhuta Vidya
1.Purana - the myth about Ayurveda:
One of the creation myths is Ksheera sagara medan (ksheera means milk, sagar means ocean and madan means churning). In this story the gods and demons churned for “elixir” (nectar of immortibility) and from this churning of the ocean of milk so many things emerged:
Kamdhenu [a holly cow],
Kalpavruksha [sacred tree],
Goddess Lakshmi [goddess of prosperity],
The Moon,
Poison (Halahala) and
A god called “Dhanvantri” with the nectar in his hand.
Dhanvantri is the god of Ayurveda. He holds the Ayurvedic descriptions and some herbs with his hand.
Whereas Ksheera sagara madan is treated as a myth, the disciple of Dhanvantri, called as “Charaka”, is well known to the world. We can still get his knowledge from a book called “Charakasamhita” written by Charaka. Along with this book, the books Sushruta Samhita [deals with Salya chikitsa = surgery] and Astanga Hridayam are also very famous books in Ayurveda.
2. Ayurveda and the Vedas:
Ayurveda and Veda have a relation in depth. Vedas are ancient doctrines of great knowledge on earth. The major Vedas are four in number and they are Rigveda, Yajurveda, Sama veda and Atharvana veda. Each main veda has one upa veda [sub veda].
Ayurveda is treated as Upaveda of Rigveda and Antharveda (internal part) of Atharvana veda.
Ayurveda is not a merely medical system or a medical kit; it is like sacred science of life.
It helps the human being to lead a happy life with pure mind by providing the whole information about it. So it is treated as Panchamaveda (5th major veda). In Ayurveda there are some “paramparas” [Knowledge from Gods] called Daiva parampara, Siddha parampara and Rishi parampara:
According to Daiva parampara, the flow of the knowledge is like this: it was revealed by Lord Brahma. The knowledge of Ayurveda transformed from Brahma to Ashwini kumar [divine healers] through Prajapati [Son of Brahma]. Ashwini Kumar taught Ayurveda to Indra. From Indra, Ayurveda was revealed to a Saint called Bhardwaj.
According to Rishi parampara: Dhanvantri - Susruuta, Vaitarana, Bambrha, Poshka bhavara, Gopura rakshita and Karaveera - Kasyapa - Atri, Bhrugu and Vasishta.
According to Saivi (worshippers of Lord Siva) sampradaya (sampradaya = cult): Lord Siva - Parvati - Nandi - Agastya - Chulastya - Tairayar.
So the origin of Ayurveda is not clearly known. But according to information from ancient texts, we can say that, Ayurveda is an ancient and higher knowledge which supports human being to lead a happy life in natural way.
