The Origins of Ayurveda
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India’s gift to humanity is a treasury of knowledge collectively called ‘The Vedas’ dating back to approximately 8000 BC. Within the verses of the Vedas lies the mysterious history and origins of Ayurveda as we know it now.
When we think of Vedas, think of a library of encyclopedias, a treasure trove of knowledge of about 219 volumes, each one focusing on a specific aspect of living successfully. What exists today is only 1% of what used to be studied and preserved during the Vedic times.
“ the original Vedas were comprised of 1,180 sakhas (i.e. branches), of which only 7 or 8 sakhas (less than 1 %) are remembered now. As a result, it is only natural to expect that even within the texts that were finally documented, various errors and omissions had crept in.”
The Vedic period, the time when the Vedas were written down, is said to extend through the later Bronze and Iron Ages in the North of India, possibly around 3300 BCE.
You will notice dates being off, as historians do not agree based on estimated antiquity of various artifacts found, mentions in surviving literature and mentions of events that happened at a similar time that have a clear date, for example, the drying up of a river, a historic flood, the birth of Buddha, etc.
The Vedas were inscribed on dried palm leaves. Each manuscript had a life of about 600 years and lineages, who were guardians of that particular Veda, rewrote the manuscript as the old ones wore out.
Before the the Vedas were written down, they were passed down orally and were known as “Shruti” or heard knowledge and prior to that, they were “Smriti “ or remembered knowledge. Entire communities lived on patronage from wealthy clans, their sole purpose was to recall and recite entire books. This was a sacred duty and God and good karma was tied to this work.
The Vedas are classified into four major Vedas, each holding several sub-Vedas.
Ayurveda
Ayurveda is a sub-Veda of Atharva Veda, the fourth and last Veda which outlines and describes all practical matters concerning a long successful prosperous life as a human.
(Ayurveda is also mentioned in the Rig Veda.)
The verses that make up the Ayurvedic texts were compiled as poetry and prose by ancient research scientists who minutely observed nature, the environment, living beings, natural behaviors of plants and animals, experimented with their hypothesis, and came to evidence-based conclusions.
This knowledge filtered down through the centuries and a large collective of physicians tested the instructions, the medicinal properties, and symptoms of diseases. What was found to be accurate and reliable was passed on to the next generation of students. Only the most respected dared to make changes due to the sacred nature of this knowledge.
Ayurveda is the guiding knowledge by which a healthy human can live all aspects of life here-physical, mental, intellectual, and spiritual, based on dharma, righteous action.
The classic texts focus mainly on living a long healthy life, the prevention of diseases, and the onset of senility. A comparatively smaller portion of this knowledge is dedicated to the curing of diseases.
Prevention is greatly emphasized by dinacharya or wholesome daily rituals, food combinations and dos and don’ts related to diet, environment, behavior towards others, and the influence of thoughts and poor habits.
All learned physicians stress the importance of dinacharya and ritucharya (seasonal rituals), disease management is the last resort.
Ayurveda Acharyas
The three original Ayurveda acharyas, respectfully called Brihat Trayees, or the three most highly respected teachers were Sushruta, Charaka, and Vagbhata.
Madhavanidana, Sarngadhara Samhita, and Bhavaprakasa are the popular Laghu Trayees or the lesser trio written by comparatively lesser-known physicians Acharya Madhava, Pandit Sarngadhara and Bhava Mishra respectively. These books are also still in use by modern Ayurveda physicians.
Ayurveda materia medica Charaka Samhita (Charaka’s compilation) and Sushruta Samhita (Sushruta’s compilation) were written down in 600 BC and 1000 BC respectively.
These two physician sages were possibly Hindu or Buddhist or the times were such that what was prevalent was an amalgam of Hindu-Buddhism.
Sushruta was the physician to the King of modern-day Varanasi or ancient Kashi and his remedies focused on surgical methods and tools, which he possibly gained his mastery over by healing wounded soldiers.
He scientifically depicted the various aspects of human biology, anatomy, surgery, and surgical instruments in his ‘Sushruta Samhita’.
This great classic on the science of surgery earned him the title of ‘father of surgery’.
Vagbhata’s contribution to Ayurveda was redacting his grandfather’s voluminous medical text called Ashtanga Sangraha into a much more lucid volume called Ashtanga Hridaya, the heart of the Ashtanga knowledge, the eight branches of Ayurveda medicine.
Vagbhata was from the Indus Valley Civilization, which was called Sindhu Desha, the land of the people of the Sindhu River.
(The Sindhu river drains out of Mansarovar Lake in the Tibetan plateau, on the northern slopes of the Kailash Mountain Range and runs through Pakistan.)
The texts mentioned by the greater trio, Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita are called Akara granthas. This means they are authentic original works of the authors.
Ashtanga Hridaya is called as Prakarana grantha i. e., a manual created by references from other texts in use during the time.
Out of all eight branches of Ayurveda, Acharya Charaka has given his highest priority to Kayachikitsa i.e. general medicine, whereas Acharya Sushruta emphasized surgical interventions in his text Sushruta Samhita.
Acharya Vagbhata has given equal importance to all the eight branches in Ashtanga Hrdaya. It consists of 6 divisions and 120 chapters.
He called it the complete manual for the physician of the future who may not possess the intelligence of the giants of the past.
Various authors have written many commentaries on Ashtanga Hridaya Samhita, Arunadutta's 'Sarvangasundari', and Hemadri's 'Ayurveda Rasayana' are popular commentaries in use today.
Sri Lanka Ayurveda
Sri Lanka developed its own Ayurvedic system based on a series of prescriptions handed down from generation to generation over a period of 3,000 years. The ancient kings, who were also prominent physicians, sustained its survival and longevity.
King Buddhadasa (398 AD), the most influential of these physicians, wrote the obtain the permit prior to start treatments for the patients or prior to starting making medicines according to the ancient traditions.
Ancient inscriptions on rock surfaces reveal that organized medical services have existed within the country for centuries. In fact, Sri Lanka claims to be the first country in the world to have established dedicated hospitals with the capability of performing surgeries even for the animals. The Sri Lankan mountain Mihintale still has the ruins of what many believe to be the first hospital in the world. Old hospital sites now attract tourists. These places have come to symbolize a traditional sense of healing and care, which was so prevalent at that time.
Āyurvedic physicians had historically benefited from royal patronage which in turn endowed them with prestige in the island's social hierarchy. From this legacy stems a well-known Sri Lankan saying: "If you can not be a king, become a healer." Traditional medicine had largely died out in Sri Lanka with the advent and ravages of European colonialism and the growth in popularity of prescription drugs. In recent years, however, increasing numbers of tourists have been seeking out alternative remedies to persistent chronic ailments in traditional Sri Lankan medicine,[4] among other things.
In addition, along with Buddhism and other things made objects of nationalism, āyurveda continues to influence democratic politics and general political discourse in present-day Sri Lanka.
Buddhism and Ayurveda
Sri Lanka is a country with a very old civilization and Ayurveda has been a widely practiced medical system through out the ages.
Deshiya Chikitsa was the earliest system of medicine that existed in Sri Lanka before the advent of Ayurveda. It was handed down from generation to generation and in the course of time Deshiya Chikitsa became fused with Ayurveda.
Ayurveda is considered to have been formally handed over to Sri Lanka during the 3rd century BC with the introduction of Buddhism from North India during the period of King Devanampiyatissa (247-207 BC). Since then it has merged with the indigenous system of medicine that prevailed in Sri Lanka, and has been enhanced, praticed and preserved in an unbroken tradition up to today. Historical records show that there has been an exchange of information on Ayurveda between India and Sri Lanka long before its formal introduction.
Sri Lanka's written history begins with the story of the arrival of King Vijaya around 537 BC. The stories connected to his settlements have continued as history and legend for over 2500 years. However during the prehistoric era, Sri Lanka had a well-developed civilization in comparison to other countries in the world. Agriculture, architecture, irrigation, and the medical system were well developed at that time. In addition it is believed that they had means/ facilities of traveling through air. These vehicles were called Dandu Monara Yantraya. During this period the Emperor Maha Bali, Tharaka and Rawana ruled Sri Lanka. They ruled some parts of India as well.
Pulasthi Rishi, the son of the Emperor Tharaka and father of the Emperor Rawana lived about 4400 years ago in Sri Lanka. He is known to have been a skilled physician. Historical Indian Ayurveda texts mention that Pulasthi Rishi participated in the 1st conference of Rishis (seekers of knowledge) held in the Himalaya Kingdom (India) and that he was from Sri Lanka. Son of Pulasthi Rishi, the Emperor Rawana ruled Sri Lanka around 4394 years ago. He was also a physician and is said to have written 3 Ayurveda medical books. They are named as Arka prakashaya, Kumaratantraya, Nadi prakashaya. He was also the inventor of the distillation process.
When King Vijaya came to Sri Lanka (547 BC) with his people, he is said to have brought along some Ayurveda medicine as well. It was however, during the period of King Devanampiyatissa (247 BC) that Buddhism was brought to Sri Lanka and with it, Ayurveda.
King Devanampiyatissa established a hospital for the Buddhist monks at Mihintale. That was the 1st hospital in Sri Lanka and it is one of the oldest hospitals to date, in the world. Even today the ruins of this hospital can be seen. The 1st book on Ayurveda in Sri Lanka is the Sarartha Sangrahaya, which was composed by King Buddhadasa (362 - 409 AD). It contains a detailed account of the preparation of drugs, diagnosis, treatment of diseases, and Ayurveda surgery. King Buddhadasa was a famed Ayurveda physician and surgeon. Later Buddhist monks practiced Ayurveda and wrote several books and promoted Ayurveda in Sri Lanka.
Ayurveda and Buddhism are two interlinked philosophies that Sri Lanka received from India. While Buddhism ceased to be a major influence in India, the roots of Buddhism were firmly planted in Sri Lanka, where it was preserved and continued to thrive, along with the practice of Ayurveda.
At the beginning set Ayurveda was preserved through the oral tradition of memorizing the body of principles and prescriptions. These principles and prescriptions were handed down from one generation to another.
In order to make it easier to memorize, the principles and prescriptions were in rhyme (Stazas) called "Sloka". It was subsequently codified (written down), first in Sanskrit language. "Charaka Sauhita" is a popular text on Ayurveda and is now available in several languages such as Sinhala and English.
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