Indian medicine are not only just pills to cure it is a holistic medicine blended with spiritual belief which is no where in the GLOBE.

1. Ayurveda Medicine

2. Description
• Preventative and Curative Aspects
• Advice on aspects of daily life
– Cleaning teeth
– Diet
– Exercise and regimen

3. Definition
• Ayurveda can be translated from Sanskrit as
the “knowledge or science of life.”
• It is called ‘ayurveda’ because it tells us
(vedayati) which substances,qualities, and
actions are life enhancing and (aursuya)
which are not.

4. Focus
• Ayurvedic medicine focuses on achieving
optimal health through the integration of
mind and body with nature

5. Treatments
• Designed for the needs of each individual
and include:
• yoga, meditation & breathing exercises
• diet
• internal cleansings
• herbal preparations
• aromatherapy
• massage

6. Treatments
• Practitioners are also familiar with:
• Climatolgy
• Psychology
• Astrology
• Gem therapy
• Sound therapy
• Color therapy

7. History
• Ayurveda is possibly the oldest medical
system in the world
• It originated in the Indus River Valley
approximately 5,000 years ago

8. Indus Age
• Population was nature-oriented
• Agriculture provided a stable economy
• Trade flourished
• Merchant class ruled
• Urbanized & sophisticated culture
• City-states shared a pictographic script &
system of weights and measures

9. Indus Age
• Well developed sewage system and bathing
facilities led to sanitary conditions and
literature of the time reveals a strong
emphasis on hygiene
• During this time the wise sages gathered in
the foothills of the Himalayas and directed
their attention to disease and its
consequences for humanity

10. Indus Age
• They left civilization to gain the peace and
serenity they needed for their group
meditation and to attain the knowledge they
sought
• This is where Ayurveda began

11. Vedic Age
• Early Aryans were semi-nomadic
• Kept large herds of cattle
• Engaged in agriculture
• Religion was nature based
• No temples, prayers consisted of mantras
• No awareness of caste

12. Vedic Age
• People rather than land were considered the
society’s strength
• Warriors ruled society and priests
performed rituals for protection
• The first of the four Vedas, the Rig Veda
was believed to have been composed during
this time

13. The Vedas
• Described the origin of the universe
• Described the natural world
• Described the human race
• Described the social order

14. Rig Veda
• Collection of more than 1,000 poetic hymns
• Provides the basic concepts for all the other
Vedas
• Contains most aspects of Vedic science
– Yoga
– Meditation
– Mantra
– Ayurveda

15. Other Vedas
• Sama Veda - puts musical chant to the Rig
Veda hymns
• Yazur Veda - deals with yoga rituals and
sacrifices for purifying the mind and
awakening consciousness
• Atharva Veda - literature containing chants
and incantations to ward off evil,
misfortune, and disease

16. All Vedas Have Two Parts
• The mantra - consists of prayer and praise
to the Absolute
• The brahmana - a set of detailed directions
to follow in the ceremonies at which the
mantras were used

17. Other Components of Vedas
• Anranyakas - secret & mystical
explanations of the rituals
• The Upanishads - the basic philosophical
tenets of Ayurveda

18. Earliest Texts
• Caraka Samhita
– English translation is over 1,000 pages
• Susruta Samhita
– English translation is over 1,700 pages
• Bhela Samhita
– Not yet translated
• The Sanskrit word samhita means
’compendium’

19. Basic Tenets of Chraka
• Chraka contains classifications of diseases
• Sections related to:
– herbs
– nutrition
– embryology & anatomy

20. Basic Tenets of Susruta
• Susruta contain descriptive surgical
techniques:
– eye surgery
– removal of foreign bodies
– plastic surgery on the face

21. Eight Specialties in the
Samhitas
• Internal medicine
• Pediatrics
• Psychological medicine
• Ophthalmology
• General & Specialized Surgery
• Toxicology
• Geriatrics
• Eugenics and Aphrodisiacs

22. Indicators of Good Health
• All 3 doshas are in balance
• All bodily tissues are functioning properly
• All 5 senses are functioning normally
• Normal elimination of waste products
• The channels of the body are unimpeded
• Perfect harmony of min, body and
consciousnes, individual is happy

23. Samhitas
• Chraka - Associated with Northwest India
• Susruta - Composed in Benares
• Exact date of compositions not known
• May date back to the time of Buddha (4th
century BC)
• Sanskrit texts available today represent
work of the latter Ist millennium AD

24. Samhitas
• Chraka & Susruta considered cornerstone
texts of Ayurveda
• The texts explicitly state that they have been
edited, supplemented,and partially rewritten
by later authors

25. Samhitas
• Chraka popular in Northern India
• Susruta popular in Southern India
• Reasons - geographical distribution of
surviving manuscripts, and by the location
of surviving living traditions of orally
transmitted medical literature

26. Medicines found in Samhitas
• An array of animal vegetable, and mineral
substances
– Animal - the urine, milk, flesh, fat, and blood of
several animals such as horses, goats,
elephants, camels, cows, and sheep
– Plants - the seeds, flowers, fruit, tree bark, and
leaves
– Mineral - various gems, silver, copper, salt,
clay, tin , lead, gold, and sulphur

27. Chraka Oath of Initiation
• Comparable to Hippocratic Oath
• Rite of Initiation
– live a celibate life
– speak the truth
– eat a vegetarian diet
– total confidentiality of privileged information
– work night & day for relief of his patients
– Be free of envy and never carry firearms

28. Chraka Oath of Initiation
• Rite of Initiation
– complete subjugation to his teacher, except
where this would be in conflict with higher
ethical values
– never desert or take sexual advantage of
patients
– with hold treatment from enemies of the king,
generally wicked people & women unattended
by husbands or guardians
– visited patients’ homes with an acquaintance

29. Theoretical Foundation
• Based on a doctrine of 3 bodily humors
– wind
– bile
– phlegm
• Theory is comparable to Hippocrates and
Galen
• Medicines are mainly herbal

30. Emphasis on Moderation
• Intake of food
• Sleep
• Exercise
• Sex
• Dosage of Medicines
• It is important to stay within the limits of
reasonable measure and balance

31. In Practice
• Diagnostic & practical aspects depended on
through knowledge of Sanskrit texts
• Memorization of large amounts of material
and verse associated with the 3 humors
• Examining patient and their symptoms
recalled verses that encapsulated the
condition confronting him

32. In Practice
• These triggered further recollection of
verses and presented a prognosis and
treatment
• A wide range of substances,qualities, and
actions offered the Ayurvedic physician an
excellent combination of freedom to act and
structure within which to exercise choice

33. In Practice
• To be good at Ayurveda required years of
training
• Required native intelligence and sensitivity
• Physicians were judged by reputation alone
• Sanskrit literature contains satrical passage
about ill-qualified practioners

34. Susruta Samhita & Surgery
• Extensive chapters on surgery
• Describes how surgeons should be trained
• Tells exactly how to perform operations
• Claims surgery is most effective of 8
branches of medical knowledge
• Little evidence of these practices persisted
beyond the time of the text

35. Decline of Surgery
• Some may have existed as caste skills,
separated from mainstream Ayurvedic
practice
• Surgical instruments did not survive
• Later literature shows no evidence of
procedures performed by Susruta
• Caste taboos forbidding physical contact

36. Decline of Surgery
• Examination of pulse and urine gained
popularity
• Massage therapies gained popularity
• Evidence seems to indicate that early
surgical practices were an isolated
phenomenon

37. The Practice of Ayurveda
• A good physician tries to first discover a
patient’s strengths before looking for
weakness, hoping to use the former to
counteract the later
• All physicians must constantly radiated
curative energy toward their patients
• Faith & hope must be continually reinforced
by physician

38. Doshas
• Ayurvedic medicine takes into
consideration the different mind/body types
based on the three doshas within the body
• Vatta - principle of movement
• Pitta -heat & metabolism
• Kapha - structure & solidity

39. Ayurvedic Assessment
• Assessment of patient
• Assessment of disease
• Areas examined
– pulse
– site of disease
– digestion
– general metabolism
– eyes & tongue
– tactile response

40. Other Considerations
• Age
• Gender
• Dietary habits
• The season