Ayurveda is an ancient medical system from the Indus Valley, emphasizing the integration of mind, body, and nature for optimal health. The practice includes personalized treatments such as yoga, diet, and herbal medicine, with a historical foundation in the Vedas that detail the body's three doshas and principles of balance. Key texts like the Caraka Samhita and Susruta Samhita have shaped Ayurvedic practices, which focus on understanding individual patient strengths and maintaining health through holistic approaches.

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