Origins of Ayurveda

Ayurveda dates back an estimated 5,000-10,000 years and is widely considered to be the oldest form of healthcare in the world. It is understood by many scholars that knowledge of Ayurveda spread out from India and influenced the ancient Chinese system of medicine, Unani medicine, and the humoral medicine practiced by Hippocrates in Greece. For this reason, Ayurveda is often referred to as the “Mother of all healing”.

The initial phase of development of Indian medicine is traced back to India’s Indus River civilization that flourished from about 2700 to 1500 B.C. Mythico-religious hymns associated with this civilization were written down in Sanskrit in the form of Vedas. Out of these Vedas, Atharvaveda is the youngest and contains many references to medical lore.

Ayurveda flourished from around 800 B.C. to A.D. 1000, its so-called golden age. The three most important treaties in Ayurveda appeared during the golden age and are referred to collectively as the “Senior Triad”: the Charaka Samhita, the Sushruta Samhita, and the Ashtanga Hridaya Samhita. The next important treaties in Ayurveda are the Madhava Nidana, the Sarangdhara Samhita, and the Bhava Prakasha, known collectively as the “Junior Triad”.

Before Ayurveda began its recent renewal in the West, it went through a period of decline in India when Western medical education became dominant during the era of British rule. Ayurveda became a second-class option used primarily by traditional spiritual practitioners and the poor.

After India gained its independence in 1947, Ayurveda was recognized as an official form of medicine along with allopathic, homeopathy, naturopathy, unani, tibb, siddha and yoga therapy. In the 21st century Ayurveda spread throughout the world and it is often referred to as ‘Ayurveda revisited’.