Ayurveda (/a.

rved/)[1] is a system of medicine with historical roots in the Indian

subcontinent.[2] Globalized and modernized practices derived from Ayurveda traditions are a type
of complementary or alternative medicine.[3][4] In countries beyond India, Ayurveda therapies and
practices have been integrated in general wellness applications and in some cases in medical
use.[5]
The main classical Ayurveda texts begin with accounts of the transmission of medical knowledge
from the Gods to sages, and then to human physicians.[6] In Sushruta Samhita (Sushruta's
Compendium), Sushruta wrote that Dhanvantari, Hindu god of Ayurveda, incarnated himself as a
king of Varanasi and taught medicine to a group of physicians, including Sushruta.[7][8] Ayurveda
therapies have varied and evolved over more than two millennia.[2] Therapies are typically based
on complex herbal compounds, minerals and metal substances (perhaps under the influence of
early Indian alchemy or rasa shastra). Ancient Ayurveda texts also taught surgical techniques,
including rhinoplasty, kidney stone extractions, sutures, and the extraction of foreign objects.[9][10]
Although laboratory experiments suggest it is possible that some substances used in Ayurveda
might be developed into effective treatments, there is no evidence that any are effective as
currently practiced.[11] Ayurveda medicine is considered pseudoscientific.[12] Other researchers
consider it a protoscience, or trans-science system instead.[13][14] In a 2008 study, close to 21% of
Ayurveda U.S. and Indian-manufactured patent medicines sold through the Internet were found
to contain toxic levels of heavy metals, specifically lead, mercury, and arsenic.[15] The public
health implications of such metallic contaminants in India are unknown.[15]
Some scholars assert that Ayurveda originated in prehistoric times,[16] and that some of the
concepts of Ayurveda have existed from the time of the Indus Valley Civilization or even
earlier.[17] Ayurveda developed significantly during the Vedic period and later some of the non-
Vedic systems such as Buddhism and Jainism also developed medical concepts and practices
that appear in the classical Ayurveda texts.[17][18] Humoral balance is emphasized, and
suppressing natural urges is considered unhealthy and claimed to lead to illness.[19] Ayurveda
treatises describe three elemental substances, the humours (Sanskrit doas), wind
(Sanskrit vta), bile (pitta) and phlegm (kapha)), and state that equality (Skt. smyatva) of
the doas results in health, while inequality (viamatva) results in disease. Ayurveda treatises
divide medicine into eight canonical components. Ayurveda practitioners had developed various
medicinal preparations and surgical procedures from at least the beginning of the common era.[20]

Contents
[hide]

1Eight components
2Principles and terminology
3Practice
o 3.1Diagnosis
o 3.2Treatment and prevention
o 3.3Substances used
o 3.4Panchakarma
4Current status
o 4.1India
o 4.2Other countries on the Indian subcontinent
o 4.3Outside the Indian subcontinent
5Classification and efficacy
o 5.1Research
5.1.1Use of toxic metals
6History
o 6.1Main texts
o 6.2Illnesses portrayed
o 6.3Further development and spread
7Footnotes
 8See also
9References
10Further reading
11External links

Eight components
The earliest classical Sanskrit works on Ayurveda describe medicine as being divided into eight
components (Skt. aga).[21][22] This characterization of the physicians' art, "the medicine that has
eight components" (Skt. cikitsym agy ), is first found in the Sanskrit
epic the Mahbhrata, ca 4th century BCE.[23] The components are:[24][need quotation to verify], [25]

Kyacikits: general medicine, medicine of the body

Kaumra-bhtya: the treatment of children, paediatrics
alyatantra: surgical techniques and the extraction of foreign objects
lkyatantra: treatment of ailments affecting ears, eyes, nose, mouth, etc. ("ENT")
Bhtavidy: pacification of possessing spirits, and the people whose minds are affected by
such possession
Agadatantra: toxicology
Rasyanatantra: rejuvenation and tonics for increasing lifespan, intellect and strength
Vjkaraatantra: aphrodisiacs and treatments for increasing the volume and viability of
semen and sexual pleasure.

Principles and terminology

Further information: Mahbhta

Shown in the image is Nagarjuna, known chiefly for his doctrine of the Madhyamaka (middle path). He
wrote the medical works The Hundred Prescriptions and The Precious Collection, among others.[26]
The three dohas and the five elements from which they are composed.

The word "ayurveda" is Sanskrit: , yurveda, meaning "life-knowledge".[citation needed]

The central theoretical ideas of Ayurveda developed in the mid-first millennium BCE, and show
parallels with Skhya and Vaieika philosophies, as well as
with Buddhism and Jainism.[27][28] Balance is emphasized, and suppressing natural urges is
considered unhealthy and claimed to lead to illness.[19] For example, to suppress sneezing is said
to potentially give rise to shoulder pain.[29] However, people are also cautioned to stay within the
limits of reasonable balance and measure when following nature's urges.[19] For example,
emphasis is placed on moderation of food intake,[30] sleep, and sexual intercourse.[19]
Ayurveda names seven basic tissues (dhatu), which are plasma (rasa), blood (rakta), muscles
(mmsa), fat (meda), bone (asthi), marrow (majja), and semen (shukra). Like the medicine of
classical antiquity, Ayurveda has historically divided bodily substances into five classical
elements (Sanskrit [maha]panchabhuta, viz. earth, water, fire, air and ether.[31] There are also
twenty gunas (qualities or characteristics) which are considered to be inherent in all substances.
These are organized in ten pairs: heavy/light, cold/hot, unctuous/dry, dull/sharp, stable/mobile,
soft/hard, non-slimy/slimy, smooth/coarse, minute/gross, and viscous/liquid.[32]
Ayurveda also names three elemental substances, the doshas (called Vata, Pitta and Kapha),
and states that a balance of the doshas results in health, while imbalance results in disease. One
Ayurvedic view is that the doshas are balanced when they are equal to each other, while another
view is that each human possesses a unique combination of the doshas which define this
person's temperament and characteristics. In either case, it says that each person should
modulate their behavior or environment to increase or decrease the doshas and maintain their
natural state.
In medieval taxonomies of the Sanskrit knowledge systems, Ayurveda is assigned a place as a
subsidiary Veda (upaveda).[33] Some medicinal plant names from the Atharvaveda and other
Vedas can be found in subsequent Ayurveda literature.[34] The earliest recorded theoretical
statements about the canonical models of disease in Ayurveda occur in the earliest Buddhist
Canon.[35]

Practice
Ayurvedic doctors regard physical existence, mental existence, and personality as a unit, with
each element being able to influence the others.[clarification needed] This is a holistic approach used
during diagnosis and therapy, and is a fundamental aspect of Ayurveda. Another part of
Ayurvedic treatment says that there are channels (srotas) which transport fluids, and that the
channels can be opened up by massage treatment using oils and Swedana (fomentation).
Unhealthy channels are thought to cause disease.[36]

Diagnosis
Ayurveda has eight ways to diagnose illness, called Nadi (pulse), Mootra (urine), Mala (stool),
Jihva (tongue), Shabda (speech), Sparsha (touch), Druk (vision), and Aakruti
(appearance).[37] Ayurvedic practitioners approach diagnosis by using the five senses.[38] For
example, hearing is used to observe the condition of breathing and speech.[31] The study of the
lethal points or marman marma is of special importance.[32]

An Ayurvedic practitioner applying oils using head massage.

Treatment and prevention

Two of the eight branches of classical Ayurveda deal with surgery (alya-cikits and lkya-
tantra), but contemporary Ayurveda tends to stress attaining vitality by building a
healthy metabolic system and maintaining good digestion and excretion.[32] Ayurveda also
focuses on exercise, yoga, and meditation.[39] One type of prescription is a Sattvic diet.
Ayurveda follows the concept of Dinacharya, which says that natural cycles (waking, sleeping,
working, meditation etc.) are important for health. Hygiene, including regular bathing, cleaning of
teeth, skin care, and eye washing, is also a central practice.[31]

Substances used
Plant-based treatments in Ayurveda may be derived from roots, leaves, fruits, bark, or seeds
such as cardamom and cinnamon. In the 19th century, William Dymock and co-authors
summarized hundreds of plant-derived medicines along with the uses, microscopic structure,
chemical composition, toxicology, prevalent myths and stories, and relation to commerce
in British India.[40] Animal products used in Ayurveda include milk, bones, and gallstones. In
addition, fats are prescribed both for consumption and for external use. Consumption of minerals,
including sulphur, arsenic, lead, copper sulfate and gold, are also prescribed.[31] The addition of
minerals to herbal medicine is called rasa shastra.
Ayurveda uses alcoholic beverages called Madya,[41] which are said to adjust the doshas by
increasing Pitta and reducing Vatta and Kapha.[41] Madya are classified by the raw material and
fermentation process, and the categories include: sugar-based, fruit-based, cereal-based, cereal-
based with herbs, fermentated with vinegar, and tonic wines. The intended outcomes can include
causing purgation, improving digestion or taste, creating dryness, or loosening joints. Ayurvedic
texts describe Madya as non-viscid and fast-acting, and say that it enters and cleans minute
pores in the body.[41]
Purified opium[42] is used in eight Ayurvedic preparations[43] and is said to balance the Vata and
Kapha doshas and increase the Pitta dosha.[42] It is prescribed for diarrhea and dysentery, for
increasing the sexual and muscular ability, and for affecting the brain. The sedative and pain-
relieving properties of opium are not considered in Ayurveda. The use of opium is not found in
the ancient Ayurvedic texts, and is first mentioned in the Sarngadhara Samhita (1300-1400 CE),
a book on pharmacy used in Rajasthan in Western India, as an ingredient of an aphrodisiac to
delay male ejaculation.[44] It is possible that opium was brought to India along with or before
the Mohammedan conquest.[43][45] The book Yoga Ratnakara (1700-1800 CE, unknown author),
which is popular in Maharashtra, uses opium in a herbal-mineral composition prescribed for
diarrhea.[44] In the Bhaisajya Ratnavali, opium and camphor are used for acute gastroenteritis. In
this drug, the respiratory depressant action of opium is counteracted by the respiratory stimulant
property of Camphor.[44] Later books have included the narcotic property for use as analgesic
pain reliever.[44]
Cannabis indica is also absent from the ancient Ayurveda books, and is first mentioned in
the Sarngadhara Samhita as a treatment for diarrhea.[44] In the Bhaisajya Ratnavali it is named as
an ingredient in an aphrodisiac.[44]
Ayurveda says that both oil and tar can be used to stop bleeding,[31] and that traumatic bleeding
can be stopped by four different methods: ligation of the blood vessel, cauterisation by heat, use
of preparations to facilitate clotting, and use of preparations to constrict the blood vessels. Oils
are also used in a number of ways, including regular consumption, anointing, smearing, head
massage, application to affected areas,[46][not in citation given] and oil pulling. Liquids may also be poured
on the patient's forehead, a technique called shirodhara.

Cataract in human eye magnified view seen on examination with a slit lamp. Cataract surgery is
mentioned in the Sushruta Samhita, as a procedure to be performed with a jabamukhi salaka, a curved
needle used to loosen the obstructing phlegm and push it out of the field of vision. The eye would later be
soaked with warm butter and then bandaged.[47]

Panchakarma
Further information: Panchakarma
According to Ayurveda, the technique of panchakarma (Devangar: )) eliminates toxic
elements from the body.[48] Panchakarma includes Vamana, Virechana, Basti, Nasya and
Raktamokshana. It is preceded by Poorvakarma as a preparatory step, and is followed by
Paschatkarma and Peyadikarma.

Current status

A typical Ayurvedic pharmacy, Rishikesh.

Based on the World Health Assembly resolution on traditional medicine (WHA62.13, compare as
well the 2008 Beijing declaration on traditional medicine[49]), the WHO has established a
traditional medicine strategy, which involves, among other complementary health systems,
Ayurveda.[50][page needed] The first previous global strategy was published in 2002 and dealt especially
with herbal medicines. The current version (2014-2023) is beginning to consider aspects of
T&CM practices and practitioners and whether and how they should be integrated into overall
health service delivery.[50] It is as well part of the 2013 WHO, WIPO, WTO TRIPS study on health
innovation and access to medicines.[51]
The WTO[52] mentions Ayurveda in its intellectual property strategy. Traditional medicine,
including Ayurveda, contributes significantly to the health status of many communities, and is
increasingly used within certain communities in developed countries. Traditional medicine has a
long history of use in health maintenance and in disease prevention and treatment, particularly
for chronic diseases.[citation needed] Suitable recognition of traditional medicine is an important element
of national health policies and has as well important basis for new products with significant export
potential.[52] WTO, WIPO and WHO ask for respect for both the economic value and the social
and cultural significance of traditional knowledge and supports documentation of traditional
medical knowledge and enhanced regulation of quality, safety and efficacy of such products. The
WHO paper asks to integrate traditional and complementary medicine services, where
appropriate, into health care service delivery and self-health care and to promote an improved
universal health coverage by doing so.[50]

India
See also: Healthcare in India
Tulsi-flower (holy basil), an Ayurvedic herb

According to some sources, up to 80 percent of people in India use some form of traditional
medicine, a category which includes Ayurveda.[53][54]
In 1970, the Indian Medical Central Council Act which aimed to standardise qualifications for
Ayurveda practitioners and provide accredited institutions for its study and research was passed
by the Parliament of India.[55] In 1971, the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) was
established under the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and
Homoeopathy (AYUSH), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to monitor higher education in
Ayurveda in India.[56] The Indian government supports research and teaching in Ayurveda through
many channels at both the national and state levels, and helps institutionalise traditional
medicine so that it can be studied in major towns and cities.[57] The state-sponsored Central
Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) is designed to do research on
Ayurveda.[58] Many clinics in urban and rural areas are run by professionals who qualify from
these institutes.[55] As of 2013, India has over 180 training centers offer degrees in traditional
Ayurvedic medicine.[39][59]
To fight biopiracy and unethical patents, in 2001 the government of India set up the Traditional
Knowledge Digital Library as a repository for formulations of various systems of Indian medicine,
such as Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha.[60][61] The formulations come from over 100 traditional
Ayurveda books.[62] An Indian Academy of Sciences document quoting a 2003-04 report states
that India had 432,625 registered medical practitioners, 13,925 dispensaries, 2,253 hospitals and
a bed strength of 43,803. 209 under-graduate teaching institutions and 16 post-graduate
institutions.[63] Insurance companies cover expenses for Ayurvedic treatments in case of
conditions such as spinal cord disorders, bone disorder, arthritis and cancer. Such claims
comprise 5-10 percent of the country's health insurance claims.[64]
Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, an organisation dedicated to fighting superstition
in India, considers Ayurveda to be pseudoscience.[65]

Other countries on the Indian subcontinent

About 75%-80% of the population of Nepal use Ayurveda,[66][67] and it is the most practiced form of
medicine in the country.[68]

Ayurveda spas are common in Sri Lanka, and some functions as home-based income generating activity.
The Sri Lankan tradition of Ayurveda is similar to the Indian tradition. Practitioners of Ayurveda in
Sri Lanka refer to Sanskrit texts which are common to both countries. However, they do differ in
some aspects, particularly in the herbs used.
In 1980, the Sri Lankan government established a Ministry of Indigenous Medicine to revive and
regulate Ayurveda.[69] The Institute of Indigenous Medicine (affiliated to the University of
Colombo) offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and MD degrees in Ayurveda Medicine and
Surgery, and similar degrees in unani medicine.[70] In the public system, there are currently 62
Ayurvedic hospitals and 208 central dispensaries, which served about 3 million people (about
11% of Sri Lanka's population) in 2010. In total, there are about 20,000 registered practitioners of
Ayurveda in the country.[71][72]
According to the Mahavamsa, an ancient chronicle of Sinhalese royalty from the sixth century
C.E., King Pandukabhaya of Sri Lanka (reigned 437 BCE to 367 BCE) had lying-in-homes and
Ayurvedic hospitals (Sivikasotthi-Sala) built in various parts of the country. This is the earliest
documented evidence available of institutions dedicated specifically to the care of the sick
anywhere in the world.[73][74] Mihintale Hospital is the oldest in the world.[75]

Outside the Indian subcontinent

See also: Ayurveda in America
Ayurveda is a system of traditional medicine developed during antiquity and the medieval period,
and as such is comparable to pre-modern Chinese and European systems of medicine.
However, beginning in the 1960s, Ayurveda has been advertised as alternative medicine in the
Western world. Due to different laws and medical regulations in the rest of the world, the
unregulated practice and commercialisation of Ayurveda has raised ethical and legal issues. In
some instances, Ayurvedic practices or terminology have also been adapted specifically for
Western consumption, notably in the case of "Maharishi Ayurveda" in the 1980s. In some cases,
this involved active fraud on the part of proponents of Ayurveda in an attempt to falsely represent
the system as equal to the standards of modern medical research.[76][77][78]
Baba Hari Dass was an early proponent who helped bring Ayurveda to the US in the early 1970s.
He taught classes derived from the Surutha Sahit and the Charaka Sahitha, leading to the
establishment of the Mount Madonna Institute, College of Ayurveda, Ayurveda World, and
Ayurvedic pharmacy.[clarification needed] He invited several notable Ayurvedic teachers, including Vasant
Lad, Sarita Shrestha, and Ram Harsh Singh. The Ayurvedic practitioner Michael Tierra wrote that
"[t]he history of Ayurveda in North America will always owe a debt to the selfless contributions of
Baba Hari Dass."[79]
In the United States, the practice of Ayurveda is not licensed or regulated by any state.
Practitioners of Ayurveda can be licensed in other healthcare fields such as massage
therapy or midwifery, and a few states have approved schools teaching Ayurveda.[80]

Classification and efficacy

Although laboratory experiments suggest it is possible that some substances in Ayurveda might
be developed into effective treatments, there is no evidence that any are effective in
themselves.[11] According to Cancer Research UK, no significant scientific evidence has shown
effectiveness of Ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of any disease, although massage and
relaxation are often beneficial for some cancer patients and there are indications from animal
studies that some herbal products used in Ayurveda might be explored further.[59]
Today, ayurvedic medicine is considered pseudoscientific on account of its confusion between
reality and metaphysical concepts.[12] Other researchers debate whether it should be considered
a protoscience, an unscientific, or trans-science system instead.[13][14][81]
A review of the use of Ayurveda for cardiovascular disease concluded that the evidence is not
convincing for the use of any Ayurvedic herbal treatment for heart disease or hypertension, but
that many herbs used by Ayurvedic practitioners could be appropriate for further research.[82]
Research into ayurveda has been characterized as pseudoscience. Both the lack of scientific
soundness in the theoretical foundations of ayurveda and the quality of research have been
criticized.[81][83][84][85]

Research
In India, research in Ayurveda is undertaken by the Ministry of AYUSH, an abbreviation for the
Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy, through a
national network of research institutes.[86]
In Nepal, the National Ayurvedic Training and Research Centre (NATRC) researches medicinal
herbs in the country.[87]
In Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine looks after the research in