|
Brahma first taught Ayurveda
to the twin physicians of the gods; the Aswins, and they passed it on to Indra
(lord of the sky) and from Indra it was passed on to the different sages who
in turn passed it on to their sons and disciples. Thus Ayurveda - the science
of longevity spread.
Historically,
the origin of Indian medicine can be traced to the Vedic periods or Vedas -
especially to 'Atharva Veda' which mentions 2 systems of medicine; first, the
system predominantly of charms and magico-religious medicine; second, the system
of drugs used on an empirical
basis. The change in the outlook of medicine from the magico-religious to the
physical causation and theories could be the result of the philosophical concepts
of the 'Nyaya Vaisesika' and the 'Samkhya' on which the theoretical structure
of the Ayurdeva came to be based.
The
'Atharva Veda' consists pre-dominantly
of Bhutavidya (Psychiatry) and Sarpavidya (agada or toxicology). Besides the above two, Rasayana
(geriatrics or the science of rejuvenation) and
Vajikarana (virilisation therapy)
are also traceable in the 'Brahmanas' and the 'Upanishads'. The Ayurveda contains besides
the above four divisions, another four namely 'Salya' (surgery), 'Salyaka' (ENT
and ophthalmology), 'Kaya-Chikitsa' (internal medicine) and 'Kaumara- Bhrtya' (paediatrics). The knowledge about these latter four divisions did exist
before, but it became systemic with the origin of Astanga Ayurveda (Eight-divisional
Ayurveda) roughly between 800-600BC.
Another school of thought
expressed lately is that, Ayurveda, in
its eight Specialities, the 'Ashtangas' was not a direct outcome of the earlier
Vedic medicine but must have existed even before the Vedas. The medical
knowledge and experience of the Vedic times must have served as a background on
which the new knowledge exotic in origin was planted, leading to the synthesis
of the two.
Influence of the Indian schools of philosophy
The theory
of 'Pramanus' which came to be known as the 'Vaisesika' ('Vaisesa' means peculiarity)
theory was propounded by Kanada in the sixth century BC. According to Kanada,
everything in the Universe is made up of 'Pramanus'; the real entities which are obtained
when a thing is divided and sub-divided until further division is not possible.
'Pramanus' combine together in various fashions and it is by their combination
that they give rise to the Universe and all its contents.
According to 'Vaisesika
theory', whatever is in the Universe can be
broadly placed under six categories (Padarthas), one of these categories is
substance (dravya), which can be sub divided into nine entities, five of which
are earth (Kshiti), water (apa), fire (teja), air (vayu) and ether (akasa). It is
these five types of substance which supplied the 'Panchabhuta' or the five concepts of
matter and this forms the basis of the Indian medical system of Ayurveda.
Vaisesika
philosophy describes the manner in which combinations of different types of
'Pramanus' occur, producing the various substances that we see around us. This
combinations can cause even
chemical reactions under the influence of 'Teja' (fire). This chemical reaction,
provided the basis for the concept of digestion and metabolism of food and its
conversion into 'dhatus' and 'doshas' of the body, upon which was built the
theory of 'Tridosha'. Thus the contribution of Vaisesika to the systematization
and development of Ayurveda is fundamental.
Another sage, Gotama Aksapada composed 'Nyaya Sutra' which
explains all the knowledge needed to establish the identity of a fact or
substance. According to 'Nyaya', there are four methods of establishing the true
identity of a fact, a phenomenon or an object. They are perception (pratyaksa),
inference (anumana), comparison (uhamana) and testimony (aptavakya). These four
methods of Nyaya based on the physical experience of things, have been made
use of extensively in the study of action of various drugs included in Indian
medicine. Thus the contribution of the Nyaya system of philosophy to Ayurvedic
medicine in establishing scientific methodology is as great as the contribution
of the Vaisesika to Ayurveda.
The
contribution of the 'Samkhya' philosophy to the fundamental basis of Ayurvedic
medicine is not as much as that of the Nyaya and the Vaisesika, but its basic
tenets are woven in different forms around Ayurvedic medicine. According to
the Samkhya theory expounded by Kapila around the 6th century BC, the universe
evolved out of an un-manifested, undifferentiated, infinite and eternal
primordial ground termed 'Prakriti'.
This is made up of three basic entities called 'gunas'. There are three gunas.
The first guna 'Tamas' or matter, has the property of inertia. The second, 'rajas'
or energy, has the property of overcoming resistance. The third, 'Sattva' oressence,
has the property to manifest itself to the senses. According to Samkhya, gunas
are always uniting, separating and uniting again so that cosmic evolution is
a two fold process, creative as well as destructive.
Some of the terms used in these systems of philosophy have been
modified in Ayurvedic treatises. It is to the influence of these schools of
philosophy that Indian medicine is indebted, which led medical men to gradually
substitute causation of disease
from spiritual agencies of animism to physical
attributes.
| 
