Knowledge Traditions And Practices Of India: Class 11 — Chapter 7: Introducing Āyurveda: The Science of Health and Disease

Ancient Indian sages recognized common physical laws and elements governing all living entities (microcosm) and the universe (macrocosm):

• Manuṣya Āyurveda: Human health and medicine.
• Mṛga Āyurveda: Veterinary science dealing with animals.
• Vṛkṣa Āyurveda: Plant science, botany, and agriculture.

A vast body of clinical observations and therapeutic methodologies documented across millennia:

• Botanical Texts:
  • Vṛkṣa Āyurveda by Surapālā: Explains plant life-cycles, seed origins, structures, functions, diseases, plantation rules, and harvesting.
  • Kṛṣi Parāśara by Parāśara: Focuses on ancient agricultural practices and soil management.
• Veterinary Texts:
  • Śālihotra Saṁhitā / Haya Āyurveda by Śālihotra (father of veterinary medicine): Treatises on equine health, anatomy, and treatment.
  • Hasti Āyurveda / Gaja Śāstram by Pālakāpya: Specialized texts on elephant medicine and management.

Unlike Western medicine's historical reliance on Newtonian reductionist physics (which views the body as a sum of isolated structural parts), Ayurvedic theory is rooted in the darśanas (Indian philosophical systems):

• Contributing Darśanas: Vaiśeṣika, Nyāya, Pūrva Mīmāṁsā, Sāṅkhya, Yoga, and Uttara Mīmāṁsā/Vedānta.
• Aṇu (Atom): Conceptualized in Vaiśeṣikadarśana as the fundamental particle of physical matter.
• Pañcamahābhūtas: The five fundamental elements (space, air, fire, water, earth) composing both the human body and the universe.
• Interdisciplinary Integration: Ayurveda draws from metallurgy (for surgical instruments), civil engineering (hospital architecture), chemistry (Rasa Śāstra), astronomy, mathematics, and culinary science.

Ayurveda conceptualizes the human body as a seamless, interconnected entity across four domains:

1. Structural Domain: Networked through physical channels (srotas) such as blood vessels and nerves.
2. Physiological Domain: Networked through biophysical properties defined by the tridoṣa (vāta, pitta, kapha).
3. Psychological Domain: Connected by mental parameters and attributes (mānasikadoṣa / triguṇa).
4. Consciousness Domain: Connected by levels of awareness defined by the five sheaths (pañcakoṣa).

• Vāta: Governs movement, biophysical transport, and nervous system activity.
• Pitta: Governs metabolism, digestion, thermal regulation, and chemical transformation.
• Kapha: Governs growth, structural support, lubrication, and fluid balance.

Ayurvedic pharmacology and diagnostics utilize ten pairs of opposing biophysical properties to characterize substances and bodily states:

To maintain the equilibrium of the VPK network, Ayurveda prescribes daily and seasonal routines aligned with natural biological rhythms:

• Dinacaryā: Daily regimen regulating sleep, hygiene, exercise, and diet in sync with circadian (24-hour) cycles.
• Ṛtucaryā: Seasonal regimen adjusting lifestyle and diet to counter environmental changes across circa-annual cycles.

Ayurveda assesses nutrition through functional indices and the balance of six tastes rather than simple calorie counting:

• The Six Tastes (Rasa): Sweet (madhura), Sour (amla), Salty (lavaṇa), Pungent (kaṭu), Bitter (tikta), and Astringent (kaṣāya).
• Personalized Nutrition: Diet is tailored to an individual's unique bio-psychological constitution (prakṛti).
• Culinary Antidotes: Traditional cooking combines ingredients to neutralize side effects (e.g., cooking wheat halwa with ghee to pacify the Kapha-increasing property of wheat; adding cardamom and saffron to aid digestion).

• Synergistic Whole-Plant Action: Uses entire plant parts to extract complex groups of compounds, rather than isolating single active molecules.
• Extraction Mediums:
  • Water-soluble polar compounds: Extracted via decoctions (kaṣāya / kvātha).
  • Polar and non-polar compounds: Extracted via fermented alcoholic preparations (ariṣṭa, āsava).
  • Lipid-soluble non-polar compounds: Extracted using medicated oils and clarified butter (tailam, ghṛtam).

Modern Western medicine is increasingly validating Ayurvedic paradigms through emerging fields:

• Systems Biology: Parallels Ayurveda's focus on network interactions over isolated cellular components.
• Personalized Medicine: Corresponds to the Ayurvedic customization of treatment based on prakṛti.
• Therapeutic Nutrition & Circadian Rhythms: Validates Ayurvedic dietary timing and chronobiological regimens (recognized by the 2017 Nobel Prize in Medicine).

• 1827: First formal Ayurvedic course started at Government Sanskrit College, Calcutta.
• 1833: Discontinuation of the course by British authorities.
• 1920: Indian National Congress resolves to integrate Ayurveda as India's national healthcare system.
• 1970: Passage of the Indian Medicine Central Council Act to regulate education and practice standards.
• 1995: Creation of the Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy (ISM&H).
• 2005: ISM&H renamed as AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy).
• 2014: Department of AYUSH upgraded to an independent Ministry.
• Professional Education: Over 250 colleges in India offer the 5.5-year undergraduate degree BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery / Āyurvedācārya), followed by 3-year MD specializations.