The source of Ayurveda can be traced to ancient times. The story in the Charaka Samhita, one of the oldest ayurvedic medical texts of India runs like this. Fifty of the most eminent sages gathered together on the slopes of the Himalayas to discuss how to get rid of the common diseases which were causing so much ill health among human beings and interfering in the performance of their duties. They came to the conclusion that Indra, Lord of the Immortals, should be sought out, as he knew Ayurveda, or the science of life. This he was supposed to have learned from the physicians of the gods. They, in turn, had learned their knowledge from Brahma, the Creator. Sage Bharadvaya volunteered to go to Indra, who shared his knowledge. It proved most effective.
Many other versions abound, and are similar to stories in other cultures; just as Brahma explained Ayurveda to the Indians, so did Apollo and Thoth reveal the Greek and Egyptian systems of medicine to their respective peoples.
AYURVEDA TODAY
Indian got its independence in 1947 and from that time Ayurveda has received recognition throughout India and is one of the six systems officially recognised by the Indian government. Qualified ayurvedic physicians have been and are being registered as medical practitioners. A number of hospitals are already established in which patients are treated according to ayurvedic principle, and practical lessons are given to students.
There are various Ayurvedic Institutions in India where one can study Ayurveda. All the developed countries and the countries which are developing are giving stress on Ayurveda for the benefit of Human being on earth.
THE END OF THE GOLDEN AGE
If we go through the Indian history we can see that the country was attacked by the foreign rulers several times.. The invaders destroyed the universities and burned the libraries. Some Buddhist monks escaped to Tibet and as a result a number of ayurvedic texts are preserved now only in a Tibetan translation. Nonetheless, Ayurveda survived as a system of medical practice, and documentation was maintained and added to as the centuries passed. In the medieval period, sometime between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries, in a new textbook, the Sarangakhara Samhita, pulse examination and its relation to the diagnosis of diseases is mentioned for the first time. Then, during the sixteenth century, Akbar, the Great Mogul Emperor organised the unification of all Indian medical systems.
Indian spices had been highly treasured in Europe for many centuries, and as trade routes opened up during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Europeans developed a fashion for anything Indian. During their colonial rule of India, the British used local ayurvedic medicines because of the expense and difficulty of importing western medicine.
However, the edict in 1835 that only European knowledge should be taught, together with the production of the British Pharmacopoeia in 1858, caused many physicians to move away from the use of local drugs. Furthermore, the state no longer funded ayurvedic training and over the next century much knowledge and understanding were lost. Fortunately the textbooks survived, and European surgeons translated and brought into practice a technique described in the Sushruta Satnhita to repair damage to the face. This technique of that time is termed as “ Plastic Surgery.” today.
