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A Brief History of AyurvedaWritten by Pavan Kanwar Ayurveda originates from the Vedic tradition associated with India. Its very beginnings can be seen in the Rig Veda which is the oldest known book written in a language with developed grammar (Sanskrit). The age of this book is debated by modern historians, though the written form is widey regarded as being at least 5,000 years old. The oral form is regadred as being considerably older. Ayurveda in the Rig Veda primarily relates to the mental and spiritual aspects of Ayurveda, ie healing by examination of deep psychological factors. A more complete (including physical) form of Ayurveda is given in its classical texts, the Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita (Treatises of Charaka and Sushruta). These are said to be dated to around the 6th century BCE, making Ayurveda the oldest form of a complete medical system. Adding to its age, the authors of these treatises state that these are compilations of knowledge from earlier times. In the Charaka Samhita (CS), the modern concept of preventive medicine is already seen. A healthy lifestyle is given great importance, and the origin of practices such as daily bathing, cleaning of teeth, gums and the tongue, washing hair, therapeutic massage, exercise etc are also seen. Perhaps the most important aspect of a healthy lifestyle is an appropriate diet, as well as techniques for emotional well-being (psychotherapy) and detoxification of the mind and body. Additionally, respect for the environmental factors such as the land, water bodies, plants and animals is stressed to the same extent as respect for your own being. Knowledge of a lot of these practices died out in Europe (some in India too) during medieval times (5th century to 17th century) an started reappearing only after the Rennaisance period. In fact some of the knowledge is so modern that it has only started reappearing in the latter half of the 20th century, particularly in the west. A significant part of this knowledge that has started reappearing in the west is Ayurvedic herbalism. Ayurveda has an unparalleled range of herbs (10,000 approx.) and herbal formulations along with detailed knowledge of medical usage. This was already laid out in the Charaka Samhita, but kept on developing in India for about a 1,000 years after that via other works. Thereafter the knowledge was reduced but not lost, particular after the repeated invasions/occupations of India during the 8th/9th century onwards. A connection between Ayurveda and the older European herbalism/medicine is also seen, either via the Middle-East/Greece (Unani medicine), or much earlier, via the eastern Celts. Hippocrates who is regarded as the father of modern medicine, occurs after (4th century BCE) Charaka/Sushruta with a system bearing similarities to Ayurveda, and his knowledge occurs at the onset of the Greek invasion of India. Medieval European herbalism also had many similarities to Ayurvedic practices and was deemed as 'witchery', and was more or less exterminated from Europe at a huge cost of the lives of the 'witches'. In the Sushruta Samhita (SS) the origin of surgery is seen. This was discovered in it by German scientists in the 19th century, which gave birth to modern surgery. Hence Sushruta is given the title as the 'father' of surgery. Most of the surgical techniques in the SS are still being more or less practiced today. A notable aspect of these surgical procedures was cosmetic (facial) surgery for burns and accidents, particularly nose surgery (rinoplasty). The European practice of this completely originates from the SS.
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