The knowledge of herbs possessed by the aborigines of every country forms the basis of the study of the history of world medicine. Since the earliest periods of human history, man must have experimented. His first scientific works would have been carried out for ensuring survival in the best possible way. Medicinal herbs, tools and other related activities were also developed by man for the same purpose. While developing his tools and weapons he must have experimented on useful herbs, juices for wound healing fevers and other infectious diseases. Though what herbs they used is not recorded, it is quite certain that their herbal medical knowledge must have been passed on from one generation to the other in the form of culture. This knowledge forms the source of ethnomedical studies and the basis of tracing the history of medicine in general. Every country has its own ethnic aspects of medicine, however there is no match of the Indian ethnomedicine, which is well documented and practiced since millennia.
History Of Ayurved
There are many legends describing divine origin and corresponding antiquity of Ayurved and such legends are found in the introductory passages of many Ayurvedic texts e.g. Charak, Sutra and other Samhitas. Despite such claims, the origin of Ayurved can not be credited to any particular place, age or person. We see the first record of herbal medicinal knowledge of Indo-Aryans in the Rig-Veda (5000 BC) the first book in the library of man. Earlier was passed of from teacher to the disciple through the word of mouth known as “Shruti”. Later when Devnagri script saw development, the word of mouth was written on Bhojpatra. These were maintained from generation to generation and were learnt by sear. Soma was the first Vedic medicine, the extract of which was supposed to be an elixir and a stimulating beverage. However, its real botanical identity is not known till today. The first word ever used for medicine is again from Rig-Veda it was known as Oshadhi meaning thereby heat-producer/energy inducer. So if we go by historical background the first medical knowledge of herbal medicine of about 56 plants was in Rig-Veda and at a later period herbals medicines used for snake-bite and many other diseases from the part of ‘Atharvaveda’. Those Vaidyas or doctors who learnt medicines form Atharvaveda and applied it for human use were known as “Atharvas”. In fact, Atharvaveda is the first book of toxicology in the world. In the later period, the Vedas were followed by Ayurveda. Various medical treatises called Samhitas were given by different madical sages that formed the basis of Ayurvedic system of medicine.
Earliest recorded instances of rational medical knowledge are found in Rigveda and Atharvaveda, both of which are considered to be of second millenium BC. However, there is much evidence to show that Ayurved was preceded by an earlier medical knowledge developed by the Pre-Aryan Indus civilization. It appears that the Aryans took up the belief systems and practices of this civilization. They further speculated and experimented freely in their own way, learned much and unlearned only that which was patently wrong. Thus, the pre-Aryan medical knowledge was developed and incorporated into Ayurved. The Charak Samhita (2700BC-600BC) and Sushrut Samhita (600 BC) are the two major sources on which Ayurved is based.
Charak was an ancient Indian worker credited with giving a complete medical practice in the form of Charak Samhita. This work forms the basis of Ayurved. The most commonly accepted date for the composition of Charak Samhita is 1st AD. The work of Charak was originally the Samhita of Agnivesh who was the disciple of medical sage Atreya. The long passages in Charak Samhita are in the form of questions and answers between Atreya and Agnivesh. The Samhita mentions the eight different branches of the medical knowledge but the treatise is not written accordingly. Charak Samhita is an exclusive work on the first branch (therapeutic medicine) only, though it also contains many sections dealing with surgery and other six branches. It deals mainly with anatomy, physiology, ecology and prognosis, pathology and treatment, objectives of treatment, influences of environmental factors, medicines and appliances, produces and the sequence of medication. The work is divided into eight sections containing 150 chapters in all for the discussion of above mentioned topics. The Materia Medica of the Samhita is extensive and represented a full utilization of environmental sources. More than six drugs of animal, plant and mineral origins used as medicines are described in Charak Samhita. The large variety of medical prescriptions, methods of compounding employing specific instruments for each type of medicine and therapeutic methods including psychiatric procedures are scientific, sound and exhaustive.
Sushrut was an also an ancient Indian worker credited with giving a comprehensive medical treatise in the form of Sushrut Samhita. His Samhita along with Charak Samhita form the basis of Ayurved. The most commonly accepted date for the presently available Nagarjuna’s redaction of the older original Sushrut Samhita is 3rd to 4th AD Sushrut Samhita contains a series of discourses between the holy sage Dhanvantari and his despite Sushrut. The Samhita mentions the eight different branches of medical knowledge but the treatise is not written accordingly. This Samhita also follows more or less the same pattern of treatment of different branches as in Charak Samhita but gives surgery the place of honour. It belongs to Dhanvantari school of medicine that believes surgery to be the most ancient and most affections of the eight branches of medical knowledge. The Samhita contains six sections. The first five sections deal with the established knowledge of the fundamental postulates, pathology, embryology and anatomy, therapeutic and surgical treatment and toxicology. The sixth final section deals with subsequently gained specialized knowledge of the topic dealt with in earlier sections. It contains 184 chapters in all. This Samhita is more concise and repository of more factual knowledge than Charak Samhita. It describes the necessity and modus operandi of the dissection on human cadavers for gaining accurate anatomical knowledge. The Materia Medica of this Samhita is also extensive and represents a full utilization of the environment resources. About six hundreds drug of animal, plant and mineral origin used as medicines are described in Sushrut Samhita. Symptoms are also described for a large numbers of psychiatrics disorders and the methods of their treatment.
The Vrikshayurveda given by Parashar in the post Vedic period i.e. 1st BC to 1st AD is the oldest available full-fledged treatise on plant science. This book written in Sutra style is divided into six parts. These parts deals with
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outline of plant morphology,
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description and nature and properties of soil, distribution of forests,
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detailed morphology of plant members,
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definition, structure, function and classification of the parts of flower, fruits
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discussions on the root, stem, bark, heartwood, spines and prickles, seeds and embryonic plants,
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sap excretion and oleaginous products.
The manuscript of Vrikshayurveda was discovered by Vaidyashastri Jogendranath Vishagratun of Navadwip in Bangla Desh. His son N.N. Sirkar published an account of this work in journal of the Asiatic Society in 1950. Sirkar states that Vrikshayurveda evidently formed the basis of botanical teaching preparatory to pharmaceutical studies in ancient India. This practice was quit comparable to the modern practice in this regard. It also appears that the Parashara’s method of nomenclature is based on three types of synonyms e.g. those of botanical significance, these with therapeutic index and those associated with names of habitats or special events. Charak, Sushrut and other authors of medical treatises, particularly in the preparatory chapters of Ayurvedic pharmacopoeias largely followed the classification system of Parashar.
During the Buddhist period also the Indian medicine, particularly the Rasa-Vigyana developed very well. Universities like Nalanda and Takshashila developed the medical science and scholars from all over the world used to come to these to study and improve their knowledge. Sanskrit remained the main language of our scriptures during this period also. During the influence of Buddhism in India and China, Padmapurana was developed that contains vivid description of various medicinal plants like Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), Amalaki (Phyllanthus embelica) and Rudraksha.
There were six other Samhitas also such as Harita and Bhela Samhitas. These were also lost during the cultural backlog of slavery period of India. Gradually the day-to-day knowledge of medicinal herbs was left only in religious literature and practices. In Puranas, pages after pages the beneficial knowledge of Tulsi is narrated by Lord Shiva to eternal Rishi Narada. Plant of Tulsi is described to be root as Brahma, leaves, branches and stem as Vishnu and flowers as Shiva.
Reasons Of Checked Growth Of Ayurveda
In 200 BC, most aspect of Ayurvedic medicine were well developed and flourishing as already pointed out. At that time in history, invasions of India started starting from Alexander and later followed by Hoons, Shakas, Afgans, Mugals and finally the British. During these invasions, the whole of ethnomedicinal literature, tradition and culture of Aryans was mutilated and destroyed by the invaders and also by the jealous Ayurvedic practitioners (Vaidyas) who destroyed their own literature and kept secret their formulae. Thus, the Ayurvedic ethnopharmacological knowledge was lost forever. The Samhitas were also destroyed, only part of Ckarak Samhita was left. Spurious shlokas on various aspects of herbal medicines were also introduced in these textbooks of medicines according to the whims and fancies of the medicinal men. Thus, we see that the Samhitas of Charak and Sushrut at some places are highly scientific and at the other places look only as folklore medicines. Besides these books of Ayurveda, we have to learn about medicinal herbs from various tribles of India like Kole, Bheel, Santhal etc. the natives of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and Uttar Pradesh particularly the hill people of Uttar Pradesh. At many places, they have stories to tell us about herbal medicines and their usefulness.
Another impediment to the preservation of medical knowledge was the changes in common language brought about by successive invasions and change of cultures. Whatsoever knowledge remained with Ayurvedic practitioners gradually became obscure even to them. The terms used to describe the practices, methods and concepts could not be understood precisely and correctly with the change of language. Incorrect interpretations of original shlokas did not yield results and this resulted in loss of faith in the text and their gradual abandonment.
Like every body of knowledge, Ayurved was also developed in a particular culture. Its concepts, beliefs, practices and methods were in accordance with the cultural aspects of the civilization. As the culture of the Indian society changed, often violently under the influence of invasions, many of the Ayurvedic concepts, practices and methods were discarded, drastically modified or even reversed. This resulted in fragmentation of the knowledge and inconsistencies developed in the Ayurvedic system.
In the 18th and 19th century, final assault on the Ayurvedic knowledge was made by British. They brought with them a whole new set of concepts and practices in every field of knowledge. Considering the traditional Indian knowledge ‘primitive and backward’ they forcibly destroyed it and replaced it with ‘advanced and modern’ knowledge and practices in their misconceived zeal to ‘uplift and enlighten’ the heathen Indians. By the time they understood the importance and value of ancient traditional wisdom, it was too late and most of what was left of Ayurvedic knowledge despite centuries of mutilation and destruction was also lost.
Need For Rejuvenation Of Ayurveda
Ayurveda meaning the ‘science of life’, in itself explains that it is not only a science of medicine and medical cure of disease symptoms only but it balances the total ecosystem of human existence in the best way. With the explosion of modern drugs in the therapy of human disease, the understanding of this holistic medical viewpoint is at the verge of literal collapse. Modern medicine is mostly unable to explain how an externally administered chemical can cure a disease but at the same time could cause unconceivable permanent damage to vital organs including Aeterogenic diseases and in some cases can even be fatal.
The amazing complexity of the psychological, behavioural, cultural and environmental problems associated with human health has forced the practitioners to look towards traditional systems of medicine. Medical science has now started thinking in terms of holistic medical science like Ayurveda. The Ayurved is preventive, curative and restorative. It does not deal only with the cure of symptoms like the modern (allopathic) medicine. Instead, it treats the human being as a whole.
There is growing awareness and interest in Ayurvedic medicinal for human use. These herbs that are usually innocuous in nature and treat the individual as a whole and not only the disease symptoms. This is particularly true for chronic diseases like hypertension, Asthma, Diabetes, Arthritis, Carcinoma, Allergy and others where modern medicines have little or only palliative effects.
We know that many of the human diseases are caused through nutritional deficiency and modern medicines can not do much in the treatment of such problems. Further, treatment with synthetic drugs although cures a particular disease, yet at the same time produces nutritional deficiency or side-effects causing ill health. Thus, the individual that has been cured for a disease develops a prolonged disability with poor health, both physical and mental in the form of irritable nature, fatigue and low stamina. In such situations we need our time tested herbal medicines of Ayurveda. Ayurvedic herbs function as both nutrition and medicine in health and disease. These herbs provide nutrition of every variety required by human body particularly in the state of nutritional deficiency. There are hundreds of complex bioactive substances in one herb. They are present in a chemically balanced way that provides a total salutary effect in a particular disease also. To quote here one example we take Moringa pterigosperma (Sahjan), all parts of the herb are useful in a variety of diseases, from those of parasitic origin to blood pressure. Even if we take the leaves of the plant, they contains good amount of protein, carbohydrate, Vitamin-C and 13000 units of Vitamin–A per 100 gm of leaves. Both Vitamin–A and Vitamin-C are good antioxidants and in their natural form protect the human cell from the damage caused by free radicals, a common cause of many diseases in man.
