AYURVEDA BOOKS

The Caraka Samhita

This classical text attributed to the great acharya Caraka is considered the oldest and most important text of non-surgical Ayurvedic medicine. The Caraka Samhita has been divided into four volumes, eight parts (sthanas), and these, in turn, are divided into different chapters.

Sutra-Sthanam, the first part, is a compilation of basics of healthcare. It begins with an introduction to health, medicine, hygiene, prophylaxis, diet, and life-style. The four components necessary for successful treatment - the physician, the medication, the patient, and the attendant. Snehakarma (Oleation) and Swedakarma (sweat therapy) and the cause of the illness are discussed. Method of construction of healing centre/hospital is elaborated. It decries treatment by quacks and warns that a person hit by lightning has a better chance of survival than a patient who falls into the hands of a quack.

Nidana-Sthanam, the second part, deals with the cause, pathology, clinical manifestation diagnosis and treatment of eight serious diseases – fever, bleeding, tumors and ulcers, urinary tract diseases, skin diseases, general physical deterioration of the body or of individual organs, and epilepsy The treatment for the above conditions are examined in detail.

Vimana-Sthanam, the third part, deals with chemistry, physiology, anatomy, epidemiology, infectious diseases, diseases of the circulatory, digestive and excretory systems, parasitic illnesses. The logical ways of arriving at a diagnosis namely, observation, inference and interrogation and methods of teaching medical students also discussed in this part. The life expectancy, natural death due to aging, and untimely death due to various factors including over burden, stress and lifestyle leading to morbidity has been compared to that of a vehicle and explained.

Sharira-Sathanam, the fourth part, covers human anatomy, reproduction and pregnancy, the development of the fetus in the mother’s womb, and the role of the mother’s milk. It discusses various toys and amulets for the newborn.

Indriya-Sthanam, the fifth part, covers clinical features, diagnosis, and prognosis. A large portion deals with signs of imminent death or bad prognosis.

Cikitsa-Sthanam, the sixth part, deals with treatment methods and various medications. This is the most important for practicing physicians.

Kalpha-Sthanam, the seventh part , deals with medications used in vamana and virechana. Formulations for inducing vomiting and laxatives are given.

Siddhi-Sthanam, the eighth part, deals with Ayurveda’s classicals method of detoxification, called panchakarma. The Caraka Samhita contains 341 recipes made from plants, 177 medications using animal products and 64 medications using minerals and metals.

The Sushruta Samhita

This book describes the tradition of surgery in Indian medicine which includes various panchakarma detoxification techniques not described elsewhere. The author is believed to be the scholar Sushruta, who lived over 3000 years ago. Susruta Samhita is considered one of the four principal books on surgery and the only work still existing today. Dhanvantari (an incarnation of Vishnu ), Susruta’s teacher, is believed to have given the knowledge as every chapter begins with the words, "Vathovaca bhagavan Dhanvantari Susrutaya", or "As Susruta was taught by the honorable Dhanvantari". Susruta-Samhita consists of five parts and an appendix that was added later and has 184 chapters. This ancient surgical text is an invaluable and practical compendium. Many surgical concepts and treatments of this classical text have been adapted into modern surgical procedures.

The Susruta Samhita describes various diseases of the eyes (76 eye conditions), 51 of which were treated surgically. The author counts 101 blunt and 20 sharp surgical instruments that are surprisingly similar to the instruments used today. The human hand, the most important instrument, is included in this count. Surgical intervention was used in a rational and conservative manner, and only when non-invasive treatments could not promote healing.

Susruta Samhita discusses 1120 illnesses, including injuries, illnesses relating to aging and mental illness. These discussions include 700 healing plants, 57 preparations derived from animal sources and 64 preparations derived from minerals.

The Ashtanga Hridaya

The Astanga Hridaya, which is a condensed version of the earlier Astanga Samgraha by the same author, is particularly favored by scholars because of the clarity of its presentation. It author, Vagbhata, was born in Sindh (a province in Pakistan) circa 500 AD and was taught Ayurvedic medicine by his father and a Buddhist monk, named Avalokita. The Ashtanga Hridaya samhita is a systematized text of human illness and therapy in six sections which incorporates the Eight Branches, known as Ashtanga Hridaya in Sanskrit: Internal Medicine, Paediatrics, Gynaecology, Psychiatry, Toxicology, Basic Surgery, Rejuvenation Therapy, Geriatrics.

The treatise is written in 7120 easily understood poetic verses that embody the essence of Ayurvedic knowledge. It is to some extent a summary clearer presentation of the Caraka and Sushruta samhitas, but also includes much new information which did not appear in earlier texts. There are section s on longevity, personal hygiene, the causes of illness, influence of season and time on the human organism, types and classifications of medicine, the significance of the sense of taste, pregnancy and possible complications during birth, Prakriti, individual constitutions and various aids for establishing a prognosis. There is also detailed information on panchakarma therapies including: therapeutically induced vomiting, the use of laxatives, enemas, complications that might occur during such therapies and the necessary medications.

The Bhavaprakasa of Bhavamisra

Bhavaprakasa written by Bhava Misra is a more contemporary authoritative text on Ayurveda and is widely referenced and utilized by students, teachers and physicians of Ayurveda ever since it was written around 1550 AD. Bhava Misra was the son of Lataka Misra and lived in Benares. The Bhavaprakasa is comprehensive, dealing with basic principles, causes, symptoms, and treatment of all diseases. It describes about 500 drugs belonging to vegetable, mineral and animal kingdoms. This wide spectrum of naturally-derived medicinal drugs (Nighantu Bhaga) is considered by many to be the seminal contribution of this text since in incorporates many new drugs unknown--or at least unmentioned--at the time of Charaka and Sushruta. In the treatment of diseases both kasthausadhas (plant drugs) and rasausadhas (metallic and mineral drugs) have been prescribed. This two-volume text systematically deals with the origin of Indian medicine, cosmology and anatomy, embryology, physiology, pathology, medicine, disease of children, botanical therapeutics, dietetics, tonics, and elixirs to promote longevity. He clarified many of the obtuse and disputed views of ancient writers in lucid language and literary style He is the first to mention medical drugs of countries, other than India, and is the first to give a description of syphilis in Ayurvedic literature.

The Dravyaguna Vijnana

The Dravyaguna Vijnana is the first work of its kind which comprehensively describes more than 500 of the most commonly used Ayurvedic herbal medicines. For each plant the following information is given: botanical name, common name, Sanskrit and regional names, plant description, flowering and fruiting times, distribution, parts used, chemical composition, pharmacodynamics, properties and actions, therapeutic uses, and common dosages. The author, Dr. Gyanendra Pandey, wrote the material with the guidance of the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) third year curriculum. The book is intended as a textbook for graduate and post-graduate level studies as well as a reference book for higher studies at the doctoral level for physicians, researchers, pharmacologists, medicinal plant scientists, and the interested layperson. Some terms are given in Sanskrit but a useful glossary of technical and medical terms is provided. An extremely valuable Ayurvedic herbal reference.

The Madhava Nidana

Considered one of the six main texts in Ayurvedic education, the Madhava Nidana of Madhavakara is a popular and a comprehensive book on how diseases develop in the human being. The actual name of the work is Roga-Vinischaya ("factors which determine diseases") but it is more commonly named after its famous author and hence called "Madhava-Nidana". This book gives detailed information about Causes (nidana), Pathogenesis, Types, Prodromal symptoms, Signs and Symptoms and Prognosis of diseases.

The work is in the form of elaborate description of all stages of common diseases from prodromal symptoms to the possible complications. It deals with the five factors essential for the appropriate diagnosis of a disease. The rest of the work deals, with the description of various diseases like fever, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, anorexia, anemia, jaundice, hemorrhage, pulmonary tuberculosis, cough, hiccough, asthma, hoarseness, vomiting, abnormal thirst, fainting, giddiness, diabetes, and skin diseases; even a certain disease apparently similar to smallpox has been described in detail.

Other conditions described in this book include: hemorrhoids, dyspepsia, indigestion, hepatitis, dyspnoea, anorexia, insanity, epilepsy, diseases of nervous system, rheumatism, cardiac disorders, diabetes, goitre, bone fractures, fistula-in-ano, leprosy, gynaecological disorders, abnormal pregnancy, , diseases of the breast, diseases of children, and diseases due to poison.