Five thousand years ago, when rishi Vyasa sat down and wrote down the Vedas, he also included a section on healing that came to be known as Ayurveda. Even before it was written down in the texts, the ancient wisdom of healing, longevity and prevention,
was already a part of a spiritual tradition that had been passed down through generations. Ayurveda is said to have influenced many systems of medicines elsewhere in the world like China and Greece.
During 1500 BC, Ayurveda began to gain popularity. It was then that Ayurveda was divided into its eight parts. This was also the time that two distinct schools of thought were born within this system: Athreya—the school of physicians and Dhavanthri—the school of surgeons.
The legend of Ayurveda:
As everything Indian, the science of Ayurveda too has a legend attached to it. One of the creators of the universe, Brahma, is said to have taught the theories and practices of Ayurveda to one of the animal lords. This animal lord then passed on the knowledge to the divine twins—Aswin—who then educated the lord of lords, Indra.
When mankind fell victim to illnesses and bad health, the wise men approached Indra. The sage Bharadvaja learnt the science from Indra during this meeting. The good sage imparted the knowledge to Atreya—who transmitted the knowledge to the society. Agnivesha, one of the disciples of Atreya—wrote one of the most comprehensive texts of Ayurveda, known as Agnivesha Samhita. Atreya and Agnivesha’s works are, however, lost to the world. Three people reorganized the texts: Charaka, Sushruta and Vaghbata Samhita—these texts still survive.
During 1500 BC, Ayurveda began to gain popularity. It was then that Ayurveda was divided into its eight parts. This was also the time that two distinct schools of thought were born within this system: Athreya—the school of physicians and Dhavanthri—the school of surgeons.
The legend of Ayurveda:
As everything Indian, the science of Ayurveda too has a legend attached to it. One of the creators of the universe, Brahma, is said to have taught the theories and practices of Ayurveda to one of the animal lords. This animal lord then passed on the knowledge to the divine twins—Aswin—who then educated the lord of lords, Indra.
When mankind fell victim to illnesses and bad health, the wise men approached Indra. The sage Bharadvaja learnt the science from Indra during this meeting. The good sage imparted the knowledge to Atreya—who transmitted the knowledge to the society. Agnivesha, one of the disciples of Atreya—wrote one of the most comprehensive texts of Ayurveda, known as Agnivesha Samhita. Atreya and Agnivesha’s works are, however, lost to the world. Three people reorganized the texts: Charaka, Sushruta and Vaghbata Samhita—these texts still survive.
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