The History and Mythology of Ayurveda
By:Alexis A. Arredondo, Block 1 Student
The origins of Ayurveda are rich in mythology. As a practitioner of the spiritual path, I feel that the word mythology may carry some skeptical connotations. For the purposes of this blog I would like to refer to “mythology” as spiritual origins. What drew me most to this subject was its rather quick overview and its minimal attention to detail in most texts.
We are aware of the Briha Trayi, the big three ancient texts of Ayurveda: Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita & Ashtanga Hridaya. However, we are not truly aware of exactly how and when they were written The third text,Ashtanga Hridaya, has no clear origin story as well. Where did these sacred texts come from and what is their source?
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Brahma is the Hindu God of creation. Brahma has four faces, each one representing the four Vedas. The Vedas are written works of ancient india that date around 1500-1200BCE. The Atharva Veda, the book of spells and herbs, was the first text to mention Ayurvedic origins. This is where the source of Ayurveda begins but let us continue from the path of Brahma. Bramha created Ayurveda and passed this knowledge down to his son Daksha, a Prajapati or deity that presides over procreation. Daksha then taught this knowledge to the Ashvins (Ashwini Kumaras), two vedic twin brother Gods that would become the celestial physicians. Not only did this make them doctors to the Gods, but this made them Devas of Ayurveda. The Ashvins are mentioned in the Rig Veda and other sacred texts such as the Mahabharata and the Puranas. Indra, leader of Devas, was then taught Ayurveda by the divine twins.
It is from this point that we begin to see the knowledge of Ayurveda being passed down from the Gods to the living sages, however, this part of Ayurvedic history is also riddled in spiritual origin. The Mahabharata tells the story of an Avatar of Vishnu named Dhanvantari who “emerged from the Milky Ocean while it was being churned for Amrita (nectar).” After his emergence, Vishnu appeared before him and told him that he would have two incarnations. In his second emergence, Dhanvantari would “help the living beings on earth” because “uncommon disease is going to become a common feature” and he must “segregate Ayurveda, the health science, into eight broad categories for an easy applicability.” Vishnu then said that “Brahma thought of all these things beforehand” and facilitated Dhanvantari’s emergence, which could explain the earlier progression of Ayurveda down the path of the Gods. The story continues with a barren king of Kashi, who meditated upon the the God Dhanvantari so that he may bring him a son.
Dhanvantari was so pleased that he granted the king any favor to which the king replied “Oh God, if you are so pleased, then become a reputed son of mine.” Dhanvantari granted his wish and was reborn Divodasa Dhanvantari, future king of Kashi.
According to the Vedas, the Saptarishis were favored and protected by the Gods. Amongst these seven sages were two known Ayurvedic founders; Bharadwaj and Kashyapa. According to the Charaka Samhita, these are the same rishis of the Vedas who went to the Himalayan mountains to attain the knowledge of Ayurveda. The Atharva Veda does mention a council of rishis assembled with Indra as noted in the following verse:
“Let me receive the brilliance
and the wisdom of those seated here together;
and among these people assembled here
may me the most illustrious, Indra!”
-Atharva Veda (7.12.3)
They may indeed have been part of this council, which explains where Kashyapa learned the ways of Ayurveda, however I offer another theory. Kashyapa was a “wish born” son (or in some scriptures, grandson) of Brahma. He was also married to the thirteen daughters of Daksha, the deity of procreation. Scriptures state that Kashyapa had many children, some of them Devas and Avatars. Therefore, Kashyapa has a link to the first two Gods of Ayurvedic knowledge, possibly even the Ashvins as they were the celestial physicians. This is all speculation but Kashyapa would eventually write the Kashyapa Samhita, a collection of Ayurvedic pediatrics, gynecology and obstetrics.
Bharadwaj himself attained the knowledge of Ayurveda from Indra, when he performed rigorous penance to learn the knowledge of the Vedas. Indra told Bharadwaj that he already knew more vedic knowledge than the Devas themselves, and told him to pray to Shiva for blessings. After blessings were bestowed upon him by Shiva, Bharadwaj was approached by two kings to help aid in a battle against the Vaarshika demons. One of those kings was Divodasa Dhanvantari. According to the Mahabharata, Dhanvantari would learn the ways of Ayurveda from Bharadwaj as well as fulfill Brahma and Vishnu’s wishes to segregate Ayurveda into the eight branches we have today.
Dhanvantari is now known as the the Divine Father of Ayurveda while Bharadwaj became known as the human Father of Ayurveda.
Now we can see the parts the Gods had to play in order for the knowledge of Brahma to be passed from the Heavens to the Earth. Let us explore how this knowledge was formed into written word. We have some origins on the three Founders of Ayurveda; Dhanvantari, Bharadwaj and Kashyapa. Kashyapa’s origins seem to end here with the Kashyapa Samhita being written around 6th century BC. Dhanvantari and Bharadwaj’s teachings would eventually be divided into two schools; Dhanvantari School of Surgery (9-6th century BC) and Atreya School of Physicians-“Vaidyas” (8-6th century BC). Atreya was a student of Bharadwaj and founded the school of Vaidyas. According to the Charaka Samhita, Atreya’s six disciples were asked to compose a written work and Agnivesha wrote the best one. These writings and teachings were composed into a text entitled the Agnivesha tantra.
This is where the history becomes obscure as legend states that the Agnivesha Tantra was lost. Acharya Charak is said to have found the tantra in 1st century AD, but other resources say it was simply revised by him. The spiritual origin states that Charak found the Agnivesha Tantra incomplete, with 40 chapters missing.
Charak then went into deep meditation and Lord Shiva appeared to him, revealing the missing chapters so that Charak could complete the work. This spiritual aspect could also be supported by the blessings of Shiva that were received by Bharadwaj himself, however there is no way to no for certain that the chapters were indeed lost. Charak completed the Charaka Samhita in the 1st century AD and it would become one of the Briha Trayi currently referenced in Ayurveda today. Sushrut was a disciple and surgeon of Dhanvantari. Sushrut wrote down the teachings of surgery in Sushruta Samhita, the second of the Briha Trayi, around the 5-4th century BC. Vaghbata was a disciple of Charak and studied the teachings of the Sushruta Samhita (possibly even the Kashyapa Samhita).
In 8th century AD, Vaghbata would write a collection of his works into the Ashtanga Hridaya. In essence, this work borrows from the first classic texts and would eventually find its place amongst them as the third of the Briha Trayi.
In conclusion, through further research into the spiritual origins and history of Ayurveda, we are able to see a greater influence of the Gods as well as a closer connection to the rishis of Ayurveda and their influence on the Briha Trayi. There is a basic tree graph showing a simple linear path of the origins and history of Ayurveda. I can’t help feel that this graph could be updated as the influence of the Gods and the influence of the rishi’s teachings are anything but linear. After my research I conclude that the graph should be similar to this:
REFERENCES:
Books/Articles
Panda, H; Handbook On Ayurvedic Medicines With Formulae, Processes And Their Uses,
2004, p10 ISBN 978-81-86623-63-3
Sadashiva Tirtha, S; The Ayurveda Encyclopedia: Natural Secrets to Healing, Prevention, & Longevity, 1996 p3,4,5 ISBN 978-81-319-03094
Dash, R.K.S.B; Caraka Samhita 2002 p17,18,23,24 ISBN 81-7080-012-9
Srikantha Arunachala, Treatise on Ayurveda Vijitha Yapa Publications, p. 3
Meulenbeld, G. Jan (1999–2002). History of Indian Medical Literature IA. Groningen: Egbert Forsten.
Web Sources
Atharva Veda Sri Aurobindo Kapali Shastry Institutue of Vedic Culture
http://libraryofyoga.com/bitstream/123456789/1065/2/Atharva_Veda.pdf
Rahmani, R (2008) Sages of India, Retrieved from:
https://sagesofindia.wordpress.com/about/
Mahabarata http://mahabharata-resources.org/harivamsa/hv_1_29.html
“Brahma” - Britannica Online Encyclopedia". Britannica.com. 2015-04-19.
