A Brief History Of Ayurveda

Download or read book A Brief History of Ayurveda written by M.R. Raghava Varier and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-06-12 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For over two and a half millennia Āyurveda was the mainstream healthcare programme in the Indian subcontinent. However, what was once seen as indispensable, is now often officially described as ‘alternative medicine’. Moreover, there seems to be a lack of proper understanding of the specific culture from which Āyurveda emerged. This is because existing works on the subject have mostly been mere compilations of Āyurvedic practices and focused on classical texts. This book studies the stages of development in the system of Āyurveda and its practice from proto-historic times until British colonization. Using original Pāli and Sanskrit works, archaeological artefacts, as well as oft-neglected medieval epigraphic documents, M.R. Raghava Varier highlights how centuries of privileging Western knowledge has resulted in the sidelining of indigenous learning—a process that accelerated with the advent of colonialism. Further, he makes use of Jain and Buddhist sources to question the assumption that Āyurveda is a purely Hindu or Brahmanical system, thus providing a historiographical frame for conceptually establishing the notion of Āyurveda.

Download or read book Mapping the History of Ayurveda written by K P Girija and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2021-11-25 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book looks at the institutionalisation and refashioning of Ayurveda as a robust, literate classical tradition, separated from the assorted, vernacular traditions of healing practices. It focuses on the dominant perspectives and theories of indigenous medicine and various compulsions which led to the codification and standardisation of Ayurveda in modern India. Critically engaging with authoritative scholarship, the book extrapolates from some of these theories, raising significant questions on the study of alternative knowledge practices. By using case studies of the southern Indian state of Kerala – which is known globally for its Ayurveda – it provides an in-depth analysis of local practices and histories. Drawing from interviews of practitioners, archival documents, vernacular texts and rare magazines on Ayurveda and indigenous medicine, it presents a nuanced understanding of the relationships between diverse practices. It highlights the interactions as well as the tensions within them, and the methods adopted to preserve the uniqueness of practices even while sharing elements of healing, herbs and medicine. It also discusses how regulations and standards set by the state have estranged assorted healing practices, created uncertainties and led to the formation of categories like Ayurveda and nattuvaidyam (indigenous medicine/ayurvedas). Lucid and topical, the book will be useful for researchers and people interested in social medicine, history of medicine, Ayurveda, cultural studies, history, indigenous studies, and social anthropology.

Download or read book Ayurvedic Medicine written by Sebastian Pole and published by Singing Dragon. This book was released on 2013 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This resource brings the unique theories and traditions of Ayurveda alive so that they are accessible to the complementary health practitioner of today. This book offers a clear, accessible and yet detailed guide to Ayurvedic herbalism. It encompasses a brief history of the growth of Ayurveda, a discussion of its fundamental principles, treatment strategies as well as the energetic approach of traditional Ayurvedic herbal pharmacy and pharmacology.

Download or read book The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies written by Vasant Lad, M.A.Sc. and published by Harmony. This book was released on 2012-02-22 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on the ancient healing tradition from India that dates back thousands of years, The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies offers natural alternatives to conventional medicines and treatments with practical advice and easy-to-follow instructions. Dr. Vasant Lad, a leading authority in this field, has created an invaluable guide to treating common ailments and chronic problems with strategies tailored to your personal needs based on your dosha. Dr. Lad first explains the principles behind the science of Ayurveda, exploring the physical and psychological characteristics of each of the three doshas, or mind-body types--vata, pitta, and kapha. Once you have determined which type or combination of types you are, Dr. Lad helps you to begin your journey to the ultimate "state of balance" and well-being. Dr. Lad explains why certain imbalances often result in illness and shows you how to restore your body to natural order. You'll learn which traditional Ayurvedic remedies--herbal teas and formulas, essential oils, meditation, yoga--offer relief from a variety of conditions, such as cold and flu symptoms, headaches, toothaches, sore throats, high cholesterol, vision problems, anxiety, and depression. Dr. Lad also shows you how to use diet and specific Ayurvedic techniques to prevent future illness and to promote body consciousness and healthy living. The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies enables us all to experience the benefits of Ayurveda's healing properties that have been refined over thousands of years. All of the herbs, foods, and oils Dr. Lad recommends can be found in local health food stores or through mail-order catalogs. Complete with an extensive glossary and resource list, this is the definitive guide to natural, safe, and effective remedies, everyday keys to a lifetime of vitality and well-being.

Download or read book The Roots of Ayurveda written by Various and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2003-04-29 with total page 454 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ayurveda, the ancient art of healing, has been practiced in India for more than two thousand years and survives today as a living medical tradition whose principles are at the heart of many "alternative" therapies now used in the West. This "science of longevity" has parallels with Buddhist thought, and advocates a life of moderation through which the three humors of the body will be brought into balance. The writings selected for this volume are taken from Sanskrit medical texts written by the first Ayurvedic physicians, who lived between the fifth century b.c. and the fourteenth century a.d. Here readers will find wide-ranging and fascinating advice on the benefits of garlic therapy, prayers for protection against malevolent disease deities, surgical techniques, exercise regimens, the treatment of poisons, the interpretation of dreams, and more. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Download or read book Doctoring Traditions written by Projit Bihari Mukharji and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2016-10-14 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is considerable interest now in the contemporary lives of the so-called traditional medicines of South Asia and beyond. "Doctoring Traditions, "which examines Ayurveda in British India, particularly Bengal, roughly from the 1860s to the 1930s, is a welcome departure even within the available work in the area. For in it the author subtly interrogates the therapeutic changes that created modern Ayurveda. He does so by exploring how Ayurvedic ideas about the body changed dramatically in the modern period and by breaking with the oft-repeated but scantily examined belief that changes in Ayurvedic understandings of the body were due to the introduction of cadaveric dissections and Western anatomical knowledge. "Doctoring Traditions" argues that the actual motor of change were a number of small technologies that were absorbed into Ayurvedic practice at the time, including thermometers and microscopes. In each of its five core chapters the book details how the adoption of a small technology set in motion a dramatic refiguration of the body. This book will be required reading for historians both of medicine and South Asia.

Download or read book The Roots of Ayurveda written by D. Wujastyk and published by Penguin Books India. This book was released on 1998 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ayurveda, the ancient art of healing, has been practiced in India for more than two thousand years and survives today as a living medical tradition whose principles are at the heart of many "alternative" therapies now used in the West. This "science of longevity" has parallels with Buddhist thought, and advocates a life of moderation through which the three humors of the body will be brought into balance. The writings selected for this volume are taken from Sanskrit medical texts written by the first Ayurvedic physicians, who lived between the fifth century b.c. and the fourteenth century a.d. Here readers will find wide-ranging and fascinating advice on the benefits of garlic therapy, prayers for protection against malevolent disease deities, surgical techniques, exercise regimens, the treatment of poisons, the interpretation of dreams, and more.