Treatment and Prevention: Rasa Shastra

Treatment and prevention[edit]
Two of the eight branches of classical Ayurveda deal with surgery (Śalya-cikitsā and Śālākya-tantra),
but contemporary Ayurveda tends to stress attaining vitality by building a healthy metabolic
system and maintaining good digestion and excretion.[34] Ayurveda also focuses on exercise, yoga,
and meditation.[44] One type of prescription is a Sattvic diet.
Ayurveda follows the concept of Dinacharya, which says that natural cycles (waking, sleeping,
working, meditation etc.) are important for health. Hygiene, including regular bathing, cleaning of
teeth, oil pulling, tongue scraping, skin care, and eye washing, is also a central practice. [33]
Substances used[edit]
Plant-based treatments in Ayurveda may be derived from roots, leaves, fruits, bark, or seeds such
as cardamom and cinnamon. In the 19th century, William Dymock and co-authors summarized
hundreds of plant-derived medicines along with the uses, microscopic structure, chemical
composition, toxicology, prevalent myths and stories, and relation to commerce in British India.
[45]
Animal products used in Ayurveda include milk, bones, and gallstones. In addition, fats are
prescribed both for consumption and for external use. Consumption of minerals,
including sulphur, arsenic, lead, copper sulfate and gold, are also prescribed. [33] The addition of
minerals to herbal medicine is called rasa shastra.
Ayurveda uses alcoholic beverages called Madya,[46] which are said to adjust the doshas by
increasing Pitta and reducing Vatta and Kapha. [46] Madya are classified by the raw material and
fermentation process, and the categories include: sugar-based, fruit-based, cereal-based, cereal-
based with herbs, fermentated with vinegar, and tonic wines. The intended outcomes can include
causing purgation, improving digestion or taste, creating dryness, or loosening joints. Ayurvedic texts
describe Madya as non-viscid and fast-acting, and say that it enters and cleans minute pores in the
body.[46]
Purified opium[47] is used in eight Ayurvedic preparations [48] and is said to balance the Vata and Kapha
doshas and increase the Pitta dosha.[47] It is prescribed for diarrhea and dysentery, for increasing the
sexual and muscular ability, and for affecting the brain. The sedative and pain-relieving properties of
opium are considered in Ayurveda. The use of opium is found in the ancient Ayurvedic texts, and is
first mentioned in the Sarngadhara Samhita (1300-1400 CE), a book on pharmacy used
in Rajasthan in Western India, as an ingredient of an aphrodisiac to delay male ejaculation. [49] It is
possible that opium was brought to India along with or before Muslim conquests.[48][50] The book Yoga
Ratnakara (1700-1800 CE, unknown author), which is popular in Maharashtra, uses opium in a
herbal-mineral composition prescribed for diarrhea.[49] In the Bhaisajya Ratnavali, opium and
camphor are used for acute gastroenteritis. In this drug, the respiratory depressant action of opium is
counteracted by the respiratory stimulant property of Camphor. [49] Later books have included the
narcotic property for use as analgesic pain reliever. [49]
Cannabis indica is also mentioned in the ancient Ayurveda books, and is first mentioned in
the Sarngadhara Samhita as a treatment for diarrhea.[49] In the Bhaisajya Ratnavali it is named as an
ingredient in an aphrodisiac.[49]
Ayurveda says that both oil and tar can be used to stop bleeding, [33] and that traumatic bleeding can
be stopped by four different methods: ligation of the blood vessel, cauterisation by heat, use of
preparations to facilitate clotting, and use of preparations to constrict the blood vessels. Oils are also
used in a number of ways, including regular consumption, anointing, smearing, head massage,
application to affected areas,[51][failed verification] and oil pulling. Liquids may also be poured on the patient's
forehead, a technique called shirodhara.
Cataract in human eye – magnified view seen on examination with a slit lamp. Cataract surgery is mentioned in
the Sushruta Samhita, as a procedure to be performed with a jabamukhi salaka, a curved needle used to
loosen the obstructing phlegm and push it out of the field of vision. The eye would later be soaked with warm
butter and then bandaged.[52]
Panchakarma[edit]
According to Ayurveda, panchakarma are techniques to eliminate toxic elements from the body.[53]
Current status[edit]
A typical Ayurvedic pharmacy, Rishikesh.
Based on the World Health Assembly resolution on traditional medicine (WHA62.13, compare as
well the 2008 Beijing declaration on traditional medicine [54]), the WHO has established a traditional
medicine strategy, which involves, among other complementary health systems, Ayurveda. [55]
[page needed]
The first previous global strategy was published in 2002 and dealt especially with herbal
medicines. The current version (2014-2023) is beginning to consider aspects of Traditional and
Complementary Medicine practices and practitioners and whether and how they should be
integrated into overall health service delivery.[55] It is as well part of the 2013 WHO, WIPO, WTO
TRIPS study on health innovation and access to medicines. [56]
The WTO[57] mentions Ayurveda in its intellectual property strategy. Traditional medicine, including
Ayurveda, contributes significantly to the health status of many communities, and is increasingly
used within certain communities in developed countries. Traditional medicine has a long history of
use in health maintenance and in disease prevention and treatment, particularly for chronic
diseases.[citation needed] Suitable recognition of traditional medicine is an important element of national
health policies and has a well important basis for new products with significant export potential.
[57]
WTO, WIPO and WHO ask for respect for both the economic value and the social and cultural
significance of traditional knowledge and supports documentation of traditional medical knowledge
and enhanced regulation of quality, safety and efficacy of such products. The WHO paper asks to
integrate traditional and complementary medicine services, where appropriate, into health care
service delivery and self-health care and to promote an improved universal health coverage by doing
so.[55]
India[edit]
See also: Healthcare in India
Tulsi-flower (holy basil), an Ayurvedic herb
According to some sources, up to 80 percent of people in India use Ayurveda exclusively or

combined with conventional Western medicine.[58][59]
In 1970, the Indian Medical Central Council Act which aimed to standardise qualifications for
Ayurveda practitioners and provide accredited institutions for its study and research was passed by
the Parliament of India.[60] In 1971, the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) was established
under the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha medicine and
Homoeopathy (AYUSH), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to monitor higher education in
Ayurveda in India.[61] The Indian government supports research and teaching in Ayurveda through
many channels at both the national and state levels, and helps institutionalise traditional medicine so
that it can be studied in major towns and cities.[62] The state-sponsored Central Council for Research
in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) is designed to do research on Ayurveda. [63] Many clinics in urban
and rural areas are run by professionals who qualify from these institutes. [60] As of 2013, India has
over 180 training centers offer degrees in traditional Ayurvedic medicine. [44][64]
To fight biopiracy and unethical patents, in 2001 the government of India set up the Traditional
Knowledge Digital Library as a repository for formulations of various systems of Indian medicine,
such as Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha.[65][66] The formulations come from over 100 traditional Ayurveda
books.[67] An Indian Academy of Sciences document quoting a 2003-04 report states that India had
432,625 registered medical practitioners, 13,925 dispensaries, 2,253 hospitals and a bed strength of
43,803. 209 under-graduate teaching institutions and 16 post-graduate institutions. [68] Insurance
companies cover expenses for Ayurvedic treatments in case of conditions such as spinal cord
disorders, bone disorder, arthritis and cancer. Such claims constitute 5-10 percent of the country's
health insurance claims.[69]
Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, an organisation dedicated to fighting superstition in
India, considers Ayurveda to be pseudoscience. [70]
On 9 November, 2014, India formed the Ministry of AYUSH. National Ayurveda Day is also
celebrated in India on the birth of Dhanvantari that is Dhanteras.[71]
Other countries on the Indian subcontinent[edit]
About 75%-80% of the population of Nepal use Ayurveda, [72][73] and it is the most practiced form of
medicine in the country.[74]
Ayurveda spas are common in Sri Lanka, and some functions as home-based income generating activity.
The Sri Lankan tradition of Ayurveda is similar to the Indian tradition. Practitioners of Ayurveda in Sri
Lanka refer to Sanskrit texts which are common to both countries. However, they do differ in some
aspects, particularly in the herbs used.
In 1980, the Sri Lankan government established a Ministry of Indigenous Medicine to revive and
regulate Ayurveda.[75] The Institute of Indigenous Medicine (affiliated to the University of Colombo)
offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and MD degrees in Ayurveda Medicine and Surgery, and
similar degrees in unani medicine.[76] In the public system, there are currently 62 Ayurvedic hospitals
and 208 central dispensaries, which served about 3 million people (about 11% of Sri Lanka's
population) in 2010. In total, there are about 20,000 registered practitioners of Ayurveda in the
country.[77][78]
According to the Mahavamsa, an ancient chronicle of Sinhalese royalty from the sixth century C.E.,
King Pandukabhaya of Sri Lanka (reigned 437 BCE to 367 BCE) had lying-in-homes and Ayurvedic
hospitals (Sivikasotthi-Sala) built in various parts of the country. This is the earliest documented
evidence available of institutions dedicated specifically to the care of the sick anywhere in the world.
[79][80]
Mihintale Hospital is the oldest in the world.[81]

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Treatment and prevention[edit]

A typical Ayurvedic pharmacy, Rishikesh.

Tulsi-flower (holy basil), an Ayurvedic herb

According to some sources, up to 80 percent of people in India use Ayurveda exclusively or

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