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Ayurveda
: Ancient Heritage in the Age of Globalisation
this sages and saints assembled in the foothills of Hima-
layas and appointed Bharadwaja to get the knowledge of
Ayurveda from the creator Lord Brahma. It again says that
Brahma has not created the Ayurveda. The term
Brahma
smritva
means Brahma recollected it and that Ayurveda
knowledgewas there evenbefore that particular story had
happened. So it’s a mythological thing but what we need
to take care into account is that the origin of Ayurveda is
in time immemorial. And there is a part of divinity in it
because it originated from Lord Brahma the creator.
Second thing is that there was an unbroken continuity
fromBrahma down to the generation today. Initially it was
all oral tradition and thenwhen it goes to God Dhanvantri,
Aitreya and Susuruta, there was a transformation from
oral tradition to a written tradition. On the right side of
the screen it represents the school of surgery and left
side medicine. So Susruta Samhita, Susruta or su shrutam
means that he heard clearly from his teacher Dhanvantri.
He listened to the teacher correctly and then compiled
the text on surgery Susruta Samhita. Caraka in Sanskrit
means who was walking. He traveled to different parts
of the world at least in those areas very closer to him at
that time and collected information and then compiled,
re-edited the text . We find Caraka as perhaps the most
authentic ayurvedic text as far as general medicine is
concerned.
