About Ayurveda Ayurveda, which literally means the science of life (Ayur = Life, Veda = Science), ayurveda is an ancient medical science which was developed in India thousands of years ago. Believed to have been passed on to humans from the Gods themselves, Ayurveda developed and evolved into what it is today from several ancient treatises, most notably Adharva Veda which dates back to five thousand years. The ancient Vedic literature by sages has clearly laid out instructions to maintain health as well as fighting illness through therapies, massages, herbal medicines, diet control and exercise.

The word Ayurveda is made up of two Sanskrit words ayur and veda meaning 'life' and 'knowledge' respectively. Taken together they mean the 'science of life'; in a more limited sense, the term is used to imply the science of medicine. The origins of Ayurveda are shrouded in antiquity. Legend say that Brahma the Creator, a part of the holy trinity of gods, first perceived it and taught it to his son, Daksha Prajapati. Subsequently, Lord Dhanwantari, the god of healing and the teacher of the medical sciences passed it on to the prominent Hindu sages Atreya, Bharadvaja, Kashyapa, Sushruta, Parashara, and Charaka. Sage Atreya's disciple Agnivesha is said to have written the original Agnivesha Sambita around 1000 BC which has come down to us in the form of Charaka Sambita. This text is considered an authoritative pronouncement of Ayurvedic doctrine. Its present form goes back to the seventh century BC. Sage Charaka defines Ayurveda as 'the science through which one can obtain the knowledge about the useful and harmful types of life (bita and abita ayus), happy and miserable types of life, things which are useful and harmful for such types of life, the span of life as well as the very nature of life'. Ayurveda thus emphasizes on not only leading a happy life from an individualistic point of view but also aims to be beneficial to society as a whole.

In India a large section of the vast population depends on the indigenous Ayurvedic tradition, which has deep cultural roots because of its easy availability, accessibility and reliability. The carries of this tradition are the millions of housewives brought up in this culture, the hundreds of birth-attendance, bone-setters, village herbalists, those skilled in eye-care, dental care are in the specialized treatment of mental diseases. Ayurveda is a body of knowledge, which is extremely coherent and logical within itself yet not restricted by any fixed dogma. Like life itself, it is universal and dynamic.