Ayurveda, an indigenous ancient medical science of India, is more than 5000 years old. It is considered to be an upveda of Atharva Veda. Mention of use of herbs for medicinal purpose is found in the oldest available written literature of world, Rigveda. Literally, the word Ayurveda is a combination of two words: Ayu + Veda. Ayu means life and Veda means the science. Thus Ayurveda is a science of life and not only science of diseases. The aim of Ayurveda is “Swasthasya Swarthy Rakshana, aturasya vikara prashaman” i.e. propagation of health and cure of diseases. The faith in the power of its principles alongwith the availability of a vast majority of herbs in India has always been a thrust behind survival of this scientific art of healing.
It is a science of health based on universal principles and profound insights into the connection between mind and body and the laws of nature which structure all progress in life. It is promising to see that this ancient Vedic wisdom is now becoming more widely sought after.