Actual Question
Who first developed Ayurvedic and Siddha medicine and how did it become historically important?
Quick Summary
- Ayurvedic and Siddha medicine – Ayurveda and Siddha are ancient systems of medicine practised in South Asia.
- Ayurvedic ideas can be found in the Hindu text (mid-first millennium BCE).
- Ayurveda has evolved over thousands of years, and is still practised today.
- In an internationalised form, it can be thought of as a complementary and alternative medicine.
Answer
Ayurvedic and Siddha medicine originated in the Indian subcontinent and became an important contribution to global culture, science, technology, or daily life.
Ayurvedic and Siddha medicine – Ayurveda and Siddha are ancient systems of medicine practised in South Asia. Ayurvedic ideas can be found in the Hindu text (mid-first millennium BCE). Ayurveda has evolved over thousands of years, and is still practised today. In an internationalised form, it can be thought of as a complementary and alternative medicine. In village settings, away from urban centres, it is simply "medicine." The Sanskrit word आयुर्वेदः (āyur-vedaḥ) means "knowledge (veda) for longevity (āyur)". Siddha medicine is mostly prevalent in South India, and is transmitted in Tamil, not Sanskrit, texts. Herbs and minerals are basic raw materials of the Siddha therapeutic system whose origins may be dated to the early centuries CE.
Sources
- Zysk, K. G. (1991). Asceticism and Healing. London, New York, Delhi: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-505956-4.
- Chopra 2003, p. 75
- Zvelebil, Kamil V. (1996). The Siddha Quest for Immortality. Oxford: Mandrake of Oxford. ISBN 978-1-869928-43-8.