Ayurveda, the eternal science of life, surpassing all imaginations regarding its origin, having been taught to mortals by Lord Brahma, the god of creation himself, has divided in eight branches for clear and critical understanding as well as practical therapeutic application. Kayachikitsa is one of these eight branches of Ayurveda. The main aim of Ayurveda is to keep the human beings healthy and to provide long life. This is only possible by different types of chikitsa mentioned in kayachikitsa. The book "Fundamental Principles of Kayachikitsa" in English is written for the students of B.A.M.S. and M.D. (Ay). The subject matter has been gathered from different samhita granthas, granthas and modern textbooks for this compilation work. In addition to this other essential matters and modern descriptions are also incorporated to make the work most updated with compressive one.
It is my great privilege to express my heartiest gratitude to friends and students for their proper guidance, inspiration, valuable suggestion and constant encouragement to complete this book.
At last but not least I offer my sincere gratefulness to my parents, brother sister, wife and my only son for their constant encouragement during my life to complete this book in proper time.
Ayurveda is the ancient living, philosophical based complete system of medicine and healing which is still being practice widely today. There is tremendous sweep and depth of knowledge regarding the use of natural resources. It has a holistic approach towards disease (vikrithi), which occurs when the original form (prakrithi) encounters change at psychological or physiological level.
Ayurveda has only one objective to be achieved and that objective is the maintenance of the state of well being or re establishing the state of well being in the organism "धातुसाम्य क्रियाचोक्त तन्त्रस्य प्रयोजनम्". This is also known as a state of equilibrium or homeostasis. Health represents the maintenance of equilibrium and happiness at spiritual, physical, and mental level of the individual.
Ayurveda believes that human beings are the most precious creature of this universe and is composed of body, mind intellect and sprit and also there is a dynamic relationship between individual and cosmos. It is 'यथालोके तथापिण्डे'. Therefore Ayurveda regards individual in his real context and establishes its relations with cosmos. Like cosmos body is also formed by mixture of five bhutas therefore anything in the cosmos can be used as medicine. There is nothing in the cosmos which is not medicine 'नानौषधि भुतम् जागति किन्चित्।।'. Therefore anything that brings equilibrium of dhatu (health) is called treatment.
Ayurveda lays more stress on the physical and mental constitutions of a man including genetic characters which play a vital role in health and disease. Therefore every individual is a separate entity and their management or regimens are different than the others and thus diseases become incurable.
Ayurveda further adds the ethics, moral code of conduct, dos and don'ts, daily seasonal and sexual regimen of life which are the most important factors to continue the health of an individual vis-a-vis society. The unique feature of Ayurveda is the holistic and integrated approach to the problem of health and disease and further it has more relevance in today's modern world. Qualifying the treatment (therapeutics) it lays stress that it should be such which cures the disease but should not produce other symptoms, complications or disease. Since Ayurveda deals with the each and every aspects of human life as it is evident by its nomenclature, hence whatever knowledge had been expounded that simulates with the structure and function of the human body. As per the ancient Hindu culture human body is comprised outwardly of eight parts e.g. four extremities, head, neck, thorax and abdomen representing the perfect individual similarly Ayurveda being the exponent of human life comprised of eight branches e.g. kayachikitsa, Shalya, Shalakya, Kaumarbhritya, Agada tantra, Rasayana, Vajikarana, and Bhutavidya.
As per the modern systems of medicine, where the subject internal medicine deals with the major study, so also in Ayurveda kayachikitsa proclaims a major part of the ancient medicinal system. Actually no other branch of Ayurveda has claimed as much importance and attention as kayachikitsa has given. The term kaya is derived from the root verb "चिन् चयने" meaning to collect. The term collect denotes here to food "चियते अन्नादिभिः". By implication it refers that kaya i.e. body takes in food, digests, absorbs and metabolizes it. In brief the term kaya means the building up the body with food. The term kayachikitsa refers to the treatment of diseases, the origin of which can be traced to impaired metabolism, that is to say, the concept of kayachikitsa is based upon an intimate understanding of nutrition and the agency responsible for digestion, absorption and metabolism. To clucidate more clearly kayachikitsa is based on the concept of antaragni (internal agent responsible for digestion, absorption and metabolism). Diseases and disease syndromes which arise in the wake of the disturbed functioning of "antaragni" and the treatment for the same, is dealt with kayachikitsa. Therefore kayachikitsa is mainly concerned with the principles and methods of treatment of diseases primarily of endogenous origin engendered by the impairment of nutrition and metabolism. It embraces the entire body. Defining the kayachikitsa acharya Susrutta has stated that kayachikitsa is the branch of Ayurveda which deals with the cure of the disease like Fever, Rakta pitta (Haemophillia), Sosha (consumption), Unmada (insanity), Apasmara (epilepsy), Kustha (Leprosy), Prameha (Abnormal excretion of different essential elements of the body with urine including diabetes), Atisara diarrhoea) etc embracing the entire body.
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