Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya (Āyurveda book)

Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya [Hṛdayaṃ]—Ācārya Vāgbhaṭṭa was the son of Siṃhagupta and the grandson of Vāgbhaṭṭa belongs to the region of river Sindhu. His forefathers were also great scholars of Āyurveda. He was a disciple of Avalokita, the chief monk of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Based on the internal and external evidence, the date of Vāgbhaṭṭa can be fixed between the 4th and 5th century AD. The name of a famous book written by Vāgbhaṭṭa is Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya. Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya is one of the most celebrated and most often studied treatises on Indian medicine, after Caraka-Saṃhitā and Suśruta-Saṃhitā.

Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdayaṃ [Hṛdaya] contains six sthānas (sections) each sthāna consisting of varying numbers of Adhyāyas; the total number of chapters being One hundred twenty. The text is composed entirely in poetry. The total number of verses is Seven thousand one hundred twenty. The first section Sūtra sthāna has thirty chapters dealing with basic doctrines of Āyurveda. Principles of health, prevention of diseases, properties of articles of diet and drugs, humoral physiology and pathology, different kinds of diseases and methods of treatment. The second section Śarīra sthāna has six chapters dealing with embryology, anatomy, physiology, physiognomy, physical and psychological constitutions, auspicious and inauspicious dreams and omens, signs of bad prognosis and oncoming death. The third section Nidānasthāna with Sixteen chapters describes the causes, premonitory symptoms, characteristic features pathogenesis and prognosis of some important diseases coming within the realm of Kāyacikitsā (inner medicine). The fourth section cikitsā sthāna twenty-two chapters elaborating the methods of treatment of all major organic diseases, including efficacious medicinal recipes, diet and care of the patient. The fifth section Kalpa-siddhi sthāna has six chapters dealing with the preparation of recipes, administration of purificatory therapies and management of complications; and principles of pharmacy. The sixth and the last section Uttara sthāna is devoted to the remaining seven branches of Āyurveda. It has forty chapters in total; divided as follows, viz. three for Bāla cikitsā or demonology psychiatry, seventeen for Ūrdhvāṅga cikitsā or diseases of organs in the head, subdivided again nine for Netracikitsā or ophthalmology, two for Karṇacikitsā or otology, two for Nāsācikitsā or rhinology, two for Mukhacikitsā or mouth, teeth and throat, and two for Śiraroga or diseases of the head. Śalya cikitsā or surgery has ten chapters; Daṃṣṭrā or toxicology has four; Jarā cikitsā or rasāyana or rejuvenation therapy, geriatrics and Vṛṣa or Vājīkaraṇa or vilification therapy or aphrodisiacs have one chapter each. The greater portion of the text being devoted to Kāyacikitsā or inner medicine is thus conspicuous^[1].