Atharvaveda and Charaka Samhita
by Laxmi Maji | 2021 | 143,541 words
This page relates ‘Vatavyadhi (disease caused by Vayu)’ found in the study on diseases and remedies found in the Atharvaveda and Charaka-samhita. These texts deal with Ayurveda—the ancient Indian Science of life—which lays down the principles for keeping a sound health involving the use of herbs, roots and leaves. The Atharvaveda refers to one of the four Vedas (ancient Sanskrit texts encompassing all kinds of knowledge and science) containing many details on Ayurveda, which is here taken up for study.
Vātavyādhi (disease caused by Vāyu)
Maharṣi Caraka discusses disease of Vātavyādhi and treatment of disease caused by Vāyu and Vāta-vyādhi-cikitsā. Vāyu itself is the disease. By implication, the aggravated vāyu itself after afflicting the concerned dūṣyas pervades the entire body or a part of it to give rise to different types of pain for which the disease is called Vāta-vyādhi. Vayu is the elan vitae, vāyu is the strength and vāyu is the sustained of the body of living beings. There are five divisions of vāyu, namely Prāṇa, Udāna, Samāna, Vyāna, and Apāna. Eighty diseases occur due to vāta. Premonitory symptom of vāyu is unmanifested. The treatment of vāyu includes oleation, sudation, mild purgation with cuter oil, bloodletting, venesection, nasya, therapeutic enema, Daśamūlādi ghṛta, Citrakādi ghṛta, repeated cold and hot treatment, strong purgation etc.[1]
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
C. Cikitsāsthāna–XXVIII.3-182; Baidyacharya Kalikinkar Sensarma & Ayurbedacharya Satyasekhar Bhattacharya (eds.), Caraka-Samhita–Vol. IV, trans. Kabiraj Jasodanandan Sirkar, Kolkata, Deepayan Publication, 2013, pp. 157-189.