Traditional Āyurvedic Medicine (TAM)

Background and History

Excerpted from Foundations of Āyurveda, Volume 1: Essentials of Professional Āyurveda

The true historical origins of Āyurveda may never be fully known. The science is estimated to be at least several thousand years old based on surviving historical records. Proving a definitive start date should be considered nearly impossible since it is fairly certain that the oldest original records do not exist today.

The delicate, paper palm leaves on which the knowledge was originally transcribed have life spans of a few hundred years in the most optimal conditions. Additionally, the effort required to continuously maintain information is intense and requires a stable society capable of prioritizing and maintaining these types of activities.

Throughout its older periods of history, Āyurveda was said to be passed down through two main methods – smṛti (memory) and śhruti (recitation). According to its own account, Āyurveda claims to have been recalled or remembered through the process of smṛti because the nature of the knowledge is timeless, universal and has always been inherent in nature.

This knowledge was then passed down through śhruti, or the oral tradition. The entire body of knowledge had to be recited and completely memorized before one could be considered competent in the subject.

More recently, in the last 2,000 to 3,000 years, Āyurveda has also been recorded in written manuscript form. The oldest surviving classical works, the Charaka Saṃhitā and Suśhruta Saṃhitā, provide records of a large part of the science.

Precise dates of origin for these manuscripts cannot be reliably determined. It is likely that many additional texts were also recorded around the same time periods but only a small portion of these are available today. The majority of works were either lost partially or completely, or destroyed over time.