Origin Of Ayurveda

 Ayurveda is considered the 'upaveda' or accessory Veda to the Atharva Veda, which is the first Hindu text on medicine and is the fourth book of the Vedas. The four Vedas are the world's oldest literary documents in an Indo-European language.

Interestingly, Ayurveda's mythological origins are attributed to the Indo-European Nasatya or Aswins, twin physicians of the gods of the ancient Indo-European pantheon. Four thousand year old references to the Nasatya are found in the now extinct, Hurrian and Hittite languages in Turkey and in the Sanskrit language in India.

A renowned Ayurvedic text from a period akin to the Atharva Veda is the Charaka Samhita, believed to have been penned around 1000 B.C.E. in Sanskrit within the Indus Valley region. This treatise focuses on general medicine, indicating the likelihood that Ayurveda, originating from pan-Indo-European roots, was gradually shaping into a distinct system within the Indian subcontinent by the first millennium B.C.E.

The enduring impact of Ayurveda beyond the Indo-European realm gained momentum following the ascent and diffusion of Buddhism in the 6th century B.C.E. Buddhist monks disseminated Ayurvedic principles to regions including China, Tibet, Korea, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka, imprinting a lasting influence on their medical practices.

In more contemporary times, the German translation of an Ayurvedic manuscript dating back to before 1000 B.C.E., the Susruta Samhita, contributed to modern medicine through the development of plastic surgery. Susruta delineated eight branches within Ayurveda, encompassing general medicine, surgery, ENT and eye ailments, toxicology, psychiatry, pediatrics, gynecology, as well as sexology and virility.