Ayurveda

n. ancient Hindu art of medicine and of extending life

Ayurveda (Devanagari: ) or Ayurvedic medicine is an ancient system of health care that is native to the Indian subcontinent. It is presently in daily use by millions of people in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and indirectly through it being the major influence on Unani, Chinese and Tibetan Medicine. The word "Ayurveda" is a tatpurusha compound of the word meaning "life" or "life principle", and the word , which refers to a system of "knowledge". Thus "Ayurveda" roughly translates as the "knowledge of life". According to Charaka Samhita, "life" itself is defined as the "combination of the body, sense organs, mind and soul, the factor responsible for preventing decay and death, which sustains the body over time, and guides the processes of rebirth" According to this perspective, Ayurveda is concerned with measures to protect "ayus", which includes healthy living along with therapeutic measures that relate to physical, mental, social and spiritual harmony. Ayurveda is also one among the few traditional systems of medicine to contain a sophisticated system of surgery (which is referred to as "salya-chikitsa").
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Ayurveda /ayur·ve·da/ [Sanskrit] a classical system of medicine founded 5000 years ago and currently practiced in India. [more]Ayurveda - Community and Resources

Noun
1. (Sanskrit) an ancient medical treatise summarizing the Hindu art of healing and prolonging life; sometimes regarded as a 5th Veda
(hypernym) writing, written material, piece of writing
(classification) Sanskrit, Sanskritic language

Allegedly, the "most complete" system of "natural medicine" and the "mother of all healing arts." Ayurvedic theory posits a "subtle anatomy" that includes: (a) nadis, "canals" that carry prana ("cosmic energy") throughout the body; (b) chakras, "centers of consciousness" that connect body and soul; and (c) marmas, points on the body beneath which "vital structures" (physical and/or "subtle") intersect. Ayurvedic ostensible diagnosis involves examination of the eyes, face, lips, tongue, nails, and pulse. Ayurvedists associate parts of the lips and tongue, for example, with internal organs and maintain that discolorations, lines, cracks, and irritability in various areas indicate disorders in "corresponding" organs. The pulse is important because of the belief that the heart is the seat of the underlying intelligence of nature: allegedly, human consciousness. (See "classical Indian medicine.")

A group of certain of the ancient indigenous medical ways of India that stems principally from two ancient treatises--the Caraka Samhita and the Susruta Samhita. Both describe Ayurveda's source as divine.