Ayuruveda in Sri Lanka
Ayurvedic medicine is a system of medicine with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent.Globalized and modernized practices derived from Ayurvedic traditions are a type of alternative medicine. In medieval taxonomies of the Sanskrit knowledge systems, Ayurveda is assigned a place as a subsidiary Veda (upaveda). Some medicinal plant names from the Atharvaveda and other Vedas can be found in subsequent Ayurveda literature. The earliest recorded theoretical statements about the canonical models of disease in Ayurveda occur in the earliest Buddhist Canon.
The main classical Ayurvedic treatises begin with legendary accounts of the transmission of medical knowledge from the gods to sages, and thence to human physicians. Thus, the Sushruta Samhita narrates how Dhanvantari, "greatest of the mighty celestials," incarnated himself as Divodasa, a mythical king of Varanasi, who then taught medicine to a group of wise physicians, including Sushruta himself. Ayurvedic therapies have varied and evolved over more than two millennia. Therapies are typically based on complex herbal compounds, while treatises written after about 1000 CE introduced mineral and metal substances (perhaps under the influence of early Indian alchemy or rasasastra). Ancient Ayurvedic treatises also taught surgical techniques, including rhinoplasty, perineal lithotomy, the suturing of wounds, and the extraction of foreign objects.
The central theoretical ideas of Ayurveda developed in the mid-first
millennium BCE, and show parallels with Sa?khya and Vaise?ika
philosophies and with Buddhism and Jainism. Balance is emphasized, and
suppressing natural urges is considered unhealthy and claimed to lead to
illness. For example, to suppress sneezing is said to potentially give
rise to shoulder pain. However, people are also cautioned to stay within
the limits of reasonable balance and measure when following nature's
urges. For example, emphasis is placed on moderation of food intake,
sleep, and sexual intercourse.
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