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PROLOGUE

Ashtanga Hrudaya is one of the Great triads (Bruhattrayi) of Ayurvedic literature. It's relevance and contribution to ayurveda can be explained in the following verses ----

तेभ्योऽतिविप्रकीर्णेभ्य: प्राय: सारतरोच्चय:।
क्रियतेऽष्टाङ्गहृदयं नातिसंक्षेपविस्तरम्॥ (अ. हृ. सू. १/ ४, ५)

To bring together all the apects (of ayurveda) which are explained elaborately by Brahma and others, and to avoid defects like atisankshepa (condensation) and ativistara (elaboration), Ashtanga Hrudaya is being written.

हृदयमिव हृदयमेतत् सर्वायुर्वेदवाङ्मयपयोधेः ।
कृत्त्वा यच्छुभमाप्तं शुभमस्तु परं ततो जगतः ॥ (अ. हृ. उ. ४०/८९)

Let the auspiciousness that was begotten by me (Vagbhata) through composing this work (Ashtanga Hrudaya ) that mirrors the essence of the vast ocean of Ayurvedic knowledge confer auspiciousness on the world.

The Ashtanga Hrudaya Samhita is not a Sutra text. As the name suggests it is a compendium (Sk. Samhita). Unfortunately its author remains anonymous. However, there is sufficient evidence that the writer was indeed Vagbhata, a son of the physician Simhagupta (Vogel, 1965; Murthy, 1991) as seen in the colophon of each chapter of the text. Vagbhata (Literally: Superior in Speech) belonged to the Atreya lineage.

Presumably Vagbhata lived from 550 to 600 AD (Murthy, 1991). He revered the ancient Vedic precepts as well as Buddhist practices that were then popular in India. Both philosophies are exhibited with equal respect in his work. According to the Tibetan physician and regent of the Vth Dalai Lama, Sangye Gyatso (Tib. sangs rgyas rgya mtso, 1653-1705) was a Brahmin and later converted to Buddhism while studying in Magadha (Taube, 1981).

As Dr. M.S.Valiathan quotes, "Vagbhata was the king of the domain of Ayurveda, as well as the king of poetic rhythm and style; along with his sparkling distillate of ancient lore, he succeeded in giving us an admirable text, which has never been exceeded in authority by anything written by his successors. But Vagbhata derives his majesty, above all, from his application of moral ideas to the practice of medicine under conditions fixed by the ancient precepts of Ayurveda. Vagbhata's moral universe was not bound up with any rigid system of thought or belief. He knew that the practice of a medicine indifferent to moral ideas would be soulless and indifferent to life as well. Alone among the Acharyas, he had the heart to proclaim that "a mind, pure and soaked in compassion, is the best febrifuge." No wonder, he remains one of the chief glories of Ayurveda, who is truly worthy of our homage". He further quotes on Ashtanga Hrudaya as bear eloquent testimony to Vagbhata's dual claim to greatness as both a physician and a poet. "It is a tribute to Vagbhata genius that he could effortlessly infuse poetry into such mundane themes as the collection of suitable herbs for treatment. Nothing in the domains of health, disease, and healing, including death, was too prosaic or too technical for Vagbhata's muse to touch and adorn". (Legacy of Vagbhata by M. S. Valiathan -book review by K Rajagopalan, G Geetha Krishnan).

The Ashtanga Hrudaya, which is a condensed version of the earlier Ashtanga Sangraha by the same author, is particularly favored by scholars because of the clarity of its presentation. The Ashtanga Hrudaya samhita is a systematized text of human illness and therapy in six sections which incorporates the Eight Branches, known as Ashtanga in Sanskrit: Internal Medicine, Paediatrics, Psychiatry, E.N.T and Ophthalmology, Toxicology, Basic Surgery, Geriatrics and the science of Aphrodisiacs.

1. Kaya Cikitsa| Internal Medicine
Deals with the prevention, etiology, prognosis and management of disease.
2.Shalya Tantra| Surgery
Various surgeries are described. The first plastic surgery was described in the Sushrut Samhita.
3. Shalakya Tantra| Ear, Nose, Throat and Eye Diseases
The Ayurvedic branch of ophthalmology and Oto-rhinolaryngology - diseases of eye and ear, nose and throat.
4. Kaumarabhrutya| Pediatrics
Deals with prenatal and postnatal baby care and with the care of the mother before conception and during pregnancy. Various childhood diseases and treatments come under this branch. 5. Agadatantra | Toxicology
This branch deals with the toxicity and purification of herbs as well as mineral and animal products.
6. Bhutavidya| Psychiatry
This branch is concerned with mental diseases and their treatment. Treatment methods include not only diet and herbs, but also yogic methods for improving the state of mind. There is ample material for research on this branch in the Atharva Veda.
7. Rasayana| The Science of Rejuvenation
This therapy is used to prevent disease and promote healthy living.
8. Vajikarana| The Science of Aphrodisiacs
This branch deals with the means of increasing sexual vitality and efficiency. For achieving healthy and intelligent progeny, the therapy of Rasayana and Vajikarana are closely interrelated. Vajikarana medicines also act as rejuvenatives.

The treatise is written in 7120 easily understood poetic verses that embody the essence of Ayurvedic knowledge. It is to some extent a summary or compilation of Caraka Samhita, Sushruta samhita and other texts, but also includes much new information which did not appear in earlier texts. There are sections on longevity, personal hygiene, the causes of illness, influence of season and time on the human organism, types and classifications of medicine, the significance of the sense of taste, pregnancy and possible complications during birth, prakruti, individual constitutions and various aids for establishing a prognosis. There is also detailed information on Pancakarma therapies including: therapeutically induced vomiting, the use of laxatives, enemas, nasal instillations, complications that might occur during such therapies and the necessary medications. Included without alteration are verses of Caraka Samhita, Sushruta samhita and Ashtanga Sangraha. The text was translated into Arabic in the late 8th century AD.

Vagbhata was obviously keen, as indeed he has acknowledged, to restate the essence of past knowledge in Ayurveda to suit his times, and he was also conscious of the success of his effort, as shown by his confident statement: "From those extensive texts, the essence alone has been extracted in this treatise - Ashtanga Hrudaya - which is neither too short nor too long." Vagbhata, through his work, boldly throws the challenge to his posterity on the imperative for them to study his work or that of Charaka or Sushruta.

Ashtanga Hrudaya is celebrated not only for simplification and extraction, but also for its brilliant use of similes (upama), rhyme (prasa), and a variety of metrical structures (vrtta). Almost every verse in Ashtanga Hrudaya is so melodious and pleasing to the ear that the reader will probably be carried away as much by the magic of Vagbhata's poetry, as by the serious medical concepts that it intends to convey.

Several commentators have commentated on this work, the most popular ones being Arunadatta's Sarvangasundara and Hemadri's Ayurveda-rasayana

Ashtanga Samgraha

Ashtanga Samgraha is one of the important works of Ayurveda written by Vagbhata. It’s contribution to the science of ayurveda is seen in the following verse ----

सर्वतन्त्राण्यत: प्राय: संहृत्याऽष्टाङ्गसंग्रह: ।
अस्थान-विस्तराक्षेपपुनरुक्त्यादिवर्जित: ॥
--------------करिष्यते ।(अ. सं. सू. १/७)

Ashtanga Samgraha was written to avoid defects like asthana-vistara (elaboration at inappropriate places), asthana-sankshepa (to condense in inappropriate places) and punarukti (repeataion) in the exposition of Ayurveda and to bring together its eight limbs (like kaya, bala, graha etc).

Vagbhata presumably lived between 550 to 600 AD (Murthy, 1991). He revered ancient Vedic precepts as well as Buddhist practices that were popular in the India of his time. Both philosophies are exhibited with equal respect in his work. According to the Tibetan physician and regent of the Vth Dalai Lama, Sangye Gyatso (Tib. sangs rgyas rgya mtso, 1653-1705) Vagbhata was a Brahmin and later converted to Buddhism while studying in Magadha (Taube, 1981).

"As medicine evolved after Charaka, it became more of a practical art, with decreasing emphasis on its philosophical basis. One should look less for the abstract and the profound, and more for the concrete and practical in Ashtanga Samgrahaand AshtangaHridaya, which were written for busy practitioners and young trainees of ayurveda , who then, as at present, had little time or inclination for philosophical reflection", opines Dr.M.S.Valiathan in his book “Legacy of Vagbhata”. He also mentions "Vagbhata was the king of the domain of ayurveda , as well as the king of poetic rhythm and style; along with his sparkling distillate of ancient lore, he succeeded in giving us an admirable text, which has never been exceeded in authority by anything written by his successors. But Vagbhata derives his majesty, above all, from his application of moral ideas to the practice of medicine under conditions fixed by the ancient precepts of ayurveda . Vagbhata's moral universe was not bound up with any rigid system of thought or belief. He knew that the practice of a medicine indifferent to moral ideas would be soulless and indifferent to life as well. Alone among the acaryas, he had the heart to proclaim that "a mind, pure and soaked in compassion, is the best febrifuge." No wonder, he remains one of the chief glories of ayurveda , who is truly worthy of our homage".

The Ashtanga Samgraha is a systematized text of human illness and therapy in six sections which incorporates the Eight Branches, known as Ashtanga in Sanskrit: Internal Medicine, Paediatrics, Psychiatry, E.N.T and ophthalmology, Toxicology, Basic Surgery, Geriatrics and Science of Aphrodisiacs.

This compendium is divided into 6 sections and 150 chapters
sutrasthana - 40 chapters
nidanasthana- 16 "
sharirasthana- 12 "
cikitsasthana- 24 "
kalpasthana - 8 "
uttarasthana - 50 "
Ashtanga Samgraha, written in a sutra style, describes about the fundamental principles of ayurveda that are necessary in maintaining the health of a healthy and curing the diseases of the diseased.

The word Ashta in Ashtanga translates to eight, referring to the number of branches that Ayurveda deals with. These are as follows

1. Kaya cikitsa | Internal Medicine
Deals with the prevention, etiology, prognosis and management of disease.

2 shalya Tantra | Surgery
Various surgeries are described. The first plastic surgery was described in the Sushrut Samhita.

3. shalakya Tantra | Ear, Nose, Throat and Eye Diseases
The Ayurvedic branch of ophthalmology and Oto-rhinolaryngology - diseases of eye and ear, nose and throat.

4. Kaumarabhrutya | Pediatrics
Deals with prenatal and postnatal baby care and with the care of the mother before conception and during pregnancy. Various childhood diseases and treatments come under this branch.

5. Agadatantra | Toxicology
This branch deals with the toxicity and purification of herbs as well as mineral and animal products.

6. Bhuta vidya | Psychiatry
This branch is concerned with mental diseases and their treatment. Treatment methods include not only diet and herbs, but also yogic methods for improving the state of mind. There is ample material for research on this branch in the Atharva Veda.

7. Rasayana| The Science of Rejuvenation
This therapy is used to prevent disease and promote healthy living.

8. Vajikarana | The Science of Aphrodisiacs
This branch deals with the means of increasing sexual vitality and efficiency. For achieving healthy and intelligent progeny, the therapy of Rasayana and Vajikarana are closely interrelated. Vajikarana medicines also act as rejuvenatives.

Of the several commentaries that are said to have been written for this work, only Indu's Shashilekha has come down to us.

Vagbhata was obviously keen, as indeed he has acknowledged, to restate the essence of past knowledge in ayurveda to suit his times, and he was also conscious of the success of his effort, as shown by his confident statement: "From those extensive texts, the essence alone has been extracted in this treatise ".

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