Ayurveda: The Ancient Indian Science of Healing

by Ashok Majumdar

This is a comprehensive book on ayurvedic medicine, which covers all the aspects of ayurveda, presenting scientific interpretations to classical concepts of ancient India. This handy manual will prove very useful for students and researchers as well as for practitioners of alternative medicine.

Ayurveda, the science of life and longevity is an ancient Indian system of holistic medicine, which has emerged as an important form of holistic therapy throughout the world. Its essence is the conjunction of the body and the mind and their coordination that achieves optimal health and happiness.

This book is a resource of information on Ayurveda and presents a comprehensive study in an easy-to-understand style. A simplified exposition of complicated theories with minimal use of technical vocabulary makes the book intelligible to scholars and general readers alike. It reiterates that Ayurveda is not based on mere assumptions but on pure scientific facts. It is built upon the concept of Tridosha, the three bio-regulatory principles that sustain the human body.

The distinguishing features of this book are its classification of diseases, focus on causative factors and a discussion on various forms of therapy and treatment. The attention paid to detail should make it ideal for students of Ayurveda and all those interested in this system.

Table of Contents:

• Foreword
• Preface to the Second Edition
• Preface to the First Edition
• List of Abbreviations
• Majumdars - Ten Generations in the Service of Ayurveda
• Basic Scientific Concept of Ayurveda
• General Introduction
• Eight Specialised Subjects in Ayurveda
• Natural Philosophy
• Bioregulating Principles: Tridosha
• The Interior of the Body and the Digestive Processes
• Understanding Tastes: Rasas
• Pathology in Ayurveda
• Diagnostic Methodology in Ayurveda: Nidana
• General Principles of Treatment: Chikitsa
• Ancient Indian Body Purification Therapy: The Panchakarma Therapy
• Weights and Measures in Ancient India: Man Pariksha
• Pharmaceutical Preparations Used in Ayurvedic Therapy
• Rasa Shastra: Minerals, Metals and Gems in Ayurvedic Therapy
• Pulse in Ayurveda: Nadivigyana
• Concept of Nadi in Ancient Texts
• Prana: The Life Factor
• Health Village/Resort According to Ayurvedic Principles - A Proposal 
• A Concise Survey of the Ancient Texts in India Related to Science
• Globalisation of Ayurveda
• Appendices
• Appendix I: Ayurvedic Institutions in India
• Appendix II: Indian Medicine Central Council Regulations
• Appendix III: Chapters in Major Texts of Ayurveda
• Appendix IV: Website information from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Homoeopathy, Yoga and naturopathy
• Appendix V: Commonly used Medicinal Plants in Ayurveda
• Glossary of Sanskrit Terms
• Bibliography
• Index.

About the Author:

Dr Ashok Majumdar is a senior Ayurvedic practitioner based in New Delhi. He was formerly consultant to WHO in Indonesia. He completed his MBBS from Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi. He hails from a family of Ayurvedic physicians, imbued with its traditions for the past ten generations. He completed his post-graduation in Ayurveda at the Postgraduate Institute of Indian Medicine, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Dr Majumdar has authored two books on holistic medicine, Nervous System in Yoga and Tantra: Implication in Ayurveda and Home Remedies in Ayurveda.