A General Introduction to Ayurveda

Ayurveda is the indigenous Indian medical science. In Sanskrit, Ayur means ‘pertaining to life’ and Veda, ‘science’ or ‘wisdom.’

Ayurveda is believed to have originated as a ray of enlightenment in the cosmic consciousness of Brahma, the creator, at the time of creation. Brahma composed Ayurveda as a branch of Atharva Veda consisting of a hundred thousand verses in a thousand chapters in eight sections or parts. Brahma is believed to have imparted the knowledge to his disciple Daksha Prajapati, who passed it on to Ashwins, the twin gods, who in turn conferred it on Indra, the King of the gods. It is believed that great seers of the earth deputed eminent sages Dhanwantari, Bharadwaja and Kashyapa to heaven to learn this from Indra. That is how Ayurveda descended from the skies to alleviate the suffering of humans.

The book, Ayurveda: The Mantra of Niramaya (A General Introduction to Ayurveda), published by Invis Multimedia is primarily intended to popularize the age-old healthcare wisdom of Ayurveda by introducing it in simple terms. It attempts to provide an overview of Ayurveda by summarizing information from texts ranging from mythological scripts to modern research papers. It is not designed as a treatment-aid, but as a text ideally suited for the academics as well as non-academics trying to understand the science. The book features five sections namely History, Philosophy, Pharmacology, the Body Mystique and Rejuvenation. The book is in English language.