Purpose of life: Essential quality to learn Ayurveda

āyu: kāmāyamānena dharmārtha sukhasādhanam | āyurvedopadeśeṣu vidheya: paramādara: ||

To achieve the purpose of life, that is
1. Dharma – following the path of righteousness
2. Artha – earning money in a legal way
3. Kama – fulfilling our desire
4. Moksha – achieving Salvation,
To achieve this purpose of life, one should concentrate on having a long life. To learn the science of Ayurveda, which explains how to achieve this purpose, ‘obedience’ (Vidheya) is the most important quality.

Origin of Ayurveda

Lord Brahma, remembering Ayurveda, taught it to Prajapathi, he in turn taught it to Ashwini Kumaras (twins), they taught it to Sahasraksa (Lord Indra), he taught it to Atri’s son (Atreya Punarvasu) and other sages, they taught it to Agnivesa and others and they (Agnivesha and other disciples ) composed treatises, each one separately. From those Ayurvedic text books, which are too elaborate and hence very difficult to study, only the essence is collected and presented in Ashtanga Hridaya, which is neither too short nor too elaborate.

Branches of Ayurveda

kāyabālagrahordhvāṅga śalyadaṃṣṭrā jarāvṛṣān || aṣṭāvaṅgāni tasyāhu: cikitsā yeṣu saṃśritā |

1. Kaya Chikitsa – General medicine
2. Bala Chikitsa – Paediatrics
3. Graha Chikitsa – Psychiatry
4. Urdhvanga Chikitsa – Diseases and treatment of Ear, Nose, Throat, Eyes and Head (neck and above region)
5. Shalya Chikitsa – Surgery
6. Damshrta Chikitsa – Toxicology
7. Jara Chikitsa – Geriatrics
8. Vrushya Chikitsa – Aphrodisiac therapy
These are the eight branches of Ayurveda.