Ayurveda the Expanding Frontiers (An Anthology of Essays by Experts to mark the 150th Birth Anniversary of Vaidyaratnam P.S. Varier)

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Back of the Book "It was our considered decision that AVS should bring out a sort of a status report on the current state of affairs of ayurveda viewed from an academic perspective. This anthology of professional essays is the outcome of that decision. Changes, indeed, are taking place in every domain of ayurveda It is for certain that the frontiers of ayurveda are really expanding. We thought that taking an interim stock of the status of that scenario will be appropriate at this juncture. We are sure that such an academic volume would naturally help the national efforts to strengthen ayurveda

This brief anthology of invited essays by professional experts, as a collective effort, attempts to take a perspectival view on some current concepts, concerns and approaches pertaining to the core components of ayurveda, in the context of the ongoing paradigmatic shifts. There has happened a boosting of enthusiasm and proliferation of activities in both the academic and the functional domains of ayurveda.

This volume is conceived as a record of those developments and their implications. The authors of the essays have expressed their expectations and concerns in the context of the advancing frontiers of ayurveda as a consequence of the shifting paradigms of its knowledge base. The fact that they have been put forth here for the informed consideration of all stakeholders can itself be seen as a major forward step in the long process of strengthening ayurveda

Preface Arya Vaidya Sala (AVS), as a 120 years old Charitable Institution, is fairly well recognised for being an authentic practitioner of classical ayurveda. What is, perhaps, not so well known is the fact that AVS is also engaged in the enrichment and propagation of this traditional knowledge system. As part of our efforts to promote knowledge generation, we have established the Centre for Medicinal Plants Research and an R&D Department at Kottakkal. Both these wings have partnered with reputed national research institutes in important research projects which have helped to strengthen and validate ayurvedic knowledge base. Hosting academic seminars and publishing scientific documents form part of our efforts in propagating the message of authentic ayurveda. Our illustrious Founder, Vaidyaratnam P.S. Varier had clearly defined the organisational Vision in this regard. And he had set for us a time tested mode of action for realising that Vision. He published Dhanwantari, the first medical journal of Kerala as early as in 1903, The present volume, which is a compendium of invited essays by subject experts, is the latest in a long series of books, periodicals, reference manuals, monographs, and seminar proceedings, that our Publications Department has been bringing out with a regular periodicity.

Introduction Knowledge has no boundaries is a statement which may sound a little rhetoric. course, have no limits or boundaries. And yet, human history has shown us that the possible development of a universalised body of knowledge has often been impaired by political, social, cultural, and even economic divides. An individual knowledge system can often come under diverse socio-political constraints which could impede the natural course of its development and its application. A typical example is that of ayurveda whose origins are traced to periods in the pre-Christian era. Since then, it had a natural and uninterrupted history of academic development for several centuries, Structural and functional upgradations happened during those periods. Ayurveda is known to possess the largest number of documented records of knowledge compared to any other form of the so called CAM (complementary and alternative systems of medicine). Starting from the opening centuries of Christian era, when the Samhitas were composed, and running through several subsequent centuries, the continuously evolving ayurvedic knowledge base has been recorded in numerous traditional treatises mostly written in the classical language of Sanskrit as also in a few other Indian languages. Certain elements of ayurvedic practice have even traversed to distant civilisations in Persia, Arabia and China in the early centuries.

**Contents and Sample Pages**