Vedic Health Care System (Clinical Practice of Sushrutokta Marm Chikitsa And Siravedhan)

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Sushrut Sanhita is the epic of Shalya Chikitsa. The exact meaning of Shalya is the study of imbalance of four humors—Vat, Pitta, Kaph and Rakta—or disease produced by them, identification of disease or the method of curing the disease.

Siravedhan and Mann chikitsa were very prevalent and highly accepted therapy during Vedic period and these principles of therapy were available mainly in Rigved and Atharvaved and got flourished during Sanhita period.

The book endeavours to present Sushrut Shalya Chikitsa, which is almost lost today, in its simplest form so that it may give the right direction to the students and researchers of Ayurveda.

It gives me great pleasure to write the foreword of this book "Vedic Health Care System: Clinical Practice of Sushrutokta Marm Chikitsa and Siravedhan". In the Vedic era, Siravedhanam and Agnikarma were practiced for treating a number of ailments. Ayurved, the Science of Indian medicines, -while treating the patient, adopts a holistic approach. Siravedhan and Marm chikitsa were very prevalent and highly accepted therapy during Vedic period and these principles of therapy were mentioned in Rigved and Atharvaved and got flourished during Sanhita period. It is amazing to read the details of treatment which Sushrut described in Sushrut Sanhita. With no modern equipments available to those early physicians, the intricate description of Sira, Dhamani and Marm leave the best of todays minds wondering as to what force guided them to see through the patient and treat him with the best of results. We, in the present era, need to study the work of those early physicians and learn the practice of Siravedhanam and Agnikarma.

I am sure that after reading this book, the concept of Marm and Siravedhanam will be better understood and finally it will be clear to the whole world that Acupuncture as we understand today is one of the component of age-old Shalya Chikitsa and is the Indian study of Dhanvantari School.

I compliment authors of this book and wish them all the success in life and hope that this book will prove a boon for treatment of ailments and a guide for learners of Ayurveda be it a student or a practitioner or researcher in this fieId.

All that has been written in Vedas regarding health care system in general, Siravedhan and Agnikarm in particular can not be compiled in one book. Ayurved treats the patient as a whole. In other words one should have a holistic approach to treat a patient. In fact, Marm Chikitsa ensures better results when practised as a combination therapy of Ayurvedic care. For example while treating chronic pain by Siravedhan other aspects of health of the patient must be considered for better response.

Siravedhan and Marm chikitsa were very prevalent and highly accepted therapy during Vedic period and these principles of therapy were available mainly in Rigved and Atharvaved and got flourished during Sanhita period. Dhanvantari has elaborated these methods in a very simple and practical form in Sushrut Sanhita. Uses of herbs, animal products, minerals and metals by different scientific methods and surgical and para-surgical methods alongwith cure of ailments by patient's own body points were the main methods of treatment. During that period, treatment through Dhamani, Sira and Marm was in its supreme and highly developed. Gradually with the passage of time and regular outside invasions all Vedic literatures on Astrology, Grammer and Ayurved almost got laded in memory. Fixed misconceptions reigned and ruined the great Hence of Ayurved and non-availability of diagrams and illustrations were also responsible for this. This is the reason that even today Dhamani and Sira are wrongly interpretated as blood carrying Arta)/ and Veins. An important question remained unanswered till today about the location of 24 Dhamanis and 700 Siras mentioned in Sushi-ut Sanbita. Calculations and distributions of 700 Siras alongwith calculations and distributions of 10 urdhva, 10 adhah and 4 tiryak Dhamanis are still unknown. While according to Sushruta Sanhita Sutra Stban 14 and Simi& Stban 9 it is the Rasa which flows in the Dhamani and not the blood. Sushrut has clearly mentioned in Sharir Sthan 9/ 4-9 and Sutra Sthan 14/3 that these 24 Dhamanis and 700 Siras are responsible for the control of Respiration, Urination, Defecation, Menstruation etc. and only these extract out (yapan) the disease. The body remains healthy, and disease free because of the free and unobstructed flow of Rasa Any obstruction on particular pathway of Rasa results in particular disease and can be rooted out by re-regulating the flow of Rasa by Siravedhan.

Then why and how blunder was committed of confirming Dhamani as Artery and Sira as Veins. Ailments like Asthma, fever, obstruction in urine etc. cannot be rooted out by Artery. Even today few words of Sushnit could not be understood in their right perspective and therefore it might have been the reason of not realising the power of rooting out the disease through Dhamani. The meaning of 'yapan' could not be translated and understood and has been in use as such till now. However the meaning of 'yapan' unfolds all the pages to understand the curing property of Sira, Dhamani and Marma because the meaning of 'yapan' is to extract out (root out) the disease.

Chinese literature of Acupuncture when decoded answers to it. In fact 24 channels (meridians) of Chinese Acupuncture are nothing else than Sushrut's 24 Dhamanis while points on channels are 700 Siras of Sushrut. Sushrut has very authentically mentioned that Siras are embedded in Dliamanis other than extra canals. Similarly, external Mamas are also composed of these Siras wherein bones, nerves, joints etc. also appear as per their specific locations. In fact this knowledge has already got passed to the nearby countries around India mainly during 'Buddha' period and got stored as in cold storage. It is not a coincidence that almost all Buddhist countries have this knowledge and it is the Indian fortune that the origin of this knowledge is from India.

Many unsolved and unanswered subjects of Chinese Acupuncture can be solved and understood comprehensively by Sushrut Sanhita. This work of ours may be of specific help in this direction. Sushrut Sanhita can now be understood in better perspective. Keeping this view the future researchers and translators would unfold still newer subjects and strengthen further the Ayurved and medical science. The detail description and method of treatment in the form of sutra shall help in eliminating the ailments of human being.

Sushrut Sanhita is the epic of Shalya Chikitsa. The exact meaning of Shalya is the study of imbalance of four humors Vat, Pitta, Kaph and Rakta or disease produced by them, identification of disease or the method of curing the disease.

According to Sushrut an uninterrupted circulation of the living factor Rasa (Chinese call it Qi) is responsible for a good health and any obstacle in the circulation results in disease. The disease appears in its true form in that channel where there is an obstruction. The disease is cured if the path or speed of circulation of Rasa is revived. This Rasa is circulated in the Dhamanis and there are seven hundred Siras embedded in these Dhamanis. The four types of Siras responsible for the circulation of Vat, Pitta, Kaph and Rakta are almost situated at the Marmas. Stimulation of these Marmas revives the circulation of Rasa in the Dhamanis.

Unfortunately meaning of Sira, Dhamani and Marmas has till now been wrongly translated because of which Sushrut Sanhita could not be understood in its right perspective. Sira has been misunderstood as vein, Dhamanis as artery and Marmas are mistakenly read as the tissues to be saved during surgery. In fact Sira and Dhamani are not vein and artery instead they are the pathways of the micro-element Rasa not visible by naked eye and can be seen by electronic instruments. Even Shushrut has said that the micro-refined Rasa flows through Dhamani and Sira and not the blood. Sira and Dhamani are not vein or artery instead they are the channels for the circulation of Rasa.

Except in a very few places Rakta Mokshan does not mean blood letting from the body, instead it means to revive the speed of circulation of blood in the channels. It is again to be made clear that during acupuncture the meaning of one Prastha Shonit Mokshan does not mean blood letting of 13.5 Pal of blood by weight instead it means the time factor involved for one Prastha shonit Mokshan. This is the time involved to stimulate the Sirabindu and it comes out to 13.5 minutes i.e. the Sirabindu is to be stimulated for 13.5 minutes.

We would like to make it clear here that Marmas. when affected cause disease mean that particular Marmas which are at Torso, extremities and head represent the vital organs of the body and by stimulating these outer points the disease can be cured.

For example, Kshipra Marmas which are situated at the extremities when punctured result into death, does not at all mean that when hands are affected it will result into death. Infact Kshipra Marmas at the extremities of hands and feet shows their being diseased or Viddha of that internal vital organs Maim and the disease can he rooted out from Kshipra Marma of extremities. According to Sushrut death occurs due to Akshep when Kshipra Marma is Viddha(Su.Sh.6/31.32),It must he made very clear here that Kshipra Marma is the marm related to blood coagulating system and this Marm is also related to the system of Akshep(Apoplexy).Thus when Kshipra Marma is Viddha (system affected by disease) - the disease occurs and it can be cured by stimulating the marm points of hands or feet. This is relevant for all the Marmas.

It pains to write that the Sushrut Sanhita has been translated so wrongly that at one place it is mentioned that when Kshipra Marma is viddha—cut the hands and feet from Manibandh which sounds very funny (Sushrut Sharir, 6/ 33 Vimarsha (comments)) Through this book our endeavour is to present Sushrut Shalya Chikitsa, which is almost lost today in its simplest form so that it may give the right direction to the students and, researchers of Ayurveda.