What is Ayurveda? Meaning, Aims and the Eight Branches

🌿 Ayurveda Gyanmala — with the Nadi Vaidyas | Issue 001

The meaning, aims and eight branches of Ayurveda — in plain words

Author: Nadi Vaidya Dr. Ajit Singh Yadav (BAMS) • Co-authors: Nadi Vaidya Dr. Saloni Yadav Vashishth (BAMS, MD (DN)), Nadi Vaidya Dr. Mohit Vashishth (BAMS, MD (AM))
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What is Ayurveda? Ayurveda is India's ancient science of life. The word means “knowledge of life” — how to keep life healthy, balanced and content. Its first aim is to protect the health of the healthy, and its second is to relieve the illness of the sick.

Is Ayurveda only herbs and decoctions? Is it just grandmother's home remedies? Does the word “Ayurvedic” on a label make anything safe? And how does Nadi Pariksha, the reading of the pulse, fit in?

Rising early, eating by the season, turmeric, ghee, tulsi and spices in our kitchens — these are glimpses of Ayurveda in everyday Indian homes. But Ayurveda is far larger than these habits: it is a complete, systematic medical science. In this Gyanmala (“garland of knowledge”) we will learn it from the beginning, one bead at a time.

The Charaka Samhita, the foremost classical text of Ayurveda, defines it like this —

“हिताहितं सुखं दुःखमायुस्तस्य हिताहितम्।
मानं च तच्च यत्रोक्तमायुर्वेदः स उच्यते॥”

Meaning: The science that describes beneficial and harmful life, happy and unhappy life, what is good and bad for life, and the measure of life, is called Ayurveda. (Charaka Samhita, Sutrasthana 1)

1. What the word Ayurveda means

“Ayurveda” joins two words — ayu (life) and veda (knowledge). In Ayurveda, “ayu” is more than age. The Charaka Samhita says —

“शरीरेन्द्रियसत्त्वात्मसंयोगो धारि जीवितम्।”

Life is the continued union of body, senses, mind and soul. That is why Ayurveda speaks about the mind and the way we live, not only the body.

2. The aim of Ayurveda — in two lines

“स्वस्थस्य स्वास्थ्यरक्षणम्, आतुरस्य विकारप्रशमनं च।”

First: protect the health of the healthy. Second: relieve the illness of the sick.

Notice that the healthy come first. Ayurveda’s greatest strength is prevention — looking after the body through daily routine, seasonal routine, right food, full sleep and a balanced mind, before illness arrives.

3. How old is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda’s roots are traced to the Vedas, and it is called an Upaveda of the Atharvaveda. Its three foremost texts, the Brihattrayi, are —

• Charaka Samhita — the foundation text of Kaya Chikitsa (general medicine)
• Sushruta Samhita — the ancient text of Shalya (surgery)
• Ashtanga Hridaya — by Vagbhata, a concise summary of all eight branches

Scholars generally consider these texts to be around two thousand years old or older. Detailed descriptions of Nadi Pariksha appear in later texts such as the Sharngadhara Samhita and Yogaratnakara.

4. Ashtanga Ayurveda — the eight branches

Ayurveda is divided into eight branches, much like the departments of a modern hospital.

5. The core principles — a map of this series

Ayurveda rests on a few core principles. Coming issues will explain each one in depth —

• Panchamahabhuta: space, air, fire, water, earth — the five elements of nature and the body
• Tridosha: Vata, Pitta, Kapha — the three functional forces of the body
• Sapta Dhatu, Agni and Mala: how the body is built, digests and cleanses itself
• Prakriti: each person’s inborn physical and mental constitution
• Trayopastambha: food, sleep and Brahmacharya — the three pillars of life
• Dinacharya and Ritucharya: living by the day and by the season

6. Ayurveda and modern medicine

Ayurveda is a recognised system of medicine in India. The Government of India has a separate Ministry of AYUSH for it, and an Ayurvedic doctor trains through the BAMS degree (five and a half years including internship), with postgraduate MD/MS study after that. The World Health Organization has also set up its Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

Many Ayurvedic herbs and practices are now being studied scientifically. Some show encouraging results; many need more research. The sensible view is to see Ayurveda and modern medicine as complementary, not opposed — and in emergencies, serious infections, accidents and surgery, modern medicine has the most important role.

7. Common myths about Ayurveda

8. The seven Prakritis — Ayurveda looks at the person

Ayurveda looks not only at the disease but at the person. The same problem — constipation or poor sleep, say — can have different causes in a Vata, Pitta or Kapha person, so the advice differs too.

Each Prakriti will get its own issues — body, mind and emotions, diet and lifestyle.

9. What Ayurveda reminds us this season

In North India, Sharad (autumn) is ending and Hemanta (early winter) is arriving. Ayurveda describes digestion as naturally strong in Hemanta, so it is considered a time to build strength with nourishing, warm, fresh food. A full issue on winter eating is coming soon.

🩺 10. Nadi Pariksha — the eye of Ayurveda

Ayurveda describes eight ways to examine a patient (Ashtavidha Pariksha), and Nadi Pariksha comes first. Feeling the pulse at the wrist with three fingers, the vaidya reads its speed, rhythm, strength and depth to understand the traditional signs of a person’s Prakriti and present imbalance (Vikriti).

In Nadi Vaidya Dr. Ajit Singh Yadav’s more than 36 years of clinical experience, the pulse is read together with a person’s digestion, sleep, diet, lifestyle, mind and season. His guiding words —

“You don’t just touch the pulse — you have to connect with it.”

The second generation — Nadi Vaidya Dr. Saloni Yadav Vashishth and Nadi Vaidya Dr. Mohit Vashishth — carries this tradition forward. The Nadi Vaidya family has experience consulting with the film industry, royal families, leading business families and international patients, and Nadi Vaidyas trained at the Gurukul now practise in almost every state of India.

Nadi Pariksha is a traditional, holistic Ayurvedic assessment method; it is not a substitute for lab tests or modern medical investigations.

🏡 11. Today’s practical experiment — seven days to know your body

Ayurveda begins with paying attention to your own body. For the next seven days, write a few lines in a small diary every day —

• Morning: What time did you wake up, and did you feel light or heavy?
• Hunger: When did you feel truly hungry, and how did you feel after eating?
• Digestion: Were your bowel movements regular and easy?
• Sleep and mind: How did you sleep, and how was your mood through the day?

On day seven, read it back. A pattern will start to appear — the first step toward understanding your Prakriti and your present state.

Frequently asked questions

What does Ayurveda mean?
Ayurveda means “knowledge of life” — the science of keeping life healthy and balanced, covering body, senses, mind and soul.

Who is the father of Ayurveda?
Tradition honours Lord Dhanvantari as the deity of Ayurveda. Among the classical authors, Charaka, Sushruta and Vagbhata are its foremost teachers.

What are the eight branches of Ayurveda?
Kaya Chikitsa, Kaumarabhritya, Graha Chikitsa, Shalakya, Shalya, Agada Tantra, Rasayana and Vajikarana.

Can I take Ayurvedic medicine without advice?
No. Ayurvedic medicine is also given according to the person, dose and duration. Take it only on a qualified vaidya’s advice, and don’t stop any ongoing medicines on your own.

What is Nadi Pariksha?
The Ayurvedic method of reading the wrist pulse to understand traditional signs of a person’s constitution and imbalance. Issue 002 covers it in full.

📖 Ayurveda = ayu (life) + veda (knowledge)
🛡️ Aim — protect health first, then treat disease
🌳 Eight branches — Ashtanga Ayurveda
🧬 Foundation — five elements, three doshas, Prakriti
🩺 Examination — eightfold, including Nadi Pariksha
🤝 Modern medicine — a partner, not a rival