An Ashtavaidya is a practitioner of the

Ayurveda Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population repo ...

system of medicine belonging to a group of families of

Namboothiri The Nambudiri (), also transliterated as Nampoothiri, Nambūdiri, Namboodiri, Nampoothiri, and Nampūtiri, are a Malayali Brahmin caste, native to what is now the state of Kerala, India, where they constituted part of the traditional feudal el ...

in the Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. Among the Ayurvedic healers of Kerala, the Ashtavaidyas are the

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

s who are masters of the eight branches of Ayurveda mentioned in classical texts. It was this expertise in the eight branches (''ashtanga''s in

sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

) that earned them the

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

of ashtavaidya. These branches are dealt with in detail in the treatise

Ashtānga Hridayam Vāgbhaṭa (वाग्भट) is one of the most influential writers, Scientist, Doctor and advisor of ayurveda. Several works are associated with his name as author, principally the Ashtāṅgasaṅgraha (अष्टाङ्गसंग् ...

one of the primary texts of Ayurveda. The eight branches of Ayurveda are ''Kaya'' (general medicine mainly dealing with digestive disorders), ''Bala'' (pediatrics including obstetrics), ''Graha'' (psychological disorders due to possession by evil spirits), ''Urdhvanga'' (diseases of the head (eyes, ears, nose, throat and teeth)), ''Shalya'' (surgery and treatment for external injuries), ''Damshtra'' (toxicology (treatment for poisoning, snake and insect bites), ''Jara'' (geriatrics and rejuvenation) and ''Vrisha'' (aphrodisiacs and treatment for sterility). Initially there were eighteen families that were designated as families of Ashtavaidyas. Many of these families became extinct or got merged with other families and currently there are only eight surviving families considered as families of ashtavaidyas. These families are #Aalathiyoor Nambi, #Elayidath Thaikkatt Mooss, #Thrissur Thaikkattu Mooss (Pazhanellippurath Thaikkatt Mooss), #Kuttancherry Mooss, #Vayaskara Mooss, #Chirattamon Mooss, #Velluttu Mooss and #Pulamanthol Mooss. Only four of these eight families are practicing Ayurveda now. They are Thrissur Thaikkattu (Pazhanellippurathu Thaikkattu Moss), Elayidath Thaikkattu Moss, Chirattamann Moss and Pulamantol Moss. (thesis submitted to Jawaharlal Nehru University for the award of PhD degree).

Contributions to literature on Ayurveda

The Ashtavaidyas have made several significant contributions to the literature on Ayurveda. These include commentaries on the Ashtangahrdayam and compendiums in Malayalam such as Alattur Manipravalam, Cikitsamanjari, Sahasrayogam and Sindhuramanjari. A member of the Vayaskara Mooss family has published ancient texts and his own original works. Vaidyamadham Cheriya Narayan Namboodiri (1932-2013) has written books and over a hundred newspaper articles to inform the public about Ayurveda.

The training of Ashtavaidyas

In the pre-modern times the Ashtavaidyas were trained in the traditional

Gurukula A or ( sa, गुरुकुल, gurukul) is a type of education system in ancient India with ('students' or 'disciples') living near or with the guru, in the same house. The guru-shishya tradition is a sacred one in Hinduism and possibly ap ...

system. This involved a long period of intense study and apprenticeship under accomplished masters. Knowledge of Sanskrit was considered essential to understand and analyse the meanings in the ancient medical texts. Students also mastered Sanskrit works on Tarka (the rules of reasoning and argument), and the traditional philosophies of Nyaya, Vaisheshika and Samkhya. The Ayurvedic studies of Ashtavaidyas began with the study of Ashtangahrdayam; this involved memorizing all 7120 verses of the Ashtangahrdayam. During the period of apprenticeship under a guru, student physicians wrote out the prescription for patients. The number of years of education was said to be “five years of textual study, five years of learning about medicinal plants in the forest, and five years of apprenticeship at home”, in practice the period of study would be much longer.

References

{{reflist Ayurveda Ancient Indian medicine Traditional medicine in India Traditional medicine