Ayurveda is an elaborate system of medicine that developed in India in the
beginning of first century A.D. The potentialities of Ayurveda was first
described by Charaka, a great scholar of ancient India. This field of
inquiry regarding the health and treatment of diseases was based on the
medicinal property of herbs and some common practices and techniques of
preparation and administering them.
The literal meaning of Ayurveda, which is a composite formed of two
Sanskrit words 'Ayu' (life) and 'Veda' (knowledge), describes it as a field
aimed at elucidating information and knowledge about the life or to be
precise healthy life. The system was put down as a treatise, Charaka
Samhita, which consists of the information of about 500 unconventional
drugs. The treatise received a great patronage in the early centuries of
Common Era (first A.D. onwards) but lost its ground with the rise of the
modern scientific approach. However, recent developments in the field
including researches conducted in the sub continent by eminent scholars,
during the last few decades have put it back on the track.
The effect of nature and various live forms, especially plants and trees on
health is immense which nobody can deny. Coupled with the fact that some
exercises are meant to improve the health statistics, ayurveda has been
gaining importance and reputation beyond India. Thousands of testimonials
have long acknowledged the benefits of the practice. There has been a
gradual increase in the number of ayurvedic centres in Indian sub continent.
Ayurveda Centres
Kerala is one of the few destinations in India where ayurveda is widely
practiced. The last few decades have seen a manifold increase in the
services provided by various popular resorts in Kerala. With immense
patronage received from the government agencies to protect this ancient
field, ayurveda has gained quite a momentum in the state. Numerous centres
have been established throughout Kerala and there has been a growing
popularity, especially among the foreign tourists who reach here.
