Origins
According to traditional myth, when Kashyap Rishi wrote the Samhita, it was not welcomed by the Ayurveda masters of that time. Jeevak, the five-year old son of sage Richeek, summarized the huge volume of Samhita and went to Kankhal, Haridwar, in Uttarakhand, India and presented the concise version of Samhita before the Ayurvedic practitioners of the time. The Ayurvedic practitioners rejected it outrightly, because they thought it had been written by a five-year-old boy.
The boy went to bathe in river Ganges. When he stepped out of the river, he had transformed into an old man (Braddha). Seeing this transformation, the Ayurveda practitioners called him "Braddha Jeevak," and recognized the collected work as "Braddha Jeevakeeya Tantra".
It is presumed that the time of Braddha Jeevak, is before that of Buddha and Mahavir, and is different from Jeevak Vaidya, born in the era of Buddha, Bimbsaar's Bhujishya. Jeevak Vaidya was an expert in surgery, while Braddha Jeevak is understood to be the originator of Kaumar Bhratya (pediatrics, midwifery, and gynecology).
With the passage of time, the Braddha Jeevakeeya Tantra suddenly came in the hand of Anayas Yaksha. At that time, Uttarakhand was domain by the Yakshas. Anayas Yaksha saved this script and spread the knowledge to his entire community.
After some time, Vatsaya, who was the successor of the Kashyap family, again got the script from Yaksha. He edited the whole book and divided it into eight chapters, or branches, which gave it eightfold division Ayurveda also known as Astanga Ayurveda (The Eight Armed Ayurveda):
- Kaya Chikitsa - Internal medicine
- Balaroga Chikitsa - Paediatrics
- Shalya Chikitsa - General surgery
- Shalakya Chikitsa - Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat surgery
- Agada Tantra - Toxicology
- Rasayan Chikitsa - Science of Rejuvenation
- Vajikarana Chikitsa - Study & development of sexual power & fertility
- Bhoot Vidya - Psychiatry
Read more about this topic: Kashyap Samhita
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