SOME TRADITIONAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS OF INDIA
  • SOME TRADITIONAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS OF INDIA


    THE SIDDHA SYSTEM OF HEALTH AND MEDICINE

    The Siddha system of medicine owes its origin to the Dravidian
    culture which is of the Pre-vedic period. An examination of the
    ancient literature would reveal that the vedic Aryans owed allegiance
    to the cult of Shiva and the worship of the phallus (linga) which was
    later on absorbed by, and incorporated into the Vedic culture.

    The Shiv Cult is associated with its medical counterpart, the Siddha
    system of medicine, which is mainly therapeutic. Mercury, sulphur,
    iron, copper, gold, bituman, white, yellow and red arsenic and other
    materials as well as vegatable poisons are extensively used in the
    pharmacopocia of the Siddha tradition.

    The Siddha system of medicine is prevalent in the Sourthen States of
    India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Singapore, where the Dravidian
    civilization was document.

    In the North of India, the Siddhar-Kalpa system (Siddha means one who
    has attained immortality. Kalpa means panacea) is known as Tantric
    Science. Siddha Science considers nature and man as essentially one.
    One who knows the anatomy of nature and its five elements knows well
    the anatomy of men. Nature is the foremost physician.

    The Tamils who are inhabiting the Southern peninsula of the sub-
    continent of India have an impressive and venerable past, as ancient
    as that of perhaps the Egyptians.

    They undertook a systematic study of nature and its elements and
    from what they were able to grasp, they had developed a highly
    systematised medicine which is now known as Siddha system. It is well
    founded on the basic principles of nature and its elements offer a
    careful and thorough study of the human system.

    The Siddhars : The ancient Tamils in their quest for knowledge for
    longevity developed two ways by which man can achieve mastery over
    nature. One is the Yogic way and the other is through medicines The
    persons who dedicated themselves to this task were themselves great
    yogis known as Siddhars. Hence the system of medicine propounded by
    them came ot be known as Siddhars system of Medicine. This system can
    be traced to the prevedic period.

    Siddhar, a Tamil word that is derived from its root `chit' means
    perfection in life or heavenly bliss. It generally refers to eight
    kinds of supernatural powers attainable to man.

    The persons who had attained such miraculous powers attainable to
    man. The persons who had attained such miraculous powers in life are
    known as Siddhars. They are men born with great talents who lived
    thousands of years ago in Tamil country, who by their devotion and
    search for truth, avhieved perfection in their life time.

    Ancient Siddha Medical Works :

    The earliest mention the use of medicinal plants is to be found in
    Thirumular Thirumantiram-Ennayiram, Tholkappiam and the ancient Tamil
    works of Sangarm Literature which are believed to have been written
    thousands of years before the Christian era.

    There are now more than 500 works in Tamil dealing with various
    subjects such as science of life, nature of universe, astronomical
    data, cosmic dance, atomic theory, space travel, alchemy, `Kaya
    Kalpa' medicine, etc.

    If u like and want to know or tell about this article, can able to
    send part 2 on this subject at the same time to know more about this
    subject.

    S.BalasubramaniB+
    Bhubaneswar Orissa India
  • Hi There:
    Sir, your article is very interesting. However, it's
    rather sad that today quite a few "Siddha Doctors" are
    simple diploma holders who have a lot of scope for
    malpractise. I myself have know a few like this who
    add steroids into their herbal decoction and sell them
    to unsuspecting people - eventually giving this system
    of medicine a bad name.
    There are also people who have done the traditional 4
    year course and set up a clinic.It's a lovely system
    of medicine and I have seen many people benifiting
    from the same.

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