Ayurveda is an ancient system or you can say science of health care that is native to the Indian subcontinent. It is presently in daily use by millions of people all over the world but mostly in indian subcontinent and around. The word "Ayurveda" is compound of the word āyus meaning "life", "life principle", or "long life" and the word veda, which refers to a system of "knowledge". Thus "Ayurveda" roughly translates as the "knowledge of healthy life", "knowledge of a helthy and stable long life" or even "science of true life". According to Charaka Samhita (the scripture of ayurveda), "life" itself is defined as the "combination of the body, sense organs, mind and soul, the factor responsible for preventing decay and death, which sustains the body over time. According to this perspective, Ayurveda is concerned with measures to protect "ayus", which includes healthy living along with therapeutic measures that relate to physical, mental, social and spiritual harmony.

Ayurvedic concept of Tri-dosha

The main concept of Ayurveda is basically the theory that health exists when there is a balance between three doshas called Vata, Pitta and Kapha.

Vata is the energy principle necessary to mobilize the function of the nervous system, we can relate this to all the movments of the body.

Pitta is the energy principle which uses bile to direct digestion and hence metabolism into the verious system so all the chemical and acid inside the body belongs to it.

Kapha is the energy principle responsible for lubrication which relates to mucous and the carrier of nutrients into the arterial system.

All Ayurvedic practitioners believes that these ancient ideas, based in the knowledge discovered by the great sages and saints, exist in harmony with physical reality. These Ayurvedic concepts allow practitioner to examine the homeostasis of the whole system. People may be of a predominant dosha or constitution, but all doshas have the basic elements within them.

Ayurvedic philosophy

Six indian philosophy like Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Vedanta and Mimamsa was another landmark in the history of ayurveda. The principles expounded in all these philosophies facilitated the development within the indian medicine as Ayurveda of its theory of humoral pathology which propounds that the human body is composed of Tridoshas and five elements, the three humors – Vata, Pitta and Kapha. When these are in equilibrium they are called the Tridhatus. The body in which these three humors are in a state of equilibrium enjoys perfect health; their disequilibrium causes ill health.

Disease management in Ayurveda

The unique and simple principles of Ayurvedic pharmacology are fundamentally different from those of other systems of traditional and modern medicine, especially evidence-based medicine. Most Ayurvedic medicines are prepared form pure and natural herbs.

Shamana and Shodhana are the two basics concepts for the management of disease in Ayurveda. Shamana reffers alleviation. Shamana methods mitigate the disease and its symptoms. Shodhana reffers elimination and Shodhana methods aim at the elimination of the basic root-cause of disease.