A Concise History of Science in India c8.s1.2

c8.s1.2

The growth of the healing art is a part of the natural process of man's adjustment to his environment, and the origin of the *Āyurveda* cannot be credited to any particular age, place or person, despite many legends to the contrary. Such legends describing a divine origin and corresponding antiquity of the *Āyurveda* are found in the introductory passages of many Āyurvedic texts, e.g. the *Caraka*, the *Suśruta* and other *Saṃhitās*. It is recorded that Brahmā (the creator) was the divine source of this science, which was brought into existence before the creation of mankind. The knowledge passed from him to the god Dakṣapati, then to the two celestial physicians (the twin Aśvinakumāras), later to Indra, the god-king, and finally to Bharadvāja, the semi-divine sage. Bharadvāja taught this science to a conference of sages meeting somewhere in the Himalayas with the common objects of alleviating human suffering and assuring a long, healthy and satisfactory life to all human beings. The same or similar legends are found in many works, sometimes in greater details. But these legends hardly possess any historical value.