Unit 3: Ayurveda and Yoga — Rapid Revision. One page for exam night: revise in 5 minutes. 🔥 = extremely important, ⭐ = important. This unit maps to 20-mark long answers (≤400 words) — most commonly "attempt any 3 of 5".
⚡ Top 10 points in 5 minutes
- 🔥 Ayurveda = ayus (life) + veda (knowledge); Upaveda of the Atharvaveda; twin aims — protect the healthy, cure the sick (prevention first).
- 🔥 Ashtanga Ayurveda (8 branches): kaya (medicine), bala (paediatrics), graha (psychiatry), urdhvanga (ENT/eye), shalya (surgery), damstra (toxicology), jara (rejuvenation), vrisha (reproductive).
- 🔥 Tridosha: Vata = Vayu+Akasha (movement); Pitta = Agni+Jala (metabolism); Kapha = Jala+Prithvi (structure). Rule: like increases like, opposites balance.
- 🔥 Pancha Mahabhuta pairs: Akasha–ear–sound, Vayu–skin–touch, Agni–eye–sight, Jala–tongue–taste, Prithvi–nose–smell.
- 🔥 Sapta-dhatu order: Rasa → Rakta → Mamsa → Meda → Asthi → Majja → Shukra; Ojas = essence of all, seat of immunity.
- 🔥 Disease concept: vikriti vs prakriti; 3 nidana (improper sense contact, prajnaparadha, kala); shat kriyakala 6 stages (sanchaya → prakopa → prasara → sthana-samshraya → vyakti → bheda); treatment = shodhana (panchakarma) + shamana.
- ⭐ Dinacharya: brahma-muhurta (4–5 am), danta-dhavana, tongue scraping, oil pulling, abhyanga, vyayama (half capacity), midday main meal, early sleep.
- ⭐ Ritucharya: 6 ritus — Shishira, Vasanta, Grishma, Varsha, Sharad, Hemanta; key pairs: Vasanta–Kapha, Grishma–Vata, Varsha–Vata, Sharad–Pitta.
- 🔥 Brihat-trayi: Charak Samhita (Charaka — kayachikitsa), Susruta Samhita (Susruta — surgery, "father of surgery"), Ashtanga Hridaya (Vagbhata — all 8 branches). Laghu-trayi: Madhava Nidana (diagnosis), Sharangadhara (pharmacy), Bhava Prakasha (materia medica).
- 🔥 Yoga: Patanjali's 8 limbs — Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi; Gita's 3 yogas — karma, bhakti, jnana; International Day of Yoga — 21 June.
📖 Key definitions (one line each)
- Ayurveda — science of life; Upaveda of Atharvaveda.
- Triguna — Sattva (purity), Rajas (activity), Tamas (inertia); Rajas + Tamas = mental doshas.
- Tridosha — Vata (movement), Pitta (metabolism), Kapha (structure); health = their balance.
- Prakriti — inborn constitution (fixed); Vikriti — current imbalance.
- Ojas — finest essence of the 7 dhatus; immunity and vitality.
- Panchakarma — 5 purifications: vamana, virechana, basti, nasya, raktamokshana.
- Brihat-trayi — Charak, Susruta, Ashtanga Hridaya; Laghu-trayi — Madhava Nidana, Sharangadhara, Bhava Prakasha.
- Yoga — "yuj" (to unite); Patanjali: "yogash chitta-vritti-nirodhah".
- Hatha yoga — ha (sun) + tha (moon); Hatha Yoga Pradipika (Svatmarama).
🔥 Hospitals + modern gift (quick facts)
- ⭐ Ashoka's Rock Edict II — hospitals for humans AND animals; medicinal herbs planted; earliest state public health.
- ⭐ Jivaka — trained at Takshashila; royal physician of Bimbisara; personal physician of the Buddha.
- ⭐ Arthashastra — state physicians (chikitsaka); surgeons with army; veterinary care.
- 🔥 Turmeric patent — granted 1995, revoked 1997 (CSIR challenge); neem patent revoked 2000 → TKDL created.
- ⭐ WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine — Jamnagar, 2022; ICD-11 includes Ayurveda; Ministry of AYUSH (2014).
🔥 Sure-shot 20-mark questions: Tridosha (functions + aggravation + balancing), concept of disease (nidana + shat kriyakala + treatment), Ashtanga Yoga (8 limbs), Brihat-trayi, Dinacharya/Ritucharya. Write dosha–element pairs and one-line branch/text mappings first — they fetch the opening marks.
