so Ayurveda is described as consisting of eight departments, which are spoken of by all, without exception, ancient authors: Kaya Chikitsa, or Panchakarma Chikitsa (general, external medicine), Balaroga Chikitsa, or Kumara Tantra (pediatrics), Graha Chikitsa, or Bhutavidya (psychology and demonology), Urthvanga Chikitsa, or Shalakya Tantra (treatment of organs located above the shoulders - head and neck), Jara Chikitsa, or Rasayana Chikitsa (geranthology) - rejuvenation of the body and preservation of youth), Damstra Chikitsa or Agada Tantra (toxicology), Shalya Chikitsa (surgery) and Vrishya Chikitsa or Vajikarana (treatment of impotence, infertility, increase in sexual strength, etc.). Despite such a division into categories of diseases, Ayurveda treats the human body as a single whole, therefore all its sections are intertwined with each other, like hair braided into one braid, and the approach to treating a particular patient is truly complex.
Over the past millennium, Ayurvedic knowledge has expanded and deepened, acquiring, from a modern position, a more “scientific” approach to the pathological process, pharmacology and therapy, therefore modern Ayurveda consists of sixteen parts (Dg.S.one.2.). These include:
one. Maulika siddhanta (basic concept).
2. Sharira (anatomy and physiology).
3. Dravyaguna (pharmacology).
4. Bhaishajyakalpana vigyana (pharmaceuticals).
5. Rasashastra (science of metals and mineralogy).
6. Nidana (nosology and diagnostics).
7. Kaya Chikitsa (general medicine and therapy).
8. Svasthavritta (social, professional and preventive medicine).
9. Manasa roga and Bhutavidya (psychology, psychiatry and demonology).
10. Vajikarana (the science of love, sexual life, increasing sexual power, etc., as well as the principles of the birth of good and healthy offspring).
1one. Agada Tantra (toxicology).
12. Shalya Chikitsa (surgery).
13. Shalakya Tantra (treatment of diseases of the organs located above the shoulders).
14. Rasayana (immunology, the science of body rejuvenation and all kinds of tonics).
15. Kaumarabhritya (pediatrics).
16. Prasuti Tantra (obstetrics and gynecology).
In his practice, an Ayurvedic doctor uses not only Ayurvedic science, but also knowledge of related areas of Vedic science - philosophy, astrology and alchemy.

Kaya Chikitsa or general medicine

Kaya Chikitsa, or, as it is called, Panchakarma Chikitsa, is considered the main and most important branch of Ayurvedic knowledge. This branch of Ayurveda can be compared with modern non-specialized therapy, because Kaya Chikitsa is a general nosology of diseases that describes their symptoms, causes, localization in the body, as well as methods of their treatment, both medication and physiotherapy. Not a single Ayurvedic doctor, whether he is a surgeon or a pediatrician, can do without knowledge of this branch of Ayurveda. Charaka writes (Ch.S.one.1one.54.): “There are three types of therapy - spiritual (mystical), rational and psychotherapy. Spiritual therapy includes treatment through the recitation of mantras, the mystical properties of plants and precious stones, performing certain rites, sacrifices, giving alms, following religious vows, austerities, fasting, prayers, surrendering to the will of God and other actions. Rational therapy includes the appointment of a rational diet, drugs and therapeutic procedures. Psychotherapy is aimed at distracting the mind from unfavorable (internal or external) objects.
Chakrapani Date and Gangadhara Sena call Kaya Chikitsu Antaragni Chikitsa - the science of diseases caused by an imbalance of Agni, or, in other words, a disorder of digestion or tissue nutrition, because regardless of whether the disease is caused by internal or external causes, it often develops precisely because of disruption of the normal functions of Jatharagni, the fire of digestion or interstitial fires.
texts, related to this branch of Ayurveda, the most accessible, for example, Madhava Nidanam Samhita, Chakradatta Samhita or Bhaischajyaratnavali, and the most important of them - Charaka Samhita - in ancient times was widely known among doctors not only in India and China, but throughout Malaya Asia. Of the modern textbooks for gaining knowledge of Kaya Chikitsa, the most important are Dravyaguna Vijnana, Sharirakriya Vijnana, Yogachandrika, and Padartha Vijnana.
Most of the texts on other sections of Ayurvedic knowledge are considered lost, so some, especially South Indian and American authors, confuse or confuse the concepts of Panchakarma Chikitsa and ancient Indian medicine (Ayurveda).
Urthvanga Chikitsa, or Shalakya Tantra - the science of diseases of the organs located above the collarbones

Doctors of this branch of Ayurveda deal with the etiology, pathology and treatment of diseases of the eyes, ears, nose, throat, hair and head. The sage Nimi is believed to be the founder of this branch, which is why it is sometimes called the Nimi Tantra.
The main procedures that are used in this branch of Ayurveda are Nasya - taking medicines through the nose, Karna and Netra bindu - instillation of medicines into the ears and eyes, Dhupa karma - inhalations, Shirodhara - drip treatment of the head, Shirolepa - applying medicinal pastes to the head, Shirovasti - head oiling, Shirobhyanga - head oil massage and Keshini - hair treatment.
texts, посвященные непосредственно Уртхванга Чandкandтсе, счandтаются утеряннымand, скудные же крупandцы этandх знанandй разбросаны практandческand по всем текстам Toая Чandкandтсы. Sushruta, for example, identifies about seventy eye diseases, some of which he proposes to treat surgically, and the rest - therapeutically.

Damstra Chikitsa, or Haggadah Tantra - toxicology

The word "Aggadah" consists of two roots - the root "A", meaning negation and "Gada", which means illness, discomfort, pain and poison, as well as a painful condition caused by poisoning, so the phrase Agada Tantra can be translated as the science of expelling diseasescaused by poison. This branch of Ayurveda deals with the treatment of poisoning caused by the bites of snakes, insects, scorpions, spiders, rodents and other living beings, as well as other poisons, for example, resulting from the wrong intake of medicines and foods. Physicians of this branch keep the secrets of poisons as of mineral, vegetable or animal origin, they know everything about complex poisons and artificial poisons, which do not exist in nature in their original form. By the sight or smell of food, they can accurately tell whether it is poisoned or not, and by the appearance of the wound, whether poison has got into it. When symptoms of poisoning occur, the doctor must quickly and very accurately determine the degree of damage to the body and determine the type of poison, the dose and duration of its effect on the patient's body, as well as conduct a differential diagnosis between poisoning and other diseases, for example, the gastrointestinal tract, because the symptoms poisonings, in particular with arsenic, are similar to the symptoms of a disease called Visuchika.
The currently best known text relating to Damstra Chikitsa, written by Kashyapa, is thought to be lost.
Kumara Tantra or Kumara Bhritya - Pediatrics

The branch, the founder of which is Kashyapa Muni, describes the nosology and treatment of fetal and childhood diseases, the child’s daily routine, ways to increase immunity, as well as rituals performed to select the sex of the child, eliminate toxicosis of the pregnant woman, protect the pregnant woman from the influence of evil spirits, facilitate childbirth, improvement of the mental and physical conditions of the child, as well as proper rites for children under twelve years of age. Kumara Bhritya not only has his own, pediatric preparations, but also explains how adult preparations can be used to treat children.
The Kashyapa Samhita is the only, and unfortunately incompletely preserved, text relating to this branch of Ayurveda.
Body rejuvenation

Jara Chikitsa, or Rasayana Chikitsa (geranthology - rejuvenation of the body and preservation of youth) is the second most important (from the point of view of patients) branch of Ayurveda, which includes not only knowledge about aging and dying of the human body, but also information about the mystical effects of herbs, minerals or animal products on the human body in order to prolong youth. The main goal of Rasayana therapy is not to make the old man suddenly become young (rather, Bhutavidya does this), but to slow down or at least stop the aging process upon reaching middle age through the right diet, taking appropriate drugs, including animal origin, special physical and breathing exercises, meditation and worship of the gods. The principles of disease prevention also apply to knowledge carefully concealed by adepts and doctors of this branch. Many rasayanas are immunostimulants or immunomodulators that protect against certain diseases. Rasayana Chikitsa also includes Rupavidya - the science of the beauty of the body, or Ayurvedic cosmetology.

Demonology, psychiatry and psychotherapy

This branch of Ayurveda deals with the magical, mystical, spiritual and psychological aspects of diseases, as well as methods for their treatment, protection from the evil eye, corruption, demons and spirits, both divine and demonic in nature. texts, относящandеся к этой ветвand, закрыты от непосвященных. Those who wish to learn more about this branch can use the Atharvaveda, the White and Black Yajurveda and the Rigveda, the meager grains of this knowledge are scattered over the revealed and accessible, and the main ones - over the texts of Kaya Chikitsita lost or kept away from outsiders and uninitiated minds.
One of the major differences between Ayurvedic psychopathology and modern psychiatry lies in the latter's paranoid denial of not only the possibility of divine or demonic entities influencing a person's mental health, but also the very idea of ​​their existence. Because of this delusion, a certain part of psychiatric patients, who need not so much medical or procedural therapy as highly qualified exorcist priests, are left without proper treatment and are forced to suffer for life under house arrest or in psychiatric hospitals without hope not only for a cure, but even for making the correct diagnosis.
Undoubtedly, the history of Western psychiatry remembers the times of obscurantism, when people with mental disorders were accused of dealing with an unclean spirit and burned at the stake, on the other hand, there should not be a bias towards unscientific "scientific materialism" either - both sides of the coin - extremes, often leading to detrimental consequences for the patient.
Ayurveda is an upaveda (part, section) of the Atharva Veda, therefore, it widely uses hymns, incantations and spells, its