Health Sciences

The nature being the mother of mankind has always had soothing effect. But in the process of learning for his comfort man has neglected the untoward effects on nature. Whenever man has disobeyed the nature’s law, nature has feed back with massive form of destruction. Long back ago, authors of ancient Ayurvedic texts have understood this concept & tried to campaign the massage to the entire world.

The concepts of micro-organisms or disease produced by organisms are not new to Ayurveda. Communicable or infectious disease is one such concept, which is discussed b/w the Acharya & the Disciples. It conveys the message that whenever an effort is made to disturb the nature, the nature will destroy the human roots. Even the modern science has the same basis to prove it & the principles of preventive medicine are also based on it.

Authors of ancient Ayurvedic texts were more familiar about the contacted diseases along with the mode of spread which usually fall under communicable diseases. Certain group of diseases is transmitted from one person to another by direct or indirect contact while another group of diseases born from common sources of polluted air, water, land and disturbed climate. There are some other groups of disease which are due to contact of the person with some living beings which are not seen by naked eye. The Ayurvedic physician described infectious diseases under the fallowing main contexts through which usually the diseases pass from one person to another.

1 Janapadodhwamsa rogas (Epidemic or Endemic Diseases)

Chakrapani, the commentator of Charaka says that even though the individuals have difference in physical constitution, food habits, suitability, strength, immunity, age etc still there are such factors as are common to all individuals and the vitiation of these factors leads to the simultaneous manifestation of diseases having the same set of symptoms leading to the destruction of countries. The factors which are common for all the inhabitants of a country are air, water, land and season. Charaka has divided the etiological factors into Niyata Hetu and Aniyata Hetu. The Niyata Hetu are the inevitable disastrous factors includes the harmful effects of sun, moon, stars and planets such as floods, cyclones, landslides, earth quakes, tsunami etc. Whereas the Aniyata Hetu are the evitable disastrous factors includes Prajnaparadhaja (terrorism, accidents etc), Shastra prabhavaja (wars – nuclear weapons, missiles etc advanced weapons), Abhisyangaja (effects of pathogens, evil forces & unhygienic condition) and Abhishapaja (curse). All these factors not only influence the individuals but also the society leading to destruction of community and even responsible for the disease causing organisms. These will results into spread of epidemics. Such diseases are termed as Janapadodhwansa Rogas.

So it is clear from the above description that the Janapadodhwamsa Rogas are the variety of diseases which originate from a common source i.e., natural calamities are prevails in the community destructing people enmass. These will include epidemics and pandemic diseases. Epidemics occurs when an infectious disease spread beyond a local population, lasting longer and reaching people in wider geographical area. When that disease reaches worldwide proportion it is considered as a pandemic. No specific disease of this nature is described but depending on the situation a variety of diseases could be produced due to a common cause of polluted natural calamities such as air, water, land and climate etc. Dalhana says cough, asthama etc are spread through by inhaled air through nostrils & fever, smallpox etc through the skin. Bhela says that the polluted air produces pratishyaya (viral flu) and bataalikaa pitikas (plague) in axilla, groins, neck etc from vitiated vata, pitta, kapha and rakta, when water and land contaminated it loses all its properties and responsible for growth of various germs which help to spread the infectious diseases. The people of respective area suffer from many diseases like respiratory, intestinal, arthropod-borne, surface infections etc. infectious diseases which will affect the community and become one of the major social health issues.