Siddha medicine

Siddha medicine, traditional system of healing that originated in South India and is considered to be one of India’s oldest systems of medicine. The Siddha system is based on a combination of ancient medicinal practices and spiritual disciplines as well as alchemy and mysticism. It is thought to have developed during the Indus civilization, which flourished between 2500 and 1700 bce. According to this theory, it came to South India when the Dravidian people (speakers of Dravidian languages), who may have been the original inhabitants of the Indus valley, migrated southward.

Siddha medicine appears as part of Tamil culture in the earliest Tamil writings (Tamil is one of the principal Dravidian languages). For example, there are references to it in Tamil shangam literature (1st–4th century ce), including mention in the Tolkappiyam (“Ancient Literature”), a treatise on grammar and poetics, and in Tirukkural (“Sacred Couplets”), a work attributed to the Tamil poet-saint Tiruvalluvar.

The philosophy of Siddha medicine

Practitioners of Siddha medicine are known as siddhars (or siddhas). According to Tamil tradition, there initially were 18 siddhars; these individuals often are portrayed as having received their knowledge of the Siddha system indirectly from the deity Shiva. Siddhars held that the object of their study was to preserve and prolong life. To do so, they believed, required humans to live according to the laws of nature. They led simple lives themselves and were unconcerned with caste, creed, colour, or nationality. They contributed not only to a system of medicine but also to the knowledge of eternity, alchemy, and Yogic living. Some believe that the siddhars travelled widely to other countries to propagate their system of medicine and enrich the sciences.

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Siddhars possessed ashtama siddhi, the eight great supernatural powers. These powers may have been attained at birth (because of one’s previous karma), by chemical means, by the power of words, or through concentration. Meditation on the elements, beginning with the “gross” and ending with the “subtle,” enabled the siddhars to gain mastery over the elements. Many of the ancient philosophical tenets of the Siddha system continue to be relevant to modern practitioners.

The five elements

According to the Siddha system, there are five elements that exist in nature: earth, water, fire, air, and ether, all of which form the original basis of all corporeal things. It is believed that there is an intimate connection between the macrocosm of the external world and the microcosm of the corporeal being. In the human body the element of earth is present in the bone, flesh, nerves, skin, and hair; the element of water is present in bile, blood, semen, glandular secretions, and sweat; the element of fire is present in hunger, thirst, sleep, beauty, and indolence; the element of air is present in contraction, expansion, and motion; and the element of ether is present in the interstices of the stomach, heart, neck, and head.

Humoral pathology

Three of the elements—air, fire, and water—are emphasized in Siddha medicine because they are believed to form the three fundamental components that make up the human constitution. These three components—vata, pitta, and kapha (representing air, fire, and water, respectively)—are known as humours, and their inharmonious interaction produces various pathological states.

According to the theories of humoral pathology, all diseases are caused by the discordant mixture of vata, pitta, and kapha. Their proportions in the body govern a person’s physical and mental disposition. The elements form the connecting link between the microcosm (the human) and the macrocosm (the world). Thus, the external air corresponds to the internal vata, the external heat corresponds to the internal pitta, and the external water corresponds to the internal kapha. Under normal circumstances, according to Siddha theory, vata occupies regions related to the pelvis and the rectum, pitta occupies regions related to the stomach and the viscera, and kapha occupies regions related to breath, the throat, and the head.

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Siddhars believed vata to be self-originated and identical to divine energy. Imbalance of vata could be the root cause of all disease. Pitta was believed to represent all the characteristics of fire, such as burning, boiling, heating, and similar sensations. It was the name given to the heat contained in the liquid bile, which causes the expulsion of waste matter in the form of urine and feces, and it was believed to give sight to the eyes, beauty to the skin, and cheerfulness to the mind. Kapha was believed to supply moisture to the body and to give stability, adding to the strength of the body by increasing the firmness of the limbs and thereby keeping them in harmony with one another. It was also thought to aid in digestion and sensation, such as by imparting taste to the tongue.

The presence and proportion of these humours within the system is indicated by the pulse, which is vital to correct diagnosis.

Pranayama

Prana (Sanskrit prāṇā) refers to “breath.” In Siddha medicine, breathing is considered to be the most important of all functions, providing vitality and freedom from disease. Controlled breathing is the method of charging oneself with vitality and personal magnetism; in Yogic terms this is known as pranayama.

Varmam

Varma is an area of practice in Siddha medicine that is concerned with varmam. The varmam are points of intersection of bone, muscle, tendons, nerves, and blood vessels. The ancient siddhars believed that disease emerged when these points were adversely affected by an external force. A manipulative technique used in Siddha medicine to restore health at the varmam is known as ilakku murai. There are believed to be 108 varmam, according to Siddha tradition.

Herbal and mineral treatment

The siddhars did extensive research on plants and devised methods by which plants could be harnessed medicinally. They also described the poisonous nature of some plants and the antidotes for them and classified plants based on the way they affected the body.

Unlike Ayurveda, which is another traditional system of Indian medicine, but which gives topmost priority to herbal treatment, Siddha medicine gives importance to the conjunctive use of plants and minerals. For simple ailments, the Siddha practitioner advises the initial use of herbs. If this does not prove effective, the judicious use of plants, minerals, and animal products is advised.

According to Siddha theory, preparations made of mercury alone were believed to invest the body with immunity from decay, enabling it to conquer disease. Mercury and sulfur were considered to be supreme curatives. Those minerals, however, are extremely toxic to the human body.

Siddha medicine has been used for the management of chronic diseases and degenerative conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune conditions, collagen disorders, and conditions of the central nervous system. Its effectiveness in those situations has varied.