ABSTRACT
This thumbnail sketch of early ayurvedic medicine serves to illustrate that at its basis lies a theoretical and a rational understanding of disease and cure. The origin of this new approach to medicine is a point of controversy. It is quite certain that little of it can be traced to Vedic medicine. Although the theoretical framework of ayurveda may not be Vedic, the basis of its materia medica could indeed have evolved from Vedic medicine or even from prehistoric, pre-Vedic medicine.
