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Ayurveda > Ayurvedic Treatment > Ashtang-Ayurved: Kaumar Bhrutya Tantra
By Dr. Satish Kulkarni.
Kaumarbhrutya tantra or balopacharaniya
is one of the eight specialized
branches of ashtang ayurved,
which deals particularly with
pediatric issues. It covers all
aspects of child growth from the
neonatal phase to adolescence
including treatment for problems at
every stage.
Vagbhata,
famous for his great critical
writings on ancestral ayurved
sanhitas, wrote two books namely Ashtang
Hrudaya (heart of the
eight-organed body of ayurved)
and Vagbhata Sanhita. Vagbhata
spent his life preparing these granthas
(mega books), which are of great
use in the day-to-day practice of ayurveda.
In these granthas, Vagbhata
collected all the relevant
information for day-to-day practice,
by editing ancestral sanhitas
like Charak Sanhita, Sushrut
Sanhita and Sharangdhar
Sanhita. He also took pains to
sort this body of ancestral knowledge
and put it in chronological order.
His editing and ordering helped his
followers for further research. In
addition, Vagbhata answered many
‘how and why’ questions.
Vagbhata
Sanhita and Ashtang Hruday
are books of ready to use information
in palatable form. Vagbhata arranged
his collection in ‘files’
and ‘folders’. Some of
these are sutra sthana
(history of ayurved and
science in short), sharir sthana
(embryology, gynecology, midwifery,
anatomy, signs of death), nidaan
(diagnosis), chikitsa
(internal medicine), kalpa (ayurvedic
pharmacopeias), and uttar sthana
{(shalya tantra (surgery), shalakya
tantra (ophthalmology and certain
problems related to cranial nerves), kaumar
bhrutya tantra (pediatrics), vish
tantra or agad tantra
(toxicology), bhut vidya
(psychiatry), rasayana chikitsa
(rejuvenation) and vajikaran (aphrodisiac.)}
The branch kaumarbrutya
tantra deals with prenatal, natal
and postnatal care in addition to
gynecology and obstetrics. The ayurvedic
stream of thought believed in
principles like ‘a healthy baby
is tomorrow’s society’ and
‘neonatal care in time saves
future medi-care for a
lifetime’. In view of achieving
its ultimate aim of creating a
healthy society, ayurvedic
scholars elaborately described
precautions to be taken at every
stage of life, from conception to
adolescence, in kaumarbrutya
tantra. This specialized branch
recognized direct links between the
physical and mental health of an
expecting mother and that of her
progeny. It addressed the need for
society to remain healthy by giving
detailed instructions for care to be
taken by a couple planning a family.
Ayurvedic
scholars knew that mother’s milk
is the best for a baby. It is a must
for growth and immunity building.
Going one step ahead, they suggested
that a child should be fed by another
lactating mother if its own mother
cannot lactate enough milk. This
feeding mother was called the milk
mother.
Kaumarbrutya
tantra also deals with causes of
infertility and treatment for the
same. To summarize, kaumarbrutya
tantra is that branch of ashtang
ayurved, which deals with
pediatric issues. It covers all
topics related to child health, from
conception to adolescence.
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