Vyadhi-Kshamatava: An Immunotherapeutic Concept in Ayurveda

Abstract

Ayurveda mainly focuses on treating diseases which aims at disease prevention. According to ayurveda, a disease is caused by inappropriate intellect, constitution, moral conduct, karma, and inappropriate contact with sensory perceptions such as sound, touch, vision, taste, and smell. These factors influence how diseases present themselves, whether they are mild, severe, acute, chronic, easily treatable, or incurable. The concept of "Vyadhikshamatva" in Ayurveda represents the fundamental principles of immunity. Ayurveda uses the terms "Vyadhi" and "Kshamatva" to describe illness and adaptation, respectively. According to Ayurveda, an imbalance in the Doshas leads to the development of diseases. In Ayurveda, immunity is referred to as "Vyadhikshamatva" and according to ayurvedic biology, Vyadhikshamatva can be correlated with the concept of immunity. Sahaja bala, Kalaja and yuktikrita bala refer to innate immunity and acquired immunity. The current work is focused on the concept of immunity in ayurveda. Various literatures have been collected from various sources such as ancient textbooks and references to highlight ayurvedic immunity concept and the management of disease by executing different ayurvedic principles. The result highlights the concept of Vyadhikshamatva as mentioned in Ayurvedic text which is considered Immunity. Therefore, the present work could contribute to ayurvedic biology and explore the concept of Vyadhikshamatva with the immunity in future.