A Textbook of Swasthavritta

Prof. Dr. Subhash Ranade was formerly Principal of Ashtang Ayurveda College, Pune, India and is the author of more than 92 books on Ayurveda, which have been published in German, Polish, Italian, English, and many Indian languages. He has the honour of being visiting Professor to all the colleges of Ayurveda in USA and other Institutes like Sewa Akademie in German, Ateneo Veda Vyasa in Italy, Foundation of Health in Poland and Ayurveda International Diffusing Association of Japan. Since 1981, he has visited and has conducted hundreds of Ayurveda courses for medical practitioners in Europe, U.S.A. and Japan.

Dr. Rajendra Deshpande is an Ayurvedic consultant and Head of Department of Ayurvedic Physiology at Ayurvedic College, Nigdi, Pune. He has done double post graduation (MD) in the subjects of Ayurvedic Medicine and Ayurvedic Physiology. He has given many radio and television interviews on various topics of Ayurveda and has contributed many articles in various Journals. He has written many books on Ayurveda in Marathi, English and German Languages. He has visited Switzerland, USA, Germany, Italy and Spain for Ayurvedic propagation.

Dr. Rajkumar B. Bobade is an Asst. Professor at Ayurvedic College & Research Centre, Nigdi, Pune and has been teaching Preventive & Social Medicine (Swasthavritta) for the last ten years.

We are happy to present the standard text book on Swasthavritta, which w ill be useful for the students of second B.A.M.S as well as to the enthusiastic readers of Ayurveda. We have taken great care that all the topics mentioned as per the syllabus of CCIM have been covered in this book.

There are two theory papers of 1 00 marks each - Paper 1 and Paper 2. Each paper contains two sections again 1 and 2.

In Paper 1 - section 1, we have described personal hygiene which covers mainly Ayurvedic aspect of prevention of disease dealing with daily and seasonal regimen and diet. Proper references and Sanskrit shlokas have been given for the benefit of the students while explaining all concepts of Ayurveda. In section 2, we have given the detail description of modern aspect of prevention of disease and social medicine containing chapters on Water, Light, Toilets, Vaccinations and Communicable diseases.

In Paper 2 - section 1, all aspects of Yoga have been described in this section, while section 2 - deals with Naturopathy.

Today it has been widely accepted that majority of the diseases are created not because of exogenous causes like bacteria and viruses but due to weak immune system of the host. Fast food, fast life style, improper and polluted air, water and food as well as stress are some of the important causes that lead to weak the immune system. Major 'diseases that affect the population such as hypertension, obesity, diabetes, peptic ulcers and heart diseases are now labeled as Life style disorders. Therefore these days the modern medical doctors are also advising their patients regarding life style, diet and exercises. Wellness is the new concept of fitness and health in all Western countries which includes physical, psychological, emotional and social fitness. This is exactly what Ayurveda has advised since thousands of years through Swasthavritta.

This is the first text book on this subject written in English language and hence will be useful to all students of English medium as well as for all foreign readers.

We hope that like all our other text books published by Chaukhamba Sanskrit Pratishthana, Delhi, students will welcome this book also and hence we wish all of them success in their journey of healthy life.