AYURVEDA MEDICAL COLLEGE

Samajam was the first to set up a Patanalayam, a college to the public for studies in Ayurveda with a mind to create more physicians. The Samajam pioneered the way for imparting institutional training to the common man. With a strong faculty of Ashtavaidyas, Traditional vaidyas and Allopathy Doctors Samajam set up the first ever Ayurveda Medical College under the directions of the Zamorin. In the early decades of the last century pupil learned about the principles and practices of Ayurveda at the Samajam and the best among them were accredited with a title “Ayurveda Siromani” an authentic certificate by the then council of physicians of the Samajam to practice Ayurveda. The British Government learned about these practices and got themselves convinced about its quality and merit and subsequently recognized and endorsed it. Even though this certification was transformed to Diplomas and Bachelors later, like DAM, BAMS etc. Ayurveda Siromani Certification continues in some of the universities like Madras. 

Ayurveda dates back to an estimated 5,000-10,000 years and is widely considered to be the oldest form of health care in the world. It is understood by many scholars that knowledge of Ayurveda spread out from India and influenced the ancient Chinese system of medicine, Unani medicine and the humoral medicine practiced by Hippocrates in Greece. For this reason, Ayurveda is often referred to as the "Mother of all healing." 

The knowledge of Ayurveda is believed to be of Divine origin and was communicated to the saints and sages of India who received its wisdom through deep meditation. Ayurvedic knowledge was passed down orally through the generations and then written down in the Vedas, the sacred texts of India believed to be the oldest writings in the world. 

Written in Sanskrit, the Vedas cover a vast number of subjects from grammar to health care. The Vedas were written approximately 2500 BC or earlier. Current knowledge about Ayurveda is mostly drawn from relatively later writings, primarily the Charaka Samhita (approximately 1500 BC), the Ashtanga Hridayam (approximately 500 AD), and the Sushruta Samhita (300 - 400 AD). These three classics describe the basic principles and theories from which Ayurveda has evolved. They also contain vast clinical information on the management of a multitude of diseases expanded upon by later writings and research. 

Before Ayurveda began its recent renewal in the West, it went through a period of decline in India when Western medical education became dominant during the era of British rule. Ayurveda became a second-class option used primarily by traditional spiritual practitioners and the poor. After India gained its independence in 1947, Ayurveda gained ground and new schools began to be established. Today more than five hundred Ayurvedic companies and hospitals have opened in the last ten years, and several hundred schools have been established.