Traditional systems of medicine like Ayurveda have become popular in recent years. This is part of the renewed ethnic cultures the world over, in their lifestyles and religious beliefs. Medicine may be seen as a living component of an unbroken tradition stretching back to several centuries. The word Ayurveda is made up of two Sanskrit words ayur and veda meaning 'life' and 'knowledge' respectively. Taken together they mean the 'science of life'; in a more limited sense, the term is used to imply the science of medicine. The origins of Ayurveda are shrouded in antiquity. Legend say that Brahma the Creator, a part of the holy trinity of gods, first perceived it and taught it to his son, Daksha Prajapati. Subsequently, Lord Dhanwantari, the god of healing and the teacher of the medical sciences passed it on to the prominent Hindu sages Atreya, Bharadvaja, Kashyapa, Sushruta, Parashara, and Charaka.
