Concept of Ekal Dravya Chikitsa (Single Drug Therapy) in Sushrut Samhita

Abstract

Ayurveda is a holistic health care system which, aims to offer the user an optimum health by alleviating diseases and helps in maintaining, promoting health by advising proper daily and seasonal regimen along with rationalized therapeutics when indicated. A good physician is one who uses minimum substances for desired effect or maximum results. From ancient past, it has been revealed that Ayurveda had a vast knowledge in the field of application of medicinal plants. Medicinal plants have significant importance in human life as it helps in maintaining human health and in improving the quality of life. Also this application in the form of single dravya has also been evidenced in many of Ayurveda texts.
 Sushrut Samhita is one of the classical text of Ayurveda, basically a part of Brihatrayee, have been surviving from ancient time and considered to be an important treatise on medicine and surgery. It is one of the two foundational Hindi texts alongside the Charak Samhita, which includes knowledge about medicine as well as surgical training, instruments and procedures. Likewise in charak samita, use of EDC has been also mentioned in Sushrut Samhita for both inervention as well as surgical management of disease. Using Ekal Dravya for curing many disease has been mentioned in past by many of Aacharyas, considering Sushrut Samhita as the first Samhita of Ayurveda to use therapeutic interventions as well as surgical procedure for the management of clinical condition, It has been reviewed to assess the extent of use of EDC.
 Using single herb for managing diseased condition has been evidenced at various instances in Sushrut Samhita in conceptual as well as in applied form. This provides an evidenced based proof that EDC was mentioned in our ancient Ayurvea texts which now need to be explored, so as to minimize the load on biodiversity for using minium herbs in a disease where it is sufficed.