Medical Genetics in Classical Ayurvedic Texts: A Critical Review

Abstract

In the early classical texts of Ayurveda, there are descriptions regarding the genetic basis of diseases. The Caraka Sahitā explains that the human body in its entirety is represented in a seed form in the male and female reproductive elements. The complete blue print is called a bīja, which is composed of many components called the bījabhāgas. The bījabhāgas are further made up of smaller parts called as the bījabhāga avayavas. Each organ of the body is formed from specific bījabhāgas or bījabhāga avayavas. Such bījabhāgas or bījabhāga avayavas are called as janakas (progenitors) of specific structures of the body and when defective can cause partial or total defects or absence of specific organs or parts of the body. Birth defects have been listed and described in the early Ayurvedic texts attributing defects of bījabhāgas and bījabhāga avayavas as the underlying cause. Blindness by birth and sexual anomalies are examples. Additionally, specific diseases have also been said to originate from defects in the components and component parts of the reproductive elements. Examples are skin diseases and haemorrhoids. The texts also differentiate between diseases originating from familial inheritance and other causes that affect the bījabhāgas. Congenital diseases are also listed and described separately. This paper is an attempt to critically review the descriptions related to medical genetics in the early classical texts of Ayurveda and to contextualise these speculations in the backdrop of the historical evolution of medical knowledge in the world.