Psychiatry in Indian Traditional Medicine?

Ayurveda, an Indian traditional medical system is an all-embracing system of medical teachings which encompasses a number of different historical lines and layers. The term āyurveda means, literally, “the knowledge or science (Sanskrit veda) for longevity (āyus)”. There are eight branches of āyurveda. One of the divisions of āyurveda is called bhūtavidyā (studies of disorders or possessions). This paper argues that a characteristic of Indian traditional medicine, āyurveda covers important aspects of psychiatry even though like other traditional and ancients of medicine there is the absence of a distinct discipline that is comparable with psychiatry as it has developed in Western medicine. What are those indicating factors that show the characteristics of psychiatry in āyurveda? Is there any religious connotation in those characteristics? These are the major dealing matters in my paper. Keywords: Ayurveda, psychiatry, religion, possessions, traditional