Development

Ayurvedic practice was flourishing during the time of Buddha (around 520 BCE), and in this period the Ayurvedic practitioners were commonly using Mercuric-sulphur combination based medicines. In this period mercury, sulphur and other metals were used in conjunction with herbs to prepare the different medications. An important Ayurvedic practitioner of this period was Nagarjuna, a Buddhist herbologist, famous for inventing various new drugs for the treatment of ailments. Nagarjuna was accompanied by Surananda, Nagbodhi, Yashodhana, Nityanatha, Govinda, Anantdev, Vagbhatta etc. The knowledge of Ayurveda progressed a lot during this period, including development of newer and more effective medicines, and is therefore termed as the Golden Period of Ayurveda.

After emerging victorious at the Kalinga War, Emperor Ashoka (304 BC-232 BCE) influenced by the Buddhist teachings, banned any bloodshed in his kingdom in 250 BCE. Therefore many Ayurveda practitioners, who were practicing surgery along with medicine, left the surgical intervention and adopted totally new medicinal treatments. In this period, Ayurveda again evolved and flourished with the invention of new drugs, new methodology and new innovations. The practice of the accompanying surgery slowly died out during this period.

During the regime of Chandragupta Maurya (375-415 AD), Ayurveda was part of mainstream Indian medical techniques, and continued to be so until the colonisation by the British.

Chakrapani Dutta (DuttaSharma) was a Vaid Brahman of Bengal who wrote books on Ayurveda such as "Chakradutta" and others. Chakrapani Dutta was the Rajavaidya of Great King Laxman Sen {some says rajVaid of King Nayapala (1038–1055)}. It is believed by some practitioners that Chakradutta is the essence of Ayurveda.

During the 17th century the colonial Dutch Governor in India (based in Kochi)used the palm leaf manuscripts and services of Ayurvedic physician Itty Achudan to compile his botanical treatise Hortus Malabaricus. Ayurveda has always been preserved by the people of India, despite increasing adoption of European medical techniques during the time of British rule. For several decades the reputation and skills of the various Ayurvedic schools declined markedly as Western medicine and Western-style hospitals were built. However, beginning in the 1970s, a gradual recognition of the value of Ayurveda returned, and today Ayurvedic hospitals and practitioners are flourishing throughout all of India. As well, the production and marketing of Ayurvedic herbal medicines has dramatically increased, as well as scientific documentation of benefits. Today, Ayurvedic medicines are available throughout the world.