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Ācārya Caraka classifies all therapeutic measures into three fundamental categories:
त्रिविधमौषधम्-दैवव्यपाश्रयं युक्तिव्यपाश्रयं, सत्त्वावजयश्च। तत्र दैवव्यपाश्रयं-मन्त्रौषधि-मणि-मङगल-बल्युपहार-होम-नियम-प्रायश्चिचत्तोपवास-स्वस्त्ययन-प्रणिपात-गमनादि,
युक्तिव्यपाश्रयं-पुनराहारौषधद्रव्याणां योजना, सत्त्वावजयः-पुनरहितेभयोऽर्थेभ्यो मनोनिग्रहः॥54॥
tisro bheṣaja-saṃgrahā bhavanti. tadyathā—daivavyapāśrayaṃ, yuktivyapāśrayaṃ, sattvāvajayaś ca.tatra daivavyapāśrayaṃ mantra-auṣadhi-maṇi-maṅgala-baly-upahāra-homa-niyama-prāyaścittopavāsa-svastyayana-praṇidhāna-gamanādi.
These three therapeutic systems together constitute the complete framework of Vedic (Ayurvedic) healing.
Yuktivyapāśraya Cikitsā
Yuktivyapāśraya Cikitsā is the rational and scientific branch of Ayurvedic medicine.
The word Yukti means rational planning based upon proper consideration of cause, constitution, locality, season, age, strength, and stage of disease.
This includes:
Most diseases originating in the present life from improper diet, lifestyle, trauma, infection, environmental causes, or physiological imbalance are managed through Yuktivyapāśraya Cikitsā.
Sattvāvajaya Cikitsā
The term Sattvāvajaya literally means "victory over the mind" or "mastery of the mind."
Its primary objective is not merely to treat mental disorders, but to develop such mastery over one's mind that it does not become attracted to incompatible foods, harmful habits, unhealthy lifestyles, excessive passions, addictions, or other activities that disturb the equilibrium of the body and ultimately lead to disease.
Thus, Sattvāvajaya is fundamentally a discipline of self-control. This whole system is based upon yogic practices. So, we may call it a yogic therapy.
It teaches an individual to regulate desires, control the senses, cultivate discrimination (viveka), and adopt a healthy way of life. By preventing indulgence in incompatible diet (viruddhāhāra), excessive sensory pleasures, and unhealthy behavioural patterns, Sattvāvajaya acts primarily as a preventive therapeutic system.
Its objective is to prevent disease before it manifests by strengthening the individual's capacity for self-restraint and wise decision-making.
For this reason, Sattvāvajaya Cikitsā (Yogic therapy) may appropriately be described as:
Daivavyapāśraya Cikitsā
The word Daiva is derived from the concept of destiny determined by previous karmas. According to the classical doctrines of Ayurveda, Yoga, and other Indian philosophical systems, every action performed by an individual leaves subtle impressions (saṃskāras) that accompany the soul from one birth to another. These karmic impressions influence the conditions of future birth and become responsible for many experiences of pleasure, pain, health, disease, prosperity, and suffering.
Thus, Daivavyapāśraya Cikitsā is the branch of Ayurvedic therapeutics that deals with the alleviation of sufferings attributed to past-life karmas.
The philosophical basis of this doctrine is found in Pātañjala Yoga, where it is stated:
सति मूले तद्विपाको जात्यायुर्भोगाः॥ (Yoga Sūtra 2.13)
"As long as the karmic sanskaras exists, they fructifies as birth in a particular species (jāti), lifespan (āyu) in that species, and experiences of physical and mental pleasure and suffering (bhoga)."
According to this doctrine, every individual soul carries into the next birth the consequences of previously accumulated karmas. These determine:
Consequently, certain physical and mental sufferings are understood to have their origin in karmic causes rather than solely in present-life physiological or environmental factors.
Indian philosophy further explains the rationale behind Daivavyapāśraya Cikitsā through the concepts of Karmayoni and Bhogayoni.
The human birth is unique because it is simultaneously:
Unlike other living beings, human beings possess highly developed intellect, discrimination (viveka), and manual dexterity, enabling them to consciously perform virtuous or harmful actions that shape future destinies. The human hand symbolizes this unique capacity for deliberate action.
Most other species primarily experience the fruits of previously accumulated karma and possess no freedom for consciously shaping future karmic outcomes. Therefore, while every embodied being undergoes the results of past actions, the human birth uniquely provides the opportunity to transform one's future through righteous conduct, self-discipline, spiritual practice, and wisdom.
Accordingly, Daivavyapāśraya Cikitsā seeks not merely to relieve disease but also to assist the individual in harmonizing with the deeper moral and spiritual laws governing human existence. It therefore represents the spiritual dimension of Ayurvedic medicine, complementing the rational therapies of Yuktivyapāśraya and the psychological discipline of Sattvāvajaya.
For such conditions, Ayurveda, prescribes Daivavyapāśraya Cikitsā, which includes
These measures are intended to pacify or mitigate the effects of adverse karmic influences inherited from previous births.
Relationship among the Three Systems
The three therapeutic systems complement one another.
When viewed together, these three systems provide a comprehensive approach to health by addressing the physical body, human behaviour, and the spiritual dimension of life.