Ayurveda Books: What to Read and Where to Start

There are thousands of books on Ayurveda, but almost all of them retell a few classical texts. So the short answer is: the foundation is three senior treatises that in India are called the great three (brihat trayi) — the Charaka Samhita, the Sushruta Samhita and the Ashtanga Hridaya. Starting with them directly is hard, though: they are huge books in Sanskrit, written for student physicians. A beginner does better going in reverse — from a modern introduction to a textbook, and from the textbook to the primary source.

Below: what these texts are, which modern books to start with, where to read about panchakarma, and what not to expect from a book. For what Ayurveda is in general, see What is Ayurveda, in plain words.

After the great three, tradition places the lesser three (laghu trayi) — three later texts, each with its own task:

• Madhava Nidana — a book on diagnosis: the signs of diseases and their varieties gathered in one place. Before it, descriptions of diseases were scattered across different parts of the samhitas.
• Sharangadhara Samhita — a book on preparing medicines: powders, decoctions, pastes, oils and ghee, proportions and shelf lives. Ayurvedic pharmacy is still taught from it.
• Bhavaprakasha by the physician Bhavamishra (16th century) — a large compendium known above all for its descriptions of plants, foods and their properties. It includes plants that were not yet known in India in Charaka’s day.

Beyond these six books, every school of Ayurveda has its own commentaries and formularies. Kerala, for example, has compilations in Malayalam such as the Sahasrayogam, “a thousand formulas”. A beginner does not need them, but they explain why physicians from different parts of India treat the same thing slightly differently.

A frequent separate question is where to read about panchakarma. In the classics whole sections are devoted to it. In Charaka there is the Kalpa Sthana — on the plants and formulations for cleansing — and the Siddhi Sthana: how procedures are carried out, how to tell that cleansing went correctly, and what to do about complications. Medicated enemas — vasti — are covered there in particular detail. The Ashtanga Hridaya sets out the same more briefly, in its Kalpa Siddhi Sthana.

Modern textbooks, including volume three of the Textbook of Ayurveda, describe panchakarma in their treatment sections. They are worth reading to understand what happens during the procedures and why preparation and a recovery period are needed. But they are books for understanding, not instructions: a “home panchakarma” from a book is not what the texts describe. Cleansing is prescribed and supervised by a doctor, who also decides whether there are contraindications.

The classical texts were written for students who lived for years beside a teacher and saw patients. A book gives you the language and logic of the system, but not the hands: massage pressure, oil temperature, the order of a procedure, a person’s reaction on the treatment table are mastered only in practice. And a book does not diagnose: a formula from the Sharangadhara or the Bhavaprakasha is no reason to prepare and take a remedy yourself. Herbs and medicines are prescribed by an Ayurvedic doctor who sees the person.

That is why studying Ayurveda in India usually combines the two. At Ayurvedashala, a school of Ayurveda in India, the one-month course starts with an online theory module before arrival — the reading and lectures — followed by practice in a working clinic under the supervision of doctors. If you’d rather start with yourself than with a book, you can find your dosha with a test built on the signs described in the Charaka and Sushruta Samhitas.