In news- Fifth Siddha Day was celebrated on 23rd December 2021.
About the Siddha Day-
- The Ministry of Ayush observes Siddha Day on eve of Agathiyar’s birthday every year, which falls during the Ayilyam star of Margazhi Month.
- This year, the Fifth Siddha Day celebration on “Strength of Siddha Medicine for Communicable Diseases”
- It was jointly organized by the Central Council for Research in Siddha, National Institute of Siddha and Directorate of Indian Medicine & Homeopathy, Government of Tamil Nadu.
Objectives of Siddha Day-
- To sensitize the public about the holistic approach of healthcare and disease prevention.
- To propagate the unique strengths of Siddha Medicine.
- To integrate Siddha into the mainstream of healthcare.
- To equip the students, faculty members and practitioners of Siddha for providing standard care.
- To harness the potential of Siddha to incorporate into National Health Policy & National Health Programs.
About Siddhar Agasthiyar-
- Agastya was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the Indian tradition, he is a noted recluse and an influential scholar in diverse languages of the Indian subcontinent.
- He was born in Star “Ayilyam” in the Tamil month Margazhi.
- Agastya appears in numerous itihasas and Puranas including the major Ramayana and Mahabharata.
- He is one of the seven most revered rishis (the Saptarishi) in the Vedic texts, and is revered as one of the Tamil Siddhar in the Shaivism tradition, who invented an early grammar of the Tamil language, Agattiyam, playing a pioneering role in the development of Tampraparniyan medicine and spirituality at Saiva centres in proto-era Sri Lanka and South India.
- He is also revered in the Puranic literature of Shaktism and Vaishnavism.
- He is one of the Indian sages found in ancient sculpture and reliefs in Hindu temples of South Asia, and Southeast Asia such as in the early medieval era Shaiva temples on Java Indonesia.
- He is the principal figure and Guru in the ancient Javanese language text Agastyaparva, whose 11th century version survives.
- He is traditionally attributed to be the author of many Sanskrit texts such as the Agastya Gita found in Varaha Purana, Agastya Samhita found embedded in Skanda Purana, and the Dvaidha-Nirnaya Tantra text.
- He is also referred to as Mana, Kalasaja, Kumbhaja, Kumbhayoni and Maitravaruni after his mythical origins.
About Siddha system of medicine-
- It is one of the oldest codified traditions of healthcare originated in the Indian sub-continent with many intricate, novel therapeutic interventions and treatment modalities.
- The fundamentals and principles largely rely upon Panchabootham, taste and three humours.
- The term ‘Siddha’ has come from ‘Siddhi’- which means achievement.
- Siddhars were the men who achieved supreme knowledge in the field of medicine, yoga or tapa (meditation).
- According to the Siddha system, the individual is a microcosm of the universe.
- The human body consists of the five primordial elements-earth, water, fire, air and space, the three humours-vatha, pitta and kapha and seven physical constituents.
Source: The Hindu
