Sri Lankan traditional medicine

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Sri Lanka has its own indigenous scheme of traditional medicine which is called hela wedakama (not associated with ayurveda it is unique).^[1][2] This system has been practised for thousands of years. On the other hand, the Sri Lankan hela wedakama tradition is a mixture of Sinhala traditional medicine, mainland āyurveda and Siddha systems of India, Unani medicine of Greece through the Arabs, and most importantly, the Desheeya Chikitsa, which is the indigenous medicine of Sri Lanka. College teaching of these systems began in 1929 at what is now the Institute of Indigenous Medicine of the University of Colombo. The Siddha Medicine Unit moved to the University of Jaffna in 1984.^[3]

Since the beginning of human civilization, medical methods unique to each country have been born and evolved in various countries around the world. Also, the combination of medical methods of different countries has led to the birth of new medical traditions. The system of medicine, which bears some resemblance to Indian Ayurveda, but developed and evolved from the Hela language, is called indigenous therapy, Hela medicine or traditional medicine.

Sri Lanka developed its own ayurvedic system based on a prescriptions handed down from generation to generation over 3,000 years. The ancient kings, who were also prominent physicians, sustained its survival and longevity. King Buddhadasa (398 AD), the most influential of these physicians, wrote the obtain the permit prior to start treatments for the patients or prior to starting making medicines according to the ancient traditions.

Ancient inscriptions on rock surfaces reveal that organized medical services existed within the country for centuries. In fact, Sri Lanka claims to be the first country in the world to have established dedicated hospitals with the capability of performing surgeries even for animals. The Sri Lankan mountain Mihintale still has the ruins of what many believe to be the first hospital in the world. Old hospital sites now attract tourists. These places have come to symbolize a traditional sense of healing and care.

Although it is not possible to say exactly how the local therapy started, according to the ancient sources, it is stated that the Trivedic sage Pulasthi participated representing the Hela language in the sage conference held in the Himalayan site of India.The Helas succeeded in bringing forward the Hela medicine, which dates back to the Pulasti Srisivara era, through oral tradition. Hela medicine, which was at a very high level during the reign of King Ravana, has been instrumental in dispelling the fears of the Helas and making them grow as a proud nation.

King Ravana, who is considered to be the grandson of sage Pulasthi, is considered to be a master of all sciences such as Hela Vedaka, Gupta Shastra, Rasa Shastra, etc., and among the books composed by him are Nadi Tantra, Kumara Tantra, Udisha Tantra, Arka Prakashaya etc. In the era of Ravana, it is mentioned in some Puskola books that medicines that can improve the Dharana Shakti (ability of memory and recall) of people were used a lot.Considering the information found in the ancient epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata, it is perfected by various knowledge systems such as ancient Hela language mathematics, architecture and architecture, botany, medicine, mysticism, taste science, irrigation, astronomy etc. There is evidence that a population lived.

Later, the Indian Ayurvedic system of medicine became popular in this country, but Hela medicine has been preserved until today, either mixed with it or separately. Some of the Hela Veeduras, who learned bookkeeping with Indian inspiration, worked to preserve their traditional knowledge for future generations through Puskola books. It also contributed to the survival of Hela medicine to this day.Since the Hela kings understood the importance of having a healthy, strong and energetic people due to having to face the invasions of various nations since ancient times, they understood the need of Hela traditional healers for that, so they set up medical villages with the healers as the head of the village, established hospitals, herb gardens and established local medicine.

Hela medicine, which had been preserved for many centuries, was hit hard during and after the invasions of the western nations and became extinct due to the decrease or lack of government support. But due to the indomitable courage and dedication of Hela doctors, local therapy or Hela medicine has been preserved till today.Along with the development of civilizations, the unique knowledge systems created in association with those civilizations also developed. This is also true of Hela medicine. In it, a unique wealth of knowledge that cannot be found in any other medical system in the world has been gathered. A unique feature of this is that each medicine is special to that generation due to the mastery and development of that medicine from father to son by the doctors who showed skill in that medicine.

Later, those generations of medicine have also been referred to by the area they lived in, and examples include Horivila Fracture Medicine, Nandungamuwa Cystic Ulcer Medicine, etc.A clearly identifiable difference between indigenous medicine and Indian Ayurveda is that many of the drugs used in indigenous medicine are not found in Indian Ayurveda and some drug formulations and treatment methods are unique to indigenous medicine.

Eight main elements can be identified in local therapy.

Fractures Ophthalmology Rheumatology Snake venom medicine Tumor Cancer Treatment Burns Medicine Hydrophobia medicine Dermatology In addition to this, medical methods such as Pinus medicine, machine magic (occult), animal medicine, tree medicine etc. are also found in local therapy related to certain generations of doctors.

King Buddhadasa (337 – 365 AD) is credited with developing and popularizing indigenous medicine. Hela chronicles have mentioned him as a great statesman who had a good knowledge of various medical methods such as linguistics, jurisprudence, surgery, physical therapy, psychotherapy, gynecological therapy and animal therapy (veterinary science) etc.It has been mentioned in the Maha Vamsa that during his reign, Hela Diwa built medical centers from village to village and local doctors were appointed to those centers to provide services to the people. It is mentioned in historical sources that he wrote the book "Sarartha Sangraha".