Ayurveda (Devanāgarī: आयुर्वॆद, the 'science of life') is a system of traditional medicine native to India,Chopra, page 75 and practiced in other parts of the world as a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, the word Ayurveda comprises the words IAST: āyus, meaning 'life' and IAST: veda, meaning 'science'. Evolving throughout its history, Ayurveda remains an influential system of medicine in South Asia. The earliest literature of Ayurveda appeared during the Vedic period in India.Department of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (Government of India). The Sushruta Samhita and the Charaka Samhita were influential works on traditional medicine during this era. Ayurvedic practitioners also identified a number of medicinal preparations and surgical procedures for curing various ailments and diseases.

Ayurveda has become an alternative form of medicine in the western world, where patents for its medicine have been passed, and the intellectual property rights contested by Western and Indian institutions. Ayurveda is considered to be a form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) within the United States of America, where several of its methods—such as herbs, massage, and Yoga as exercise or alternative medicine—are applied on their own as a form of CAM treatment.A Closer Look at Ayurvedic Medicine. NIH: Focus on Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Volume XII, Number 4: Fall 2005/Winter 2006. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health.