Meaning of Shuddha Chikitsa

Article by Dr Raghuram Y.S. MD (Ay) & Dr Manasa S, B.A.M.S

Shuddha = pure, properly done, effective
Chikitsa = treatment

A treatment done in pure form and properly executed in such a way that its effect is good in terms of establishing good health, in the person to whom the treatment has been done is called as Shuddha Chikitsa.

For a treatment to be planned and executed effectively a lot of things need to be considered. All the four limbs of treatment i.e. chikitsa chatushpada have to fall in place and the combination should work in a dedicated and integrated loop.

The physician, the patient, the medicine and the caregivers / nursing staff, the role of all these is important. Apart from this, the physician is the most important member of the chatushpada i.e., the four limbs mentioned above. It is his responsibility to plan and execute treatment. He has to thoroughly examine the disease and the diseased and come to a proper diagnosis. Then he needs to chart out the best possible therapies, medicines, lifestyle changes and diet for the given patient in a given condition. He has to follow the patient and the disease until he makes sure that the pathology has been destroyed and normalcy has been established.

The patient needs to be submissive and obedient and volunteer himself in the treatment. The medicines and diet should be apt for the disease and capable enough to break the pathogenesis. The caregivers need to be on their heels and help the patient conquer his disease. If all these things work out in favor of the physician, he will find success and such a treatment which is well planned and well executed and well followed up will be the best one.

This can be considered as a pure form of treatment whose goal will be to cure the disease and establish health in the ailing individuals.

This is not all.

Apart from this, there are certain criteria for a treatment to be called Shuddha Chikitsa or pure treatment.

Let us see what Acharya Vagbhata has to say about Shuddha Chikitsa in this context.

Ref – A.Hr.13/13-16

Shuddha Chikitsa: Definition of pure / good treatment

प्रयोगः शमयेद्व्याधिमेकं योऽन्यमुदीरयेत्।
नाऽसौ विशुद्धः शुद्धस्तुशमयेद्यो न कोपयेत्॥१६॥

Shuddha Chikitsa or pure treatment is that which cures one disease but does not give rise to another disease. This is a very important aspect of treatment.

On the other hand, the treatment which cures one disease but gives rise to yet another disease, sooner or later is not considered as Shuddha chikitsa i.e. it is not a pure or appropriate treatment. This is because, though it cures one disease, it would cause yet another disease or complication, which is not the goal of good treatment.

Summary

A new disease or complication arising out of a treatment process cannot be accepted. This shows the treatment was either not properly planned or executed or a combination of both.

This may happen due to different reasons –

–        Failure of the physician in diagnosing the disease or planning the treatment or implementing the treatment or combination of all these factors
–        Failure of medicines to produce the desired impact or wrong choice of medicines or side-effects / complications produced by medicines
–        Improper follow up by the patient and not following the instructions of the doctor, like not taking the medicines and therapies properly on time or not following the dietetic restrictions
–        The disease and diseased not taken care of properly by the nursing staff or caregivers at home
–        Lack of coordination between the four limbs of treatment
–        Excessive treatment given in weak disease or patient or Deficit / inadequate treatment given in a strong disease which includes palliative and purificatory medicines and therapies

So, the treatment shall be planned after completely considering various facets of the disease and disease followed by thorough examination of both and proper diagnosis of the disease.

A Shuddha chikitsa will never fail and will yield good cure and establish health in the ailing individuals. On the other hand, if the chikitsa is not Shuddha, it will not cure the disease but would produce some more diseases and complications.