Ashtanga Hridayam Part III - Online Course

At a Glance

Deepen Your Knowledge of Ayurvedic Pharmacology

Ashtanga Hridayam is one of the three major literary works of Ayurveda. The course will include Suthrasthana chapters 9-10. This text is composed by eminent scholar Vagbhatta and has 7,120 verses written in a poetic style for an easy recital. Written in the second half of the 7th century AD, Ashtanga Hridayam is considered as the heart (hridaya) of the eight branches (ashtanga) of Ayurveda and presents a comprehensible account of Ayurvedic knowledge simply and understandably. The Ashtanga Hridayam continues to serve as a root source for Ayurvedic philosophy and teachings. Completion of Part I or II is not necessary to understand and enjoy Part III.  In Ashtangahrudyam III you will be learning the core concepts of Ayurvedic pharmacology.

SCU’s Ayurveda program is offering this course in collaboration with Amrita School of Ayurveda, Amrita Viswa Vidyapeetham (University). The course will be taught by Vaidya P. Rammanohar from Amrita University.

Course Overview

This 100% online course is taught on Tuesday evenings from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Pacific Standard Time. Ashtanga Hridayam Part III will cover Suthrasthana chapters 9-10.

At the end this course students will:

• Learn the core concepts of Ayurvedic pharmacology as elaborated in Ashtangahridayam
• Understand the concept of dravya and its classification
• Understand the framework of rasa, guna, virya, vipaka, and prabhava to understand both the nutritional and pharmacological properties of substances used in Ayurveda.
• Understand how to differentiate and predict the pharmacology of simple and complex substances.
• Enumerate and characterize the six tastes of substances
• Understand how to predict the pharmacological action of substances based on taste
• Understand the permutations and combinations of tastes and how it influences pharmacological actions

Course Schedule

This course is delivered 100% online with set attendance times every Tuesday evening from 6:00 p.m. – 8: 00 p.m. PST. The course runs for 15 weeks.