Abstract

A traditional Tamil system of medicine is known as Siddha medicine, practiced for years in Tamilnadu, a South Indian state of India. There is a central institute devoted to the practice of Siddha medicine in Chennai. The origin for the practice of Siddha goes back to BC 4000. Archeological evidence suggests that the practice of Siddha was prevalent in the Dravidian civilization in a land called Kumarikandam, a Lemuria continent present in the Indian Ocean. Kumarikandam is now submerged in the ocean. This Dravidian practice of medicine is contemporary to the practice of medicine in the submerged lands of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China and Greece. The practice of Siddha for 5000 years or more stands as proof for its service to the humanity in maintaining health and preventing disease in that ancient period. Siddha is rooted with mythology as its origin was devoted to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is supposed to have handed over such a practice to Parvathi known as Shakti who passed on the divine knowledge to Nandi. Nandhi had passed on that sacred knowledge to the practitioners called Siddhars. The Tamil Siddhi is the origin for the word Siddha which means having precision and heavenly blessings.