About Arya Vaidya Sala

 

Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal, (AVS) is a Charitable institution engaged in the practice and propagation of Ayurveda. This organisation offers classical Ayurvedic medicines as well as authentic Ayurvedic treatments and therapies to patients from all over India and abroad.

AVS was established at Kottakkal in Kerala State of India in 1902 by the visionary physician and philanthropist, the late Vaidyaratnam P.S. Varier. Started essentially as a village clinic, it has now grown into a multi-unit, multi-disciplinary, multi-functional and multi-crore organisation. It has operations in different areas of Ayurvedic practice. AVS runs Ayurvedic Hospitals at Kottakkal, Delhi, and Kochi. All classical Ayurvedic medicines, therapies and expert medical advice are available there. The hospitals at Kottakkal and Delhi are NABH accredited. AVS operates three GMP accredited drug manufacturing units at Kottakkal, Kanjikode and Nanjangud with well equipped quality control labs. The quality control laboratory at Kottakkal is accredited by the department of Ayush, Govt. of India. These factories produce more than 550 classical and new generation formulations which are made available to patients through 26 Branch clinics and more than 1800 authorised dealers, spread across the country.

P.S. Varier (1869-1944), the Founder

Panniyinpally Sankunni Varier was born in March 16, 1869 in a middle class family at Kottakkal. Young Sankunni had earlier studies in Sanskrit, Astrology, etc. in the traditional way. Thereafter, he started his lessons in Ayurveda system of medicine under classical Gurukula system from Kuttanchery Vasudevan Mooss, a Namboodiri who belonged to one of the eight great families of Ayurvedic physicians in Kerala, the ashtavaidyas, in the year 1886 as a seventeen-year-old. He also acquired proficiency in the practice of Allopathy from Dr. Vargeese who was employed as a doctor at Government Hospital, Manjeri (a town near to Kottakkal).

His activities were not confined to the medical field alone. As a good physician, scholar, poet, dramatist, musician, entrepreneur and above all as a philanthropist, his efforts embraced the entire realm of our cultural life. P.S. Varier was not only the architect of the Arya Vaidya Sala, but the renaissance leader of the revitalization movement of early twentieth century with its nucleus at Kottakkal. He dedicated his whole life to the cause of humanity and bequeathed, by his unique will, all that he inherited to posterity.

 In 1933, in recognition of his services to humanity, P.S. Varier was conferred the title of Vaidyaratnam by His Excellency, the Viceroy and Governor General of India.

In 2002, Government of India issued a postage stamp in his honour bearing his image.

Constituents of AVS

Charitable Hospital

Charitable hospital located at Kottakkal, was established by Sri.Varier in 1924. Deserving poor patients are provided with Ayurvedic and Allopathic treatments (since 1927), medicines, accommodation and food free of cost over there. Clinical research activities are also undertaken in Charitable Hospital with a focus on cancer and also to validate newly developed drugs.

Vaidyaratnam P.S. Varier Ayurveda College

An Ayurveda Pathasala was established by P.S. Varier in 1917 as a formal education institution for Ayurveda. This Pathasala later became the Vaidyaratnam P.S. Varier Ayurveda College affiliated to The Kerala University of Health Sciences. The college is offering Graduate and Post Graduate courses in Ayurveda. AVS extends financial and administrative support to the college as per the provisions in the Will of the founder.

Kathakali School

Vaidyaratnam, a connoisseur of arts, founded a dramatic troupe which was later converted to a Kathakali troupe, P.S.V. Natyasangham. This troupe has eminent artistes who stage Kathakali performances in India and abroad. A residential school for teaching Kathakali and associated arts was started in 1939.

P.S.V. Natyasangham is famous for its strict adherence to classical tenets of performance, talented artists, spectacular costumes and meticulous training. Apart from presenting the classical stories, Natyasangham has choreographed some new plays also, which have been well received by the knowledgeable viewers.

P.S.V. Natyasangham is now recognised as one of the major Centres of Kathakali of today.

P.S.Varier Museum

Vaidyaratnam P.S. Varier Museum was established in 2006. The Museum preserves the personalia of Vaidyaratnam P.S. Varier and marks the important milestones in the history of Arya Vaidya Sala. It documents the process of renaissance movements in the field of Ayurveda and epitomizes the history of Ayurveda in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.The heritage building that houses the museum was constructed in 1924 to provide hospital facilities for patients, the first of its kind in Ayurvedic treatment.

Vaidyaratnam P.S. Varier Museum attracts hundreds of people from different walks of life, every day. Students, Ayurvedic scholars, general public, distinguished guests and beneficiaries of charitable hospital frequently visit the Museum.

Centre for Medicinal Plants Research

The Centre for Medicinal Plants Research (CMPR) was established at Kottakkal in the year 2003 to undertake modern research in the various aspects of medicinal plants. CMPR is now recognised as a Centre of Excellence by the Department of AYUSH, Government of India.

In the background of the expanding global reach of herbal medicines, it has become necessary to study the medicinal plants in a multidisciplinary way- botanically, chemically, molecularly and pharmacologically. Such studies will be useful in establishing quality equivalence of substitutes. Phyto-prospecting is another area of supreme importance, for isolation of new bioactive molecules and their commercialisation. New products and new formulations are all areas of great significance to healthcare industry. CMPR aims at research programmes in these areas for saving the medicinal plant resources, for saving the medicinal plants from bio-piracy and for healthcare.

Publication Department

The Publication Department was established in the year 1987 for enriching the ayurvedic knowledge as well as for bringing out various books on Ayurveda and allied topics. In the same year publishing of a quarterly medical journal ‘Aryavaidyan’ was also started.

Annual Ayurveda Seminar is organized by Arya Vaidya Sala since 1964. The proceedings are published regularly. All India essay competition is conducted for Ayurvedic professionals’ accross India. Essay competition for undergraduates and presentation competition for postgraduates under the Kerala University of Health Sciences and other Deemed universities in Kerala are conducted for the Aryavaidyan N.V.K. Varier Endowment prize and Aryavaidyan P. Madhava Varier Memorial Gold Medal respectively. These efforts are aimed at strengthening Ayurveda knowledge base. These academic activities are being held under the initiative of the Publication Department.

AVS is managed and guided by a Board of Trustees. The nationally reputed Physician and Scholar, Dr. P.K. Warrier led the institution as the Managing Trustee, for the past sixty seven years. After his demise, Dr. P.M. Varier is the present Managing Trustee and Chief Physician.