• Briefly, article explores their intertwined histories, philosophical foundations, and enduring legacy. While Ayurveda is much older, article highlights how cross-cultural exchange enriched both. It examines their tridosha and humoral theories. The word ‘Unani’ means Greek.

This is third in the series of articles by Dr Chandan, the first two being Indian Origin of Tibetan Medicine and Ayurveda Influence on Traditional Chinese Medicine

The world’s oldest healing traditions emerged long before modern science, yet they developed sophisticated theories of health. Two such traditions –Ayurveda from ancient India and Unani (Greco-Arabic medicine) – grew out of different cultures but share intriguing parallels. Both systems viewed health as a balance of vital bodily fluids and drew on nature’s pharmacy of herbs and diet. 

This article explores their intertwined histories, philosophical foundations, and enduring legacy, highlighting how cross-cultural exchange enriched both systems. We will compare Ayurveda’s 3,000-year-old Indian roots with Unani’s genesis in Greek antiquity, examine their tridosha and humoral theories, and see how ideas traveled via trade and translation across India, Persia, and the Mediterranean.

Despite Ayurveda predating Unani, the two evolved in parallel with mutual respect and influence, leaving a lasting impact on medical thought.

Origins and Historical Development

Ayurveda (from Sanskrit āyus “life” + veda “knowledge”) is one of the world’s oldest medical systems. It originated in India perhaps as much as 3,000 years ago. Its earliest concepts appear in the Atharvaveda, with hymns describing herbal remedies and prayers to expel disease. By the first millennium BCE, Ayurveda was systematized into classical medical texts. The tradition’s golden age produced encyclopedic Sanskrit treatises like the Charaka Saṃhitā and Suśruta Saṃhitā, attributed to the physician Charaka and the surgeon Suśruta respectively.

Charaka’s compendium detailed internal medicine and listed hundreds of herbal drugs, while Suśruta’s text taught surgical techniques – including cataract removal and rhinoplasty – earning Suśruta renown as a pioneer of surgery. These works, alongside later writings (e.g. by Vāgbhaṭa), became the foundation of Ayurvedic education, covering anatomy, pathology, therapy, and ethics. Ayurveda’s longevity in India owes much to its continuous practice and oral teaching, even when political shifts occurred.

Unani medicine, by contrast, traces its origins to the classical world of the Mediterranean. The term Unani means “Greek” in Persian/Urdu. Its lineage begins with the Greek physician Hippocrates, traditionally regarded as the “father of medicine.” Hippocrates proposed that natural causes and bodily fluids underlie health. Later, in the Roman era, Galen built on Hippocratic ideas, writing extensive treatises that codified anatomy and the theory of four humors. 

Galen’s works became authoritative in Western and Middle Eastern medicine. During the Abbasid Caliphate, scholars in Baghdad translated the bulk of Greek medical literature into Arabic. They also absorbed wisdom from other lands – Persian and Arab physicians eagerly drew on Indian and Persian sources to expand the Greek corpus.

The greatest figure of medieval Islamic medicine was Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna), a Persian polymath who synthesized the era’s knowledge into The Canon of Medicine. It became a standard textbook in both the Islamic world and Europe.

By around the 11th century, the Unani system was fully developed – a Greco-Arabic amalgam grounded in Greek humoral theory but enriched by Arab experimentation and Persian scholarship. Unani medicine spread to South Asia in the medieval period, completing a global circuit: from Greece to the Middle East and on to India.

Despite arising in different eras, Ayurveda and Unani each formed a complete medical paradigm. Next, we compare their guiding philosophies of health and illness.

Philosophical Foundations: Tridosha and Four Humors

At the heart of Ayurveda and Unani are parallel theories: Ayurveda’s tridosha concept and Unani’s humoral theory. Both posit that a few fundamental forces or fluids govern all bodily processes, and that equilibrium among them equals health.

Ayurveda teaches that the universe is composed of five basic elements – earth, water, fire, air, and ether. These combine in the human body to form three vital energies or doshas: vata (air/ether), pitta (fire), and kapha (earth/water). Every person has all three, but in unique proportions that form an individual constitution or prakriti.

When the doshas are balanced, the person is healthy; when they are disturbed, illness results. Ayurvedic health is also determined by the proper function of the seven body tissues (dhatus) and the elimination of waste (mala). Ayurveda emphasizes mind-body integration: emotional states affect doshas, and vice versa.

Unani medicine has a comparable framework. It teaches that the human body contains four humors: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. These correspond to elemental qualities (hot/cold, moist/dry). Each person’s temperament (mizaj) is determined by their dominant humor. Health is defined as the correct balance of these humors. Illness results from an imbalance, either qualitative or quantitative. Central to Unani is the body’s innate ability to heal itself, called tabiyat. The role of the physician is to support this healing force.

Despite different structures – three doshas versus four humors – the philosophies align remarkably. Both systems classify food, emotions, and diseases according to elemental qualities and aim to restore harmony using opposites (cooling remedies for hot conditions, etc.). Each also recognizes individual variability and tailors treatment accordingly.

Diagnostic Methods and Therapeutic Strategies

Diagnosis in both Ayurveda and Unani relies on comprehensive, individualized assessment. Ayurvedic physicians use a tenfold and eightfold examination, which includes pulse reading, observation of the eyes, tongue, skin, and analysis of stool and urine. Unani practitioners likewise evaluate the pulse, urine, and stool, along with the patient’s lifestyle and temperament.

Therapeutically, both systems emphasize lifestyle, diet, herbs, and non-invasive techniques.

Ayurvedic treatment aims to restore doshic balance with herbs, dietary guidance, meditation, yoga, and cleansing procedures like Panchakarma. Unani physicians use herbs, foods, regimens, and Ilaj bil Tadbeer (regimental therapy) such as cupping, steam baths, massage, and leech therapy to expel excess humors.

Both traditions maintain a large materia medica. Ayurvedic texts describe thousands of plant and mineral-based remedies; Unani pharmacology is similarly rich. Over time, the two systems adopted similar plants – like ginger, black pepper, and long pepper – though justified through different frameworks.

Surgical knowledge also featured in both.

Ayurveda, through Suśruta, described surgical instruments and procedures in great detail. Unani surgery matured during the Islamic Golden Age, with major contributions from Al-Zahrawi in Muslim Spain.

Though Ayurveda’s surgical legacy is older, both traditions excelled in surgery relative to their times.

Cross-Cultural Exchanges and Mutual Influences

Ayurveda and Unani did not evolve in isolation. Alexander’s invasion of India in 326 BCE brought Greek and Indian scholars into contact. Later, through the Silk Road & maritime routes, herbs and ideas traveled between India and the Middle East.

During the Abbasid Caliphate, Indian medical texts like the Suśruta Saṃhitā and Charaka Saṃhitā were translated into Arabic. Scholars like Al-Razi and Avicenna referenced Indian treatments. Conversely, Greco-Arabic concepts entered Indian thought, especially during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal periods.

In India, Unani flourished under Islamic rulers. Indian Unani physicians, like Hakim Ajmal Khan, later promoted integration with Ayurveda. The overlap is evident in shared herbs, treatment styles, and coexisting medical institutions. India’s government today supports both systems through formal education and research under the Ministry of AYUSH.

The influence even spread westward: Arabic texts containing Ayurvedic ideas reached medieval Europe, indirectly informing Western medicine. Thus, Ayurveda and Unani participated in a centuries-long dialogue of medical exchange, enriching each other without compromising their core identities.

Legacy and Continued Relevance

Both Ayurveda and Unani remain vital today. In India, millions rely on these systems for chronic and lifestyle-related conditions. Ayurvedic therapies like yoga and meditation have achieved global popularity. Unani clinics continue to treat patients using centuries-old regimens validated by practice and, increasingly, by modern research.

Beyond treatments, these systems offer a philosophy of balance – in body, mind, and environment – that resonates in our overstressed world. They remind us that healing is not only about intervention but prevention, lifestyle, and understanding the individual.

Ayurveda and Unani represent two of humanity’s most profound medical systems. 

While Ayurveda predates Unani, both developed independently and then intersected across time and space. Their shared emphasis on balance, personalized care, and nature-based remedies offers valuable insights even in the age of modern medicine.

Their histories show that medicine is not the property of one culture but a shared human pursuit, evolving through dialogue and mutual respect. As we continue to seek integrative approaches to health, the enduring legacy of Ayurveda and Unani remains more relevant than ever.

References:

1. Ahmad, S., M. M. Hasan, and R. Mahmood. "Unani System of Medicine: Introduction and Challenges."Journal of Pharmacy and BioAllied Sciences 2, no. 2 (2010): 93–97. 

2. Britannica. "Ayurveda." Accessed June 2025.

3. Britannica. "Unani Medicine." Accessed June 2025.

4. Patwardhan, B., D. Warude, P. Pushpangadan, and N. Bhatt. "Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Comparative Overview." Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2, no. 4 (2005): 465–473.

5. QTanalytics. "Comparative Analysis of Ayurveda and Unani Systems." International Journal of Research and Innovation, n.d.

6. ScienceDirect. "Cultural Exchange in Medicine." Accessed June 2025. 

7. Wikipedia contributors. "Humorism." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Last modified April 2025.

8. Wikipedia contributors. "Unani Medicine" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Last modified April 2025.

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