Ayurvedic Marman
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An introduction to the history of marman
The theory of classical Indian marman can be traced to early Vedic civilisation (1700-1000 BC) (Zysk, 1998) and (Wujastyk, 1987). Originally used in warfare throughout northern and southern India, marman chikitsa has received special attention in southern India, not only for fighting, but for therapeutic use. The Dravidian or southern Indian varman theory is believed to be older than Ayurveda, and its origin may be traced to two historical figures – Parusharam and Agastya (Nair, interview, 21/9/98).

Although these historical figures cannot be traced to any certain date, the warrior Parusharam is mentioned in the ancient Vedic text Bhagavad Purana, that is believed to record an empirical Indian history from around 7000 BC. Parusharam is the historical figure to whom one lineage of varman teaching is attributed (Kuti, interview, 14/10/98).

The second source, the sage Agastya, appears to be a contemporary of the Chinese Lao Tsu (5th Century BC). Agastya’s history is mentioned several times in the text Mahabharata. He is believed to be responsible for many texts on Dravidian varman theory, including some original medical texts held in Dharamsala, northern India, and is referred to as “one who lived for many centuries” and “the sage of Asian appearance” (Nair, interview, 24/9/98). According to some Dravidian practitioners, he is dated to 2500 BC, around the same time as the mythical Chinese emperor Huang Di. The evidence which supports the dates and events surrounding the authors of Sanskrit and Dravidian classical literature is inconclusive and is currently under debate. The dates of artefacts such as those containing the Harappan symbols are uncertain. These symbols, which were found on unearthed stone seals in northern India, have been likened to Chinese characters (Harappa discussions, July, 2000). These non-translated pre-Aryan inscriptions, which are attributed to the civilisations of northern Indian Harappa (2000 BC), affirm an Indian indigenous culture, believed by Indologists to have ended around the period of 1700 BC with the introduction of Vedic culture (Harappa discussions, July, 2000).