Kaya Kalpa methods adopted by Siddars: a scientific approach.

Thirumular says in his "THIRUMANTHIRAM" the body is a sacred instrument to contain the soul and therefore must be nurtured well to safeguard the life. Thirumular is reported to have lived a long span of three thousand years according to tradition. The art of longevity and the attempts of immortalising the corporeal human body were the ultimate aims of Siddhars as understood from their numerous treatises on the art of rejuvenation - Thirumular Karpam - 300, Bohar Karpam - 300, Thiruvalluvur Karpam - 300 Yugimuni Karpam - 300 etc. which form some of the excellence works in this regard. One of the means to rejuvenate the body was achieved through the art of breathing (Pranayama) which has a direct bearing on the basal metabolic rate and the span of longevity. In this paper an attempt has been made to throw some light on the scientific basis of the various Kaya Kalpa methods adopted by Siddhars.

Yugi's pramegam and diebetes mellitus: an analogue.

Yugimahamuni was one among the greatest siddhars and has matchless contribution towards enrichment of Siddha system. In his Vaidya Chinthamani-800, he has written clearly about 4448 names of the diseases, its signs, symptoms and prognosis. Under the heading - "Meganoikal," he has elaborated twenty varieties of the urinary disorders based on the physical characters of urine. But the general signs and symptoms of 'Meganoikal' described by Yugi clearly indicate that many of these characteristics are of diabetic in nature. Under the sub-heading 'avasthaikal', Yugi accurately described certain sufferings experienced by the patients of 'Meganoikal'. It is quite interesting to note that those ten types of sufferings he has listed out, starting from obesity ending in Tuberculosis are comparable with the acute and long term complications of diabetics, and hence this analogue.

Humoral classification of diseases in Siddha system of medicine.

In siddha system of medicine the total number of diseases are said to be 4448, but the subclassification methodology and enumeration differ from one source to another. However, classification of the majority of these diesases is either based on clinical symptoms or vitiation of humor. Futher they have been sub-classified on the basis of the predominent symptoms, affected organs and aetiological factors. This study may help to understand the diseases classified under humors very well and would trigger interest in scholars to correlate the diseases in Siddha system with those in modern medicine.