Ayurvedam is not only the science of preventive health and healing, but also the philosophy of living. It is not merely a system of treating by symptoms; rather curing by removing the cause of malady from the rich legacies left us by Rishis, the holy bards of ancient India. They culled their information from the cosmos, the western medicine sprang from microscopic examination of the Microcosm, Ayurvedam arose from the microscopic examination of the Macrocosm, the sublime embracing silence that contains all knowledge and the sacred memory of all time.

As a treatment method, it is based on the theory of "tridosham" by which we can assess the condition of the body, and can select the drug and method of treatment. In developing the process, Ayurvedam is classified into eight branches - Ashtaangams, namely kaayachikitsa (general medicine), baalachikitsa (paediatrics), grahachikitsa (psychiatry), oordhwangachikitsa (ENT), salyachikitsa (surgery), damshtrachikitsa (toxicology), jarachikitsa (geriatrics) and vrishachikitsa (aphrodisiac treatment).

Ayurvedam has a well-developed materia medica, describing more than 1,500 plants. Apart from other states, Kerala - the green house of India - has developed Ayurvedic system into a mainstream health care system.