Critical Appraisal of Parasitological Disorders in Ayurveda with Special Reference to Krimi Roga

Abstract

Description of parasitological disorders in Ayurveda is in a haphazard shape and it is described in various chapters in a scattered form. Significant contribution for the understanding of parasitological diseases has been made by Ayurvedic Acharyas. Since the Vedic period, the Indian physicians have been well aware of the presence of micro-organisms. They described the etiological factors very vividly but nowhere they have mentioned the parasites responsible for the manifestation of parasitological disorders but they mentioned the area in which that favors the development of mosquitoes. Incidence of krimiroga (parasitic diseases) has been affecting the mankind since time immemorial. The word “Krimi” was used in a broad sense in the writing of Ayurvedic literature, i.e., it includes all the pathogenic and non-pathogenic organisms covering a wide range of infection and infestation caused by a host of agents ranging from viruses to worms. There are twenty varieties of krimi described and they are broadly grouped under external (ectoparasite ) and internal (endoparasite). Each krimi is described in respect to etiology, habitat, form, shape color, type, clinical features and treatment. There are certain diseases described in Ayurveda like Visamajwara, Krimi, Pleehodara, Sleepada, etc., which may be grouped under parasitological disorders. Present article critically discusses about the concept of krimi with parasitological disorders.