Shatkriyakala

The diagnosis and therapeutics in Ayurveda are based on clinical observation and assessment. Diagnosis at an early stage of disease is emphasized, when abnormalities in body-mind functions are vague and non-specific. In current times, the diseases are diagnosed when pathological, biochemical manifestations have surfaced. However, at this stage, many times it is difficult to reverse the pathogenesis and restore health. Clinical diagnosis at an early stage can provide great input to manage a disease and prevent it from being untreatable. More than 30 centuries ago, Sushruta - the father of Surgery in his compendium Sushruta Samhita has given the concept of shatkriyakala (six stages of disease evolution for treatment interventions). In this compendium, after careful study of inflammatory process in open wounds (vrana), he conceptualized the natural history of disease evolution. The concept of kriyakala (stage of treatment intervention or strategy) describes the mode and stages of the development of disease. There are six distinct formative patterns or stages of manifestation of diseases. Each stage has its own characteristic symptoms to enable a treating physician to recognize the disturbance at early formative stage of disease.