There were many Ayurvedic texts, but not all texts are available now. Brahma asked 16 persons to write texts on Ayurveda, said Velukkudi Krishnan, in a discourse. Each of them wrote a text. Dhanvantari, an avatara of Lord Narayana, wrote Cikitsa Tattva Vijnana; Divodasa wrote Cikitsa Darpana; Kasi raja wrote Cikitsa Kaumudi; The two Aswini Kumaras wrote Cikitsa Saara Tantra. The Aswini Kumaras are the physicians of the Devas. The Pandava brothers were each born with the grace of different devatas. Thus, Arjuna was born through the blessing of Indra, Bhima through the blessing of Vayu and so on. Nakula and Sahadeva were born through the blessings of the Aswini Kumaras, and true to their inheritance, Nakula and Sahadeva too were well versed in medicine. Nakula wrote an Ayurvedic work called Vaidyaka Sarvasva; Sahadeva wrote Vyaadhi Sindhu Vimardhana. Yama, the god of death, also wrote a book on Ayurveda! Another name for Yama is Arti, and Arti wrote Jnaanaarnava.
So, Dhanvantari, Divodasa, Kasi Raja, Aswini Kumaras (two in number), Nakula, Sahadeva and Arti together wrote eight works. Another eight works were written by others. Sage Chyavanah wrote Jeeva Daana; Janaka wrote Vaidhya Sandeha Bhanjana; Budha wrote Sarvasaara; Jaabala wrote Tantra Saara; Jaajali wrote Vedanga Saara; Pyla wrote Nidaana, exploring the causes of diseases; Karatha wrote Sarvadhara; and sage Agastya wrote Dhvaidhanirnaya Tantra.
An Ayurvedic treatise called Bhavaprakasa says that its purpose is to increase the life span of human beings.
So, Ayurveda is focused on studying the causes of diseases and curing them. And yet, while the purpose of Ayurveda is to give human beings longevity, physicians and surgeons are not masters of life. Longevity or otherwise is in the hands of Lord Narayana.
