Ayurveda (Sanskrit: आयुर्वेद; Āyurveda, “the complete knowledge for long life”; /ˌaɪ.ərˈveɪdə/) or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, words āyus, meaning “longevity”, and veda, meaning “related to knowledge” or “science”. The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India, i.e., in the mid-second millennium BCE. The Suśruta Saṃhitā and theCaraka Saṃhitā are great encyclopedias of medicine compiled from various sources from the mid-first millennium BCE to about 500 CE. They are among the foundational works of Ayurveda. Over the following centuries, ayurvedic practitioners developed a number of medicinal preparations and surgical procedures for the treatment of various ailments .