Tamil Siddha Medicine

Siddha Medicine or Tamiḻ Maruttuvam is a system of traditional medicine in India.

Traditionally, it is taught that the siddhars laid the foundation for this system of medication. Siddhars were spiritual adepts who possessed the ashta siddhis, or the eight supernatural powers. Agastya is considered the first siddha and the guru of all siddhars; the siddha system is believed to have been handed over to him by Murugan, son of Shiva and Parvati.

The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy of the Government of India coordinates and promotes research in the fields of ayurveda and Siddha medicine. The Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM), a statutory body established in 1971 under AYUSH, monitors higher education in areas of Indian medicine, including siddha medicine. To fight bioprospecting and unethical patents, India set up the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library in 2001 as a repository of 223,000 formulations of various systems of medicine common in India, such as ayurveda, unani, siddha medicine and homeopathy.