Like Ayurveda, Siddha is also a traditional medical system of India. It is of Dravidian origin and has its entire literature in Tamil language. The basic concepts of the Siddha medicine are the same as those of Ayurveda. The difference is mostly in detail, Siddha being influenced by the local tradition with roots in the ancient Dravidian culture.
Its origin is also traced to mythological sources belonging to the Shaiva tradition. According to the tradition, Lord Shiva conveyed the knowledge of medicine to his wife Parvati. The knowledge was passed from her to Nandi and finally it was given to the Siddhas. The word Siddha denotes one who has achieved some extraordinary powers (siddhi). This achievement was related to the discipline of mind and its superiority over body, and was accomplished through both yoga and medicine. Thus siddhars (practitioners of Siddha) became the symbols of psychosomatic perfection and so the Siddha medicine became a combination of medicine and yoga.
The tantrik siddhi was thought of in different forms such as janmaja (due to birth), osadhija (due to some medical elixirs), mantraja (due to magical incantations), tapoja (due to penance) and samadhija (due to meditation). The tantriks endeavoured to attain the siddhis by several means, one of them was through the use of certain compositions of compounds of mercury, sulphur, mica and several other metallic substances.
According to tradition, there were 18 Siddhars (the person who has achieved some extra-ordinary powers): Nandi, Agasthiyar, Thirumular, Punnakkeesar, Pulasthiyar, Poonaikannar, Idaikkadar, Bogar, Pulikai isar, Karuvurar, Konkanavar, Kalangi, Sattainathar, Azhuganni, Agappai, Pumbatti, Theraiyar and Kudhambai, but the Agasthiyar (Agastya) was the topmost. He is regarded as the originator of the Siddha medicine and also of the Tamil language. He occupies the same position as Hippocrates in modern western medicine. In the period of Ramayana he seems to have settled in the South. Thus origin of every tradition in the South, including language and culture, is traced back to Agastya.
In the Siddha medicine system use of metals, minerals and chemical products is predominant. The use of metals started from the period of Vagbhata (6th Centaury AD). Alchemy actually has its origin in the Siddha system which was connected with the Tantrik culture, aimed at perfection of man not only at the spiritual level but also at the physical level. The use of human urine in medicine also started with the Tantrik culture and became popular in the medieval period.
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