A beautiful invocation prayer to the divine physician.

This is where the study of ayurveda begins. We invoke the wisdom of the divine healer. The first words of any vedic text is the subject of the entire treatise. In this case the first word is "raga" which means attachment. The second word is roga which means disease. So in this invocation we are asking the divine physician to help us understand and remove the diseases of attachment and all that comes with it.

It is said that if you fully embody this invocation, you have fully understood ayurveda.

Maṅgalācaraṇaṁ (Invocation)

रागादिरोगान् सततानुषक्तानशेषकायप्रसृतानशेषान्॥१॥

औत्सुक्यमोहारतिदान् जघान योऽपूर्ववैद्याय नमोस्तुतस्मैः

rāgādi-rogān

satatā nuṣaktān

-aśeṣa-kāya-

Prasṛtān-aśeṣān

Autsukya-mohā

ratidān jaghāna

Yo’pürva-vaidyā

ya namo’stu-tasmai (3)