The history
From Tamil couplets about three humours and the 18 Siddhars to palm-leaf libraries, a national institute, fair trials and safety tests.
Siddha grew from Tamil ideas about the body, written in verse and credited to the Siddhars. In the 1920s it became a named system with its own schools, and after independence it gained colleges, laws and research councils. Today it faces the same question as every medicine: what do fair tests and safety checks show?
1964
First Siddha college
Government Siddha Medical College, Palayamkottai
3 September 2005
National Institute of Siddha
Tambaram, Chennai
2010
Research council just for Siddha
CCRS, Chennai
4 January 2018
First Siddha Day
Ministry of Ayush
400 – 1800
Tamil verse about the three humours, the 18 Siddhars, and medical texts copied by hand on palm leaves.
450
c. 5th century CE (debated)
The Thirukkural, a much-loved book of Tamil couplets, has a chapter called Marunthu (medicine). Couplet 941 says that the three things counted by the learned, beginning with vatham (wind), cause disease when they are too much or too little.
Why it mattered. It shows the idea of three humours in Tamil writing long before Siddha had a separate name.
650
c. 5th–8th century CE (debated)
The Thirumandiram, some 3,000 verses attributed to the sage Thirumoolar, is the earliest known Tamil treatise on yoga and teaches care of the body as a path to the spirit. Scholars date it anywhere from the 5th to the 8th century, and tradition claims far earlier.
Why it mattered. Siddhas count Thirumoolar among the 18 Siddhars, and his view of the body shaped the tradition.
900
Traditional; dates uncertain
Tradition honours 18 Siddhars, sages remembered as masters of yoga, alchemy and healing, with Agathiyar (Agastya) as the founder. Lists of names differ, and so do the dates given for them. Many texts are attributed to them, such as nei kuri, the urine oil-drop test, to Theraiyar.
Why it mattered. The Siddhars give the system its name and its authority.
1600
c. 16th–18th centuries (scholarly estimate)
Much of the Siddha medical writing that survives is in Tamil verse on palm leaves: formulas for metals and minerals, diagnosis and diet. Historians such as Richard Weiss and Kamil Zvelebil date most of it to about the 16th century onwards, and leaves had to be copied again and again as they decayed.
Why it mattered. These manuscripts are the textual core of Siddha, and many are still unpublished.
1800 – 1947
Manuscripts collected in Madras, the Usman Committee, and the first government school teaching Siddha.
1869
The Government Oriental Manuscripts Library opened in Madras, starting with Colin Mackenzie's collection. Today it holds about 50,000 palm-leaf and 22,000 paper manuscripts, including Siddha medical texts.
Why it mattered. Much of Siddha's written heritage survived because libraries like this collected and copied it.
1921
1921–1923
The Madras government asked a committee led by Mohammad Usman to report on the indigenous systems of medicine. Its 1923 report, one of the first major health reports in India, led Tamil physicians to organise and argue for Siddha as a system of its own.
Why it mattered. Historians see the 1920s as the moment Siddha emerged as a named, separate system.
1924
1924 (classes from January 1925)
Following the Usman report, Madras opened a government school teaching Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani, alongside the basics of Western medicine.
Why it mattered. It was the start of formal, state-run training in Siddha.
1947 – 2003
The first Siddha college, drug laws, a national council and research under CCRAS.
1964
30 November 1964
The Government Siddha Medical College opened in Palayamkottai with 30 students, the first college devoted only to Siddha.
Why it mattered. Siddha now had its own degree course, the forerunner of today's BSMS.
1964
1964 (in force 1969)
An amendment added Chapter IVA to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, bringing Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani medicines under licensing, labelling and quality rules.
Why it mattered. It is still the law that decides how Siddha medicines are made and sold.
1970
The Act set up the Central Council of Indian Medicine (1971) to regulate education and practice in Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani, including registration of practitioners.
Why it mattered. Siddha doctors gained a national register and minimum standards for colleges.
1978
The Central Council for Research in Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy (1969) was split into separate councils. Siddha research came under the Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha (CCRAS).
Why it mattered. For 32 years Siddha research was run jointly with Ayurveda.
1995
1995; renamed AYUSH in 2003
India created a Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy, renamed AYUSH in 2003: Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy.
Why it mattered. Siddha became part of a national framework with its own budget.
2004 – today
A national institute, its own research council, public use in outbreaks, trials, and heavy-metal safety.
2004
15 December 2004
A study in JAMA found lead, mercury or arsenic in 14 of 70 Ayurvedic products bought in Boston shops. A 2008 follow-up found them in about a fifth of products sold online, and far more often in metal-based formulas.
Why it mattered. It raised worldwide questions about metal-based traditional medicines, including Siddha's.
2005
3 September 2005
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the National Institute of Siddha, a national centre for postgraduate teaching, research and a hospital.
Why it mattered. Siddha gained a national institute like those for Ayurveda and Unani.
2005
October 2005 (in force 1 January 2006)
India made testing for lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium compulsory for Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani herbal medicines made for export.
Why it mattered. It was a first step towards routine safety testing.
2008
The first volume set official standards for 73 plant drugs used in Siddha, with tests of identity and purity.
Why it mattered. Quality standards let regulators check that a product is what its label says.
2010
September 2010
After long demands from the Siddha community, CCRAS was split and the Central Council for Research in Siddha (CCRS) was set up, headquartered in Chennai, with research units in several states.
Why it mattered. Siddha research now had its own national body.
2013
WHO's Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014–2023 asked countries to build evidence, regulate products and practitioners, and integrate traditional medicine safely.
Why it mattered. It set the global frame of safety, quality and evidence for systems like Siddha.
2014
9 November 2014
The AYUSH department became a full ministry, overseeing Siddha education, research councils and drug standards.
Why it mattered. Siddha gained a stronger voice in national health policy.
2017
October–November 2017
During a large dengue outbreak, Tamil Nadu handed out Nilavembu kudineer, a nine-herb Siddha decoction, free to the public. Scientists and journalists asked for proper trials, and lab studies later showed antiviral effects in cells.
Why it mattered. It made a Siddha remedy part of public health and started a debate about evidence.
2017
November 2017
A national pharmacovigilance scheme for Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy medicines began, with a national centre at the All India Institute of Ayurveda and reporting centres across the country.
Why it mattered. Side effects of Siddha medicines can now be reported and studied.
2018
4 January 2018
Siddha Day was first marked on the traditional birthday of Agathiyar, the Ayilyam star in the Tamil month of Margazhi. Its date moves each year with the Tamil calendar.
Why it mattered. It gave Siddha a national day, like Ayurveda Day and Unani Day.
2018
Neurologists reported 32 patients with high blood mercury and severe nerve pain after taking unauthorised Siddha medicines. A 2021 NIMHANS review counted 220 heavy-metal poisoning cases linked to Indian traditional medicines.
Why it mattered. Indian doctors documented the risks of badly made metal medicines.
2020
March–July 2020
Tamil Nadu gave out Kabasura kudineer and Nilavembu kudineer in COVID-19 containment zones under its Arogyam scheme, stating clearly that they were not a cure.
Why it mattered. It led to the first randomised trials of Siddha decoctions.
2020
September 2020 (commission formed 11 June 2021)
The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Act replaced the 1970 Act. NCISM took over from the Central Council of Indian Medicine in June 2021 and now regulates Siddha education and practice.
Why it mattered. It is the body Siddha doctors register with today.
2021
In a double-blind trial of 120 COVID-19 patients on standard care, those given Nilavembu or Kabasura kudineer left hospital sooner than those given a placebo drink. Larger, independent trials are still needed.
Why it mattered. It shows Siddha remedies can be tested fairly, and that one small trial is only a start.
2023
Researchers put temperature sensors in a traditional pudam firing. The bottom of the sealed clay pots reached 807 °C and stayed above 600 °C for about an hour.
Why it mattered. Modern measurement is starting to explain what traditional processing actually does.
2026
A case report described a woman with brain swelling after months of taking a Siddha medicine whose capsules held mercury, lead and arsenic thousands of times above safe limits.
Why it mattered. It is a reminder to use only licensed products and to tell doctors what you take.
Did you know?
A Thirukkural couplet (941) already says the three humours cause disease when they are too much or too little.
Chennai's Government Oriental Manuscripts Library holds about 50,000 palm-leaf manuscripts, including Siddha texts.
A measured pudam firing reached 807 °C at the bottom of the sealed clay pots.
Siddha Day moves every year, because it follows Agathiyar's birth star in the Tamil calendar.
Almost all of India's roughly 1,200 BSMS places a year are in Tamil Nadu.
The people
Traditional; dates unknown · Sage, honoured as Siddha's founder · Tamil tradition
Heads the list of 18 Siddhars. Siddha Day marks his traditional birthday.
c. 5th–8th century CE (debated) · Siddhar and poet · Tamil country
Author of the Thirumandiram, the earliest known Tamil treatise on yoga.
Traditional; dates unknown · Siddhar and alchemist · Tamil tradition, linked to Palani
Remembered in legend for alchemy and mineral medicines.
Traditional; dates unknown · Siddhar · Tamil tradition
Texts on urine examination, including the nei kuri oil-drop test, are attributed to him.
1884 – 1960 · Politician and administrator · Madras
Chaired the 1921–23 committee whose report led to state schools of Indian medicine.
1754 – 1821 · Army officer and collector · Scotland, worked in India
His manuscripts founded the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library in Madras.
Where it happened
Sources
Dates marked “c.” are approximate, and historians sometimes disagree about who was first. If you spot a mistake, tell us.
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