The Gurukulam Programme
A seven-and-a-half-year residential programme in which students live and study with their Gurus, integrating Kalaripayattu, Ayurveda, classical texts and traditional healing as part of a holistic education, leaving with a recognised qualification in Ayurveda.
The Legal Framework
A recognised path, for the first time since independence.
The Central Sanskrit University Act, 2020 created a legal route for a gurukulam to grant recognised qualifications in Ayurveda. Under Ordinance No. 44/2025, institutions can apply for affiliation as an Ayurveda Gurukulam. The NCISM Pre-Ayurveda Programme Regulations, 2024 provide for a two-year Pre-Ayurveda Programme as part of the pathway towards the BAMS degree.
GVS Ayurveda Gurukulam is in the process of obtaining affiliation with Central Sanskrit University under this framework.
The Path
A seven-and-a-half-year residential programme.
Pre-Ayurveda Programme
Foundational study under NCISM regulations, completed within the Gurukulam.
BAMS
Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery, with clinical training in the hospital on campus.
Fifty resident shishyas each year, living with their Gurus for the full duration. The day is built around sādhana, study, practice and seva, in the rhythm a gurukulam has always followed.
How We Teach
Three streams, one education.
- Śastra Kalaripayattu. The body learned from the inside, through years of practice.
- Śāstra Veda, Tantra, Itihāsa, philosophy and dharma. The understanding of what the body is part of.
- Swāsthyam Ayurveda and Kalari Chikitsa. Health, balance and healing.
Kalaripayattu teaches the body from the inside, which is what makes Kalari Chikitsa possible. Śāstra explains what the body is part of. A physician who has all three understands a patient in a way no textbook conveys.
Clinical Training
Where students practise.
A licensed Ayurvedic hospital is currently operating on the Kozhikode (Calicut) campus, providing patient care while its bed capacity and clinical departments are being expanded. Students will gain clinical experience in a functioning hospital environment, learning through direct observation, supervised practice and interaction with patients.
Interest Form
Interested in the programme, for yourself or on behalf of a student? Send us a message and we'll follow up by email.
If you are looking to study Kalaripayattu on its own, the lineage offers a Kalari diploma at Kalarigram in Auroville, Pondicherry.