Anti-aging in Hinduism is found in Ayurveda. There are the concepts of vajikarana (making man as virile as a horse) and rasayana (freeing man from the signs of old age). In Ayurvedic text books, especially in the chapters concerning rasayana, the human life-span is fixed as one hundred years. In Chandogya Upanishad (LXVI), certain measures area described which would prolong life to the 116th year.
In occasional cases that life-span could be extended to 12 years, but rasayana is mainly intended to add life into years but not years into life. In other words, the intention is to improve the quality but not the quantity of life. Ayurvedic Acharyas say that rasayana is meant for the improvement of memory, wisdom, luster, color of the skin, voice, healthy state of all organs, vocabulary and sexual power, along with the attainment of the prescribed long life. They have stressed that measures for the improvement of health should be undertaken from middle age.
In ancient India, purity of life and yogic exercises were recommended along with the use of rasayana. In Atharva Veda there are references to medicines and talismans to prolong a healthy life. In Ayurvedic texts, there are methods of rejuvenation that mention more than sixty herbs. In the conclusion of this elaborate chapter on rasayana prayogs, it is stated – “Those who speak the truth and nothing but the truth, those who never become angry, those who lead a pure life and those who are always serene, are all considered to be rejuvenated daily.”
This shows how much importance the ancient rishis had given to the infinite power of mind to keep the body healthy, which modern-day medicine is only now realizing.