Ayush Ministry Confers National Dhanwantari Ayurveda Awards 2025 on Prof. Banwari Lal Gaur, Vaidya Neelakandhan Mooss, Vaidya Bhavana Prasher
The Ministry of Ayush has conferred the National Dhanwantari Ayurveda Awards 2025 on three eminent figures—Prof. Banwari Lal Gaur, Vaidya Neelakandhan Mooss ET, and Vaidya Bhavana Prasher—for their extraordinary contributions to the growth of Ayurveda across academic, traditional, and scientific domains.
New Delhi, October 2: The Ministry of Ayush has conferred the National Dhanwantari Ayurveda Awards 2025 on three eminent figures—Prof. Banwari Lal Gaur, Vaidya Neelakandhan Mooss ET, and Vaidya Bhavana Prasher—for their extraordinary contributions to the growth of Ayurveda across academic, traditional, and scientific domains.
The awards, among the highest honours in Indian traditional medicine, recognise individuals who have advanced Ayurveda through scholarship, living practice, and scientific innovation. This year’s awardees reflect the convergence of classical learning, continuity of family traditions, and integration with modern science.
The Scholar: Prof. Banwari Lal Gaur
Prof. Banwari Lal Gaur, an eminent Sanskrit scholar and academician, has devoted over six decades to Ayurvedic education and literature. Author of 31 books and over 300 academic works, including 319 publications in Sanskrit, Prof. Gaur has mentored 24 PhD scholars and 48 postgraduate students, leaving a lasting imprint on Ayurveda’s academic foundations.
Recipient of several national honours including the Rashtrapati Samman, Prof. Gaur said the award was “a reflection of the collective spirit of Ayurveda and Sanskrit,” and expressed hope that it would inspire young scholars to carry forward the tradition with zeal.
The Tradition-Bearer: Vaidya Neelakandhan Mooss E.T.
Carrying forward a 200-year-old Ayurvedic legacy, Vaidya Neelakandhan Mooss, head of the Vaidyaratnam Group, represents the eighth generation of his family’s healing tradition. Leading a team of over 100 physicians, he has expanded Kerala’s classical Ayurvedic practices to national and international audiences. His contributions include community health programmes such as Marmayanam and Vajra, and a practical handbook on Panchakarma.
On receiving the award, Vaidya Mooss called it a recognition of his family’s enduring legacy. He pledged to continue serving with compassion and to mentor young practitioners so that Ayurveda remains “a living, dynamic practice benefiting communities across the world.”
The Innovator: Vaidya Bhavana Prasher
Vaidya Bhavana Prasher, a scientist at CSIR–IGIB, has been honoured for her pioneering work in Ayurgenomics, which bridges traditional Ayurvedic concepts like Prakriti and Tridosha with modern genomics. Her AI- and ML-based Prakriti analysis protocols have been adopted in national initiatives such as the Rashtriya Prakriti Parikshan Karyakram, pushing Ayurveda into the domain of predictive and personalised healthcare.
Acknowledging the award, she emphasised the importance of evidence-based integration of Ayurveda with modern science, noting that the Ministry’s initiatives have given “a visionary platform to bridge traditional medicine knowledge with scientific innovation.”
A Celebration of Ayurveda’s Continuity and Evolution
Instituted by the Ministry of Ayush, the National Dhanwantari Ayurveda Awards celebrate excellence across the Ayurveda ecosystem. The 2025 awards underline three distinct yet complementary pillars of the discipline—Prof. Gaur as the scholar, Vaidya Mooss as the traditional custodian, and Vaidya Prasher as the scientific innovator.
Together, they demonstrate how Ayurveda continues to evolve while retaining its classical depth, reinforcing its relevance in education, clinical practice, and global health innovation.
