Kalari Chikilsa has its roots in the traditional Ayurveda and Siddhaveda systems practiced in South India. Ayurveda is the traditional healing system of India, which is found mainly in northern India, with reference texts in the Sanskrit language. Siddhaveda, on the other hand, is a science that comes from the wise Agastya, and his reference texts are in the Tamil language. Despite being a mixture of these two systems, Kalari Chikilsa is in itself a unique system, which uses particular indigenous medicinal preparations and methodologies.
The Kalarichikilsa system began in antiquity when warriors had to treat their own wounds on the battlefield. Through their practice of Kalaripayattu, the warriors had an excellent knowledge of the human body, especially of their «Marmas» or vital points.