Considered one of the six main texts in Ayurvedic education, the Madhava Nidana of Madhavakara is a popular and a comprehensive book on how diseases develop in the human being. This book gives detailed information about Causes (nidana), Pathogenesis, Types, Prodromal symptoms, Signs and Symptoms and Prognosis of diseases.

The work is in the form of elaborate description of all stages of common diseases from prodromal symptoms to the possible complications. It deals with the five factors essential for the appropriate diagnosis of a disease. The rest of the work deals, with the description of various diseases like fever, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, anorexia, anemia, jaundice, hemorrhage, pulmonary tuberculosis, cough, hiccough, asthma, hoarseness, vomiting, abnormal thirst, fainting, giddiness, diabetes, and skin diseases, etc.