Page 11 - Oct-Dec 2016

VOl. 12 No. 4l. 13 No. 4
VO
MEDICAL MASTERY REMARkABLE

In order to understand how different medical practices pHYSICIANS!
in India emerged and developed, we need to look at the The Ashtavaidyas of Kerala are regarded
diverse practices that were part of the Indian medical as the traditional physicians. It is
system and their specific contribution. believed that Lord Parasuram was the
one who chose these eight families.
archaeological evidence suggests that the sciences like
dentistry and trepanation (drilling of the human skull)
were practised as far back as 7000 b.C. it is also widely SUSHRUTA - FATHER OF SURGERY
believed that the people of the indus Valley Civilisation
considered certain plants as medicinal. Sushruta is known to be the earliest surgeon in india
who is said to have written on plastic surgery in his
Vedic texts give description of the diseases and their
causes that were known in this period. book sushruta samhita. his book also talks about
general medical practices. This text is dated to 600 bC. it
“Let marrow be put together with marrow, and joint together is believed that sushruta lived in Varanasi. The sushruta
with joint, together what of the flesh fallen apart, together samhita is said to be a part of athara Veda.
sinew and together your bone. Let marrow come together
with marrow, let bone grow over together with bone. We put
together your sinew with sinew, let skin grow with skin.” (This LISTEN AND LEARN
deals with an open fracture, and how to wrap the wound
with Rohini plant (Ficus Infectoria, native to India)
vkS"k/hlnze~ ॥ Oshadhi suktam
Atharva Veda 4.15, Paippalada Edition
;k vks"k/h% iwokZ% tkrk
nsosH;fL=k;qxa iqjk ।
SIDDHA MEDICINE euS uq cHkw.kkega 'kra /kekfu lIr p ॥ १०.०९७.०१

siddha medicine tradition is indigenous to india. it For details, go to YouTube: Oshadhi sooktam | rig Veda-Mantras For health-
wealth and Prosperity by Dr V. raghavendra sharma.
draws upon spiritual practices such as meditation and
medicinal formulation based on alchemy. it is said to CHARAkA-UNMATCHED pHYSICIAN
have originated during the indus Valley Civilsation and Charaka is known as the father of indian
believed to have reached south india with the migration medicine. he contributed to the science of
of the Dravidian people. ayurveda. Charaka was the first physician
siddha system believes that to have elaborated on the
human body is made of five concept of digestion,
elements. among these air, metabolism and immunity.
fire, and water are considered he is also said to have
important for the role they studied human anatomy.
play in the human health. an his work Charaka samhita
imbalance in these elements is one of the important
results in illness. Priyanka Roy Chaudhuri, XI-F, Oxford texts of ayurveda.
Public School, Ranchi

pOST-VEDIC MEDICINE CHIkITSAk kI kAHANI

in the Post-Vedic period, buddhist and Jaina texts in imagine you are Charaka. what would you have treated?
Prakrit and Pali mention about medicines and surgical what herbs would you have used?
procedures. interestingly these texts also stress on Or
practising values such as kindness in order to live a healthy
life. Through these texts we come to know that buddha imagine you are sushruta. what injury would you repair
was considered to be bhaishajyaguru (the healing guru). and how?

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