Bull. Ind. Inst. Hist. Med. Vol. XVII. pp. 69-76

ABSTRACTS OF MEDICO-HISTORICAL ARTICLES INHINDI JOURNALS

VINOD KUMAR BHATNAGAR*

1. Vedon mein Vijnan (scientificknowledge in Vedas) K. K. Shah,Sachitra Ayurveda, 34 (11) May1982 pp. 774-775.

The author has described in thisarticle the importance of scientificknowledge in Vedas. In ancienttimes subjects like mathematics,astronomy, geometry, physics, che-mistry, electronics (vidyudanu), spaceand flying science were at their peak.Prof. Sivayya of physics at MvsoreUniversity stated that aur ancestorshad well developed knowledge ofmathematics. He has referred to the28th chapter in Yuddhakanda ofRamayana, wherein the minister ofRavana refers i."lwords to numbers ofhigh denomination. Foreign scien-tists also agree that ancient Indianarithmetics was well advanced andelectricity, radium, aeronautics wasalso known to our r sis. Gandhi Foun-dation has published a book namedScience in 18th century, wherein ithas been concluded that our scienceswere well developed and produced

evidence that Indian steel was betterthan Swedish. Even before Newtonour ancients were well versed inastronomy and algebra etc. Theabove facts show that au r science inVedic period was highly advanced.

2. Ayurved ka adhar starnbh-tridosasiddhant (tridosa concept- thesupporting pillar of Ayurveda)V. J. Thakar, Sachitra Ayurveda,34 (11) May, 1982 pp 777-784.

The author has enIightened onthe comparative fundamental studiesin Carakasarnhita and Sushrutasam-hita and on the detailed descriptionof vata, pi tta. kapha and pancha-mahabhutas. On the modern aspectbiochemistry, neurohumours and thework done by K. N. Udupa of BanarasHindu University a-e also highlighted.Tridosas are related with pancha-mahabhutas to present the importanceof trigunas. Vata is related to wrath ..fear, sorrow and grief, kapha tohappiness and pitta to anger. Asand when seasonal changes occur

*Research Asst. ("-y.) Indian Institute of History of Medicine, Hyderabad-500 195.

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tridosas accordingly affect the body.Pitta increases in autumn, kapha inspring and vata in rainy season.Detailed information on atom, cell,embryology, histology, physiology,pathology, immunology, diet, tempe-raments and constitutions etc is alsogiven.

3. Rasavagbhata: Neeraj Kumarand Bhrigupati Pandey, SachitraA yur veda , 34(11) May 1982pp. 795-797.

In Ayu rvedic literature Astanga-sangraha, Astangahrdaya and Rasa-ratnasamuccaya written by Vagbhataare very popular. There is controver-sy on the authorship of these threeworks. Some scholars view that theauthor of these three works is oneand some other scholars state thethree books were written by differentauthors. The following scholars areof the view that these three bookswere written by one author: KrishnaRao Sharma Bapat, T. Rudraparasava,Vaman Shastri Datar, and JivaramKalidas. On the other hand P. c.Ray, Gananath Sen, HarishastriParadkar. Hajarilal Shukla, ShivadasSen, Jyotishchandra Saraswati , Dur-gashankar Kevalram Shastri, [Hari-prapanna Shastri and Triambak Guru-nath Kale are of the view that threeseparate au thors had written thesethree books. Detailed description isalso given on Rasaratnasamuccaya,Astangahrdaya and Astangasangraha.It is stated that Astangahrdaya was

Bulletin Ind. Inst. Hist. Med. Vol. XVII

written in 4th century and Rasaratna-samuccaya in 13-14 centuries AD.

4. Bath in Yoga and Ayurveda: B.Rama Rao, Sachitra A yur veda ,34(11) May 1982 pp. 809-811.

The author has given a detaileddescription of bath and its religioustradition in India. According toVasisthasamhita sauca (purity) is twofold-external and internal. Gheran-dasamhita quotes Goraksa's viewsprohibiting bath in the early morning.Sivasamhita includes bath amongthe acts prohibited in the early morn-ing, while Astangasangraha prohibitsbath with cold water and recommendshot water bath. Swami Sivananda'sviews are based on environmentalfactors since early morning bath maycause cold, nasal catarrh and maylead to lung complaints. SwamiKuvalayananda recommends bathbefore yogic practices.

5. Important contribution of KingBhoja in the field of Medicine(Ayurveda) : L.V. Guru and L.D.Dwivedi, Sachitra Ayurveda 34(12) June 1982 pp. 879-886.

The author has presented theimportance of Ayurveda during thereigme of King Bhoja. Bal/ala Senaof Bengal in his book called Bhoja-prabandha indicates that Bhoja ruledfor 56 years over the entire Malwa.He was a scholar, lover of literature,science, sculpture, arts and music.According to historians like A. B.

Abstracts of articles in Hindi Journels-Yinod 71

Keith, .A.A. Macdonell, S N. Dasgup-ta and S. N. De, King Bhoja lived in11th century A. D. The war ks ofBhoja namely Rajamrganka, and Raja-martanda have also been described.Rajamrgenka contains 129 formula-tions which cover almost all diseasesand starts with the formulation Maha-rajamrqankarasa. the composition ofwhich is different from those men-tioned in other works. Of the 129formulations 121 are prepared fromherbal substances and the other 8 arepreparations of rasa (Quicksilver).

6. Concept of Immunity in Ayur-veda: L. C. Jaiswal, SachitraAyurveda 34 (12) June 1982pp. 887-889.

In brief the author in this articlehas presented the concept of immunityin Ayurveda. Immunology has beenattracting the attention of scientificworkers of varied disciplines likegenetics, biochemistry and also ofsurgeons and physicians while Ayur-veda with its rich concepts and largepharmacopoeia could contribute tosome of the problems of immunology.Ancient classics like Charaka, Sush-ruta and Chakrapanidatta were quiteaware of the various factors influenc-ing the immunity or capability ofresisting the production of the disea-ses.

7. Psychiatry in ancient Ayurvedicliterature: N. AnantharamanSachitra Ayurveda, 35 (3) Sept,1982 pp, 191-192.

The author has tried to cover theentire material on psychiatry in ancientayurvedic literature. Psychiatry wasgiven importance among the eightbranches of Ayurveda and is knownas Bhuta Chikitsa. In Astangahridayathe author Vagbhata described thatgiving courage to improve patient'smemory power and explaining thedescription of atma are the treatmentfor all mental diseases. For the psy-chosomatic diseases like unmada(hysteria) and apasmara (epilepsy)bodily treatments like snehapana,virecana, vamana and samana thera-pies are advocated. Brief descriptionsof suggestion therapy, shock,treat-ment, occupational therapy, tranqui-lisers and sedatives are given fromAyurvedic aspect.

8. Susrut Ki Prachinata Ki Ek Jha-lak: Naresh Mohan Jha, SachitraAyurveda 35(4) Oct, 1982, pp.269-270.

The author in this article hashighlighted the various opinions onSusrutas period. In Agnipurana it isdescribed that Susruta was a studentof Dhanwantari and Baudha Jatakasmention Dhanwantari as a student ofDivodasa. According to differentwestern scholars the date of Susrutaranges ~between 4 cent. to 12 cent.But there are evidences that Susrutawas an ancient surgeon. A workUpayahridaya by Nagarjuna wholived 2000 years ago reveres Sushrutaas a preceptor. Mention of Susruta

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in grammar and Mahabharata is alsoreferred to in this article.

9. Ayurvedic Nighantus of 18th &19th century A. D.: G. P. Shar-ma, Secb.tre Ayurveda 35 (6)Dee, 82. (..:p. 399-401.

A brief description of AyurvedicNighantus during 18th & 19th centuryis available in this article. The impor-tant nighantus are Rajavallabha-nighantu, Hikmat PI akasa. NighantuRatnakara, Niqhantu Sangraha andSa1igramanighantu. The author pro-vides detailed information on theabove said nighantus.

10. Gunonka Aithihasic Vivechan(Historicol evaluation of gunas)Bhagavan Sinha, SatyadevaDube, Ayurveda Vikas 21 (1),Jan, 1982, pp. 41-43.

The author has described the his-torical importance of gunas in Vedic,Samhita and modern periods. Ayur-veda is related with Atharva Veda,where ample information on patient'streatment through herbal drugs isavailable. Description of use ofmedicines like haridra in kamala,laksha in haemorrhage is also mentio-ned in Rigveda.

Detailed description of dravya-guna in Samhita period and the rasa,guna, viryaand vipaka as availablein Nagarjuna and Sushruta samhitais mentioned. Among the scholars

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of modern period, the views of Shiva-das Sen and Yadavaji on Viryapradha-na drugs are available in this article.

11. Ayurved Mein Panchakarma EkAitihasik Vivechana (Pancha-karma in Ayurveda- a historicalappraisal) Brajesh Chandra Shar-ma, Ayurveda Vikas 21 (1.1. Jan1982, pp. 51-53.

Historical description of Pancha-karma in Avurvada is given in thisarticle. Among the four Vedas, theauthor says, Riqveda gives consider-able importance to panchakerrna, butquotes a hymn indicating blood lett-ing. The auther views wronclv thatAtharvaveda is tho upveda of Avur-veda. There a.e similar descriptionsin Atharvavoda. From this evidenceit is proved that Ayurveda is also theoldest literature. DUiing Bucdhistperiod (125-363 Be) some of theimportant facts of panchakarma i. e.Sambhara Sweda, hasvedapurusa,udaka kosthaka, Bhangodaka janta-ghar, Rakta Moksha, are mentioned.Samhita period gives more detailedinformation on Panchakama.

Detailed studies of old historicalbooks reveal that Mishra \ Egypt) Iran,and Mesopotamia were also using theoil, ghee, madhu, (honey) and milk.Vomiting was prescribed in abdomi-nal pain and purgative treatment wasgiven to make the stomach normal.In South Africa practice of blood lett-ing (Raktamokshana) is prevalent. In

Abstracts of articles in Hindi Journals- Vinod 73Greek vomitting and administeringenema was practised for maintenanceof health with hygiene. Handerson (17century) has stated that many patientsof epilepsy (unmada) were treatedwith vomitting, purgation and bloodletting. From all the three descrip-tions it appears that the panchakarmawhich is described in Ayurveda wasalso popular in other systems in diffe-rent periods.

15. Mahayana Baudha Sahitya MeinJara Vivechan (Study of old agein the Mahayana Buddhist lite-rature). R. Tripathi and Jyotir-mitra; Ayurveda Vikas 21 (4)April 1982. pp. 24-28.

The author has highlighted Bud-dhist literature and special referenceis made to the old age concept. Hehas divided the life span into threestages Balya (childhood), Madhyama(Middle age) Praudha (old age).Further, he had described how lordBuddha keenly observed these stagesand gave lectures on oldage. Lastlythe author has emphasized that thedescription of "jara avastha" old ageavailable in Ayurveda is similar to thatin Buddhist literature.

16. Atreya Punarvasu: AitihasikVyaktitva (Atreya PunarvasuHistorical personality) R. P.Bhatnagar, Ayurveda Yikes,21 (7), July 1982, pp. 35-45.

The author has described theimportance of Atreya Punarvasu in the

field of Ayurveda. Atreya is high-lighted in Caraka Samhita or AgnivesaTantra as the preceptor and thepioneer of the medical tradition.Atreva Punarvasu's father was Atrland mother was Chandrabhaga.Various quotations to support this aregiven in this article. Arreva Punar-vasu belongs to Krishna Yajurvedasakha (clan) (branch) and hence hewas called as "Krishna Atreva" also.Renowned scholar Harida tta Shastri,Gurupada Sharma Halder also quotedand accepted "Krishna treva". InBhelasamhita and Charakasamhita,five names are used for Atreva.Atreya, Punarvasu or PunarvasuAtreya, Krishnatreya, Chandrabhagiand Chandrabhaga. Hoernle in hisbook entitled "Studies in the Medi-cine of Ancient India, Part I" hasstated that in Buddhist period AcharyaAtreya was a chief Ayurveda physi-cian.

17. Charaka Evem Patanjali Ke Anu-sar Yoga Ka Swaroop (Appear-ance of Yoga according toCharaka and Patanjali) GirishGaud and Jyotirmitra ; AyurvedaVikas 21 (2) Feb, 1982. pp.14-19.

The author hac;provided detailedinformation on the characteristics ofyoga according to Charaka and Patan-jali. The root meaning of yoga indi-cates addition, "Yajur yoga" and alsoindicates to add or to accumulate. Inupanishads the word 'yoga' is used

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to mean knowledge. In Bhagvadgitathe word yoga appears more than 100times. The word 'Yoga ksherna' inBhaqvadqira is interpreted as wealthby Sridharaswami who commentedon the bhasya of Sankaracharya. InManusmriti it is used to denotedeception. .Jyotish sastra (Astrology)quotes the word yoga for differentadditions and other calculations. Theyoga word is also used in variousworks of literature.

In Patanjali-s yoga sutras, yogais used for Parmatma chintan contem-plation of the supreme and its chara-cteristics are described. Its detaileddescription is available in Samadhi-pada of Yogasutras. Similar viewsare available in the first chapter ofCharaka Samhita (Sutr esthana) wherein Hishi's seminar held in the valley ofHimalaya the proper place for samadhiis narrated. In Siddhisthana among36 Tantrayuktis yoga is also included.Similarly Acharya Sushruta also men-tioned about yoga as a tantrayukti.Chaturyoga, mithyayoga, ayoga,atiyoga and samayoga are acceptedin Ayurvedic philosophy among whichsamayoga is good for health.

18. Brhattrayi Mein Silajatu (Shila-jatu in Brihattrayi) Nagaraja andDamodar Joshi: Ayurveda Vikas21 (12) Dec 1982. pp.9-12.

In this article detailed descriptionof Shilajatu from mineral source asdescribed In Bhrattrayi is available.Its various synonmys are jatu, jatva-

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bha, jatutulyam. It is very useful inrejuvenation therapy. Charaka hasreported four types i. e. swarna,tarnra. rajata and Jauha. Dose andperiod of administration is also avail-able in this article. Sushruta reportedsix types of silajatu i. e. swarna,tamra, rajata, lauha, bhapaja andSisaja. Its dose is prescribed as onetola and it is useful in madhumehaand to build up good health and forrejuvenation. Astangahridya alsoreports the same as described byCharaka and Sushruta. The use of"Shivagutika" is mentioned which isuseful in all types of diseases.Vagbhata also accepted the six typesof Shilajatu.

The author in this article high-lighted the importance of Shilajatuand its gunas or effects and rasa,guna, virya, vipaka, karma and Pra-yoga. Lohaja Shilajatu is more useful.

19. Vaidik Sahitya Mein Varnit Tan-trika Tantra (Nervous system asdescribed in Vedic literature)Suresh Chandra SrivastavaAyurveda Yikes, 21 (B) June1982. pp. 11-14.

The author has highlighted thedescriptions available in Vedas. InVedic literature following technicalwords like central nervous system,peripheral nervous system, autono-mous nervous, nerve plexuses, gang-lions, nerve nodes are mentioned.In Atharvaveda, Mundakopanishad,

Abstracts of articles in Hindi Journals- Vinod 75Yogachudamani and Kathopanishadsimilar words are mentioned. Taitti-riya upanishad refers to the wordforamen magnum (Maharandhra).There are descriptions about brainand cerebrum, cerebellum, medulla,cephalon, medu lIa oblongata etc inAitar eva upanishad. In this wayauthor has highlighted descriptionsavailable in various upanishads. Ithas covered 30 upar.lshads.

20. Videshon mein Ayurved ka Pra-char Aur Prasar (Propagation andspread of Ayurveda in Foreigncountries) R. P. Bhatnagar,Sachitra Ayurveda, 35 (5). Nov1982, pp. 337-341.

In this article importance andpopularity of Ayurveda in foreigncountries is highlighted. In oldendays India's relationship with foreigncountries in the fields of culture, edu-cation, literature and science waswell established. SimultaneouslyAyurvedic treatment was also popular.Traces of Indian culture are found inMesopotamia (present Iraq). Theevidence has been found in an accordrecorded on clay bricks to indicate thepopularity of Indra, Varuna, Aswini-kumaras. Archaeological remainsfrom Assyria, Babylonia and Egypthighlight the exchange of medicalknowledge with India. Greek scholarTheophrastus (400 B. C.) mentionedmany Indian herbs and medicines.The popular historian Aerian (327 BC)has described that the king Alexanderwas very much impressed with Indian

physician's treatment of snake bite.During king Ashoka's period (272-232jBC) evidences of the high statusof Indian medicine and veterinarymedicine are available. In East Turkey(9th cent) the mention of "Bhelasam-hila" is available whereas in SouthTurkey manuscripts on Ayurveda arereported by the author. It is reportedthat in 8th cent. many Sanskrit bookswere translated in Tibetan languageand the basic books on Tibetan medi-cine are based on Indian medicine.Harunul Rasheed 076-E08) invitedmany Indian physicians to Baghdadand the popular Ayurvedic classicalbooks were translated into Arabiclanguage. It is reported that Indianmedicine's description was availablein Kamboja, Champa, Thailand,Malaysia, Burma, Java, Sumatra andBorneo.

21. Ayurveda Mein Manas Vyadhi-yon Ka Swarup: Manovikar(Psychic ailments: Form of Psv-chiatric diseases in Avut vcda)Ayodhya ~rasad Achal: SachitraAyurveda 35 (12) July 1982, pp.21-25.

Ayurveda propounds two seats ofdiseases, One body and the othermind. Mental disorders. Manasikarogas are classified into ekadesh iya(affecting only mind) anc ubhayashri-ta (affecting both body & mind).The exogenous diseases of humanbeings, possession by evil spirits,polson, air, fire, trauma and suchother things, are due to "volitional

76transgression". The psychic disord-ers such as jealousy, grief. fear,anger, vanity, hatred and suchothe rs, are also said to be the resultof volitional transgression. Rajas(passion) and tarnas (ignorance) arethe morbific factcrs affecting themind. Among the disorders broughtabout by these two are desire, anger,

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greed, infatuationarrogance anxiety,exhilaration etc.

envy, conceit,remorse, fear

In ancient classic 'Natya Sastra'manovikaras (mental disorders) aredescribed. The author prescribed thecause of onset of disease and itstreatment.