The Atharvaveda contains chapters relating to medicine, surgery and magico-religious rites. Their texts have not survived into the modern era, but manuscripts from two competing schools – Paippalada and Saunakiya, have. The name of this school literally means “ wandering physicians“. Surendranath Dasgupta states that the medical tradition of wandering physicians is traceable to the Atharvaveda, particularly the Caranavaidya shakha – one of the nine known shakha of Atharvaveda-based Vedic schools. In Sanskrit, charak is a term for a wanderer, sannyasi ( ascetic), and sometimes used in the context of the ancient tradition of wandering physicians who brought their medical expertise and magico-religious rites from village to village. The Dṛḍhbala revision and completion, the source of current texts, is dated to the 6th century CE. Meulenbeld’s History of Indian Medical Literature dates it to be between fourth century BCE to the second century CE, with Charaka’s compilation likely between 100 BCE and 200 CE. Dates of the composition of the Charaka Samhita are uncertain. The Charaka Samhita also includes sections on the importance of diet, hygiene, prevention, medical education, the teamwork of a physician, nurse, and patient necessary for recovery to health.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |