Das Wissen von der Lebensspanne der Bäume: Surapālas Vṛkṣāyurveda, Krit
Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1990
An annotated bibliography of translations into Western languages of principal Sanskrit medical treatises
The Origins and Development of Classical Hinduism
Philosophy East and West, Oct 1, 1992
ONE The Beginnings of Religion in South Asia PREHISTORIC RELIGION IN SOUTH ASIA Agriculture, base... more ONE The Beginnings of Religion in South Asia PREHISTORIC RELIGION IN SOUTH ASIA Agriculture, based on information from archae- ologists and carbon-14 dating, began in South Asia around 5000 BCE, in small settlements of neolithic peas- ants and stock breeders in ...
This paper offers some observations on the history and development of Siddha medicine in Tamilnad... more This paper offers some observations on the history and development of Siddha medicine in Tamilnadu from the point of view of a scholar of Indian medicine, whose special focus has been the Sanskrit medical tradition. Contrary to popular belief, this paper offers that opinion that the basic principles and many of the practices now employed in Siddha medicine result from a combination of indigenous medical practices along with theoretical and practical elements derived primarily from A yurveda and also perhaps from the Arabic based Unani – medicine. Although much more serious research is required, this study is based on a sound assessment of the available secondary sources on Siddha medicine and its history.
In The Indian System of Human Marks , Zysk offers a literary history of the Indian system of know... more In The Indian System of Human Marks , Zysk offers a literary history of the Indian system of knowledge which details divination by means of the marks on the bodies of both men and women. The history covers from earliest times to modern-day and includes the earliest texts and their translations.
The Nirantarapadavyākhyā by Jajjaṭa (or Jejjaṭa) is one of the earliest and,therefore, one of the... more The Nirantarapadavyākhyā by Jajjaṭa (or Jejjaṭa) is one of the earliest and,therefore, one of the most important commentaries on the Carakasaṃhitā. Thiscommentary is incomplete, but sufficient portions survive to allow a study ofthe earliest form of medical commentary in India. The extant portions of thiscommentary are large sections of the Cikitsāsthāna and part of the Kalpasthānaand Siddhisthāna. The text of Nirantarapadavyākhyā by Jajjaṭa has never beencritically edited. In this paper, we present a text-critical edition and translationof the Nirantarapadavyākhyā on the Carakasaṃhitā, Cikitsāsthāna Chapter 2,Quarter 1 (CaCi 2.1) based on several copies of a lost palm-leaf manuscriptin Malayalam script and the printed edition by Haridatta Śāstrin publishedin 1941. In order to follow the intellectual development of potency-therapy(vājīkaraṇa) in the Sanskrit medical literature, the remaining three extant majorcommentaries are also translated from the existing printed editions. These...
should like to revisit a problem in the history of Indian medicine that has yet to find a satisfa... more should like to revisit a problem in the history of Indian medicine that has yet to find a satisfactory solution. The issue centers on explaining the origin of the three-"humour" theory (tridoṣavāda), a central Ayurvedic concept of disease-causation. At the core of classical Ayurveda stands the aetiological theory of the three "humours" (doṣas), which are defined as wind (vāta/vāyu), bile (pitta), and phlegm (kapha/śleṣman). They become pathogenic, when, for one or another reason, one or more of the doṣas becomes riled, dislodges from its natural resting place, and manifests in some other part in the body. Since this theory includes a group of three well-defined Sanskrit terms, at first glance, it seems straightforward to trace this transparent mode of thinking through Indian literature down to the earliest medical treatises where early versions of the theory are first expounded. However, no such single literary precedent has yet been found in Sanskrit literature. Of the previous attempts to find the beginnings of the tridoṣa-theory, the most important contributions occur in a series of articles by Jan Meulenbeld, 1 a seminal study by Hartmut Scharfe, 2 and a recent investigation from the perspective of Chinese translations of Buddhist literature by Natalie Köhle. 3 Dominik Wujastyk has touched on the subject of the three doṣas in his studies of the more scientific and theoretic side of early Indian medicine, while Vicky Pitman has addressed overall similarities between Hippocratic medicine of ancient Greece and early 1 Meulenbeld 1990; 1992; 2008; 2009; in preparation. See also the study of Dasgupta (1952-61: I: 333), who attempted to find links between the three doṣas and the early philosophical notions of air (pavana), fire (dahana) and water (toya).
G1 Gārgīyajyotiṣa, a dialogue on astral and other omens between Krauṣṭuki (Ṛṣiputra) and Garga in... more G1 Gārgīyajyotiṣa, a dialogue on astral and other omens between Krauṣṭuki (Ṛṣiputra) and Garga in 64 aṅgas. 5 G2 An astrological work that claims to be following the teaching of Garga. 37 adhyāyas. G3 Vṛddhagārgīsaṃhitā, a dialogue on astrology between Nārada and Vṛddhagārgya-or-Vṛddhagārgi. G4 Gargasaṃhitā, a dialogue on astronomy between Bhāradvāja and Garga. 20 adhyāyas. G5 Gārgyasaṃhitā on history in at least 12 adhyāyas. G6 Uttaragārgyasaṃhitā or Nārāyaṇīya in many adhyāyas of which only 30-51 are available. G7 Unidentified Gargasaṃhitā. G8 Short tracts that claim to be derived from a Gargargasaṃhitā: (a) Arghakāṇḍa; (b) Kākaruta; (c) Kākavaikṛtyaśānti; (d) Ketūdayaphala; (e) Jvaraśānti; (f) Dhvajādhyāya; (g) Pallīsaraṭa; (h) Meghamālā.
This paper is a continuation of "Sanskrit Medical Scholasticism-Jajjaṭa's Nirantarapadavyākhyā an... more This paper is a continuation of "Sanskrit Medical Scholasticism-Jajjaṭa's Nirantarapadavyākhyā and Other Commentaries on the Carakasaṃhitā, Cikitsāsthāna 2.1-" and offers a translation and analysis of the Carakasaṃhitā, Cikitsāsthāna Chapter 2, Quarter 2 (CaCi 2.2) along with the four commentaries.
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