Caraka, The Master Physician, Is Believed To Have Lived In The First Century Ad. The Samhita Composed By Him Forms The Bedrock Of Ayurvedic Practice Today. His Contribution To India S Cultural Inheritance Was Profound. Caraka Samhita Was, In Fact, A Revision Of An Older Text Agnivesa Tantra, Which Was Written Several Centuries Before Caraka S Time. Caraka S Revision Became So Popular That It Was Translated Into Tibetan, Arabic, English And Many Indian Languages. The Legacy Of Caraka Retells The Samhita In A New Format. Instead Of Adhering To The Sequence Of The Stha Nas In The Original, The Author Has Retold The Samhita Through Thematically Structured Chapters, In Contemporary Idiom. The Retelling Has Involved Some Degree Of Restructuring And Condensation But Has Ensured That Whatever Is Stated Can Be Traced Back To The Original. In A Detailed Introduction, The Author Has Commented On Specific Aspects Of Caraka S Philosophy, Concepts And Practice, As Seen From The Point Of View Of Modern Medicine. This Book Will Be Of Special Interest To Students Of A Yurveda, Medicine And Other Sciences, And Those Interested In The History Of Science In India.

Study of the Aṣṭāṅgahr̥daya of Vāgbhaṭa, 7th century, compendium on Ayurvedic system in Indic medicine.

SuśRuta S Name Is Synonymous With India S Surgical Inheritance. A Legendary Figure, He Is Believed To Have Lived And Taught In Varanasi Several Centuries Before The Buddha, And Composed The SuśRuta Tantra Which Became A Timeless Medical Classic. Though The Original Text Was Lost Long Ago A Redaction By NāGāRjuna Survived As SuśRuta Samhita And Won Universal Acclaim. The Samhita Is A Study Of The Human Condition In Health And Disease With Undisguised Emphasis On Surgery, And Rivals Caraka S Classic In Authority. In The Legacy Of SuśRuta, The Text Of SuśRuta Samhita Has Been Recast In A Thematic Fashion Without Sacrificing Any Of The Content Of The Original Chapters. Furthermore, It Presents Much Of The Data In Tabular Form, And Features Many Tables And Illustrations In An Effort To Reach Out To Readers Who May Include Not Only Students Of āYurveda But Also Of Modern Medicine, Biological And Social Sciences And The History Of Science.The Present Volume Is A Companion To The Commercially Successful The Legacy Of Caraka Which Was Published By Orient Longman In 2003. Special Features: 1. Thematic Paraphrase Of SuśRuta Samhita. No Other Book On SuśRuta Does This.2. The Introduction Views SuśRuta S World From The Point Of View Of Modern Medicine.

With a focus on science in the ancient societies of Greece and Rome, including glimpses into Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China, The Oxford Handbook of Science and Medicine in the Classical World offers an in depth synthesis of science and medicine circa 650 BCE to 650 CE. The Handbook comprises five sections, each with a specific focus on ancient science and medicine. The second section covers the early Greek era, up through Plato and the mid-fourth century bce. The third section covers the long Hellenistic era, from Aristotle through the end of the Roman Republic, acknowledging that the political shift does not mark a sharp intellectual break. The fourth section covers the Roman era from the late Republic through the transition to Late Antiquity. The final section covers the era of Late Antiquity, including the early Byzantine centuries. The Handbook provides through each of its approximately four dozen essays, a synthesis and synopsis of the concepts and models of the various ancient natural sciences, covering the early Greek era through the fall of the Roman Republic, including essays that explore topics such as music theory, ancient philosophers, astrology, and alchemy. The Oxford Handbook of Science and Medicine in the Classical World guides the reader to further exploration of the concepts and models of the ancient sciences, how they evolved and changed over time, and how they relate to one another and to their antecedents. There are a total of four dozen or so topical essays in the five sections, each of which takes as its focus the primary texts, explaining what is now known as well as indicating what future generations of scholars may come to know. Contributors suggest the ranges of scholarly disagreements and have been free to advocate their own positions. Readers are led into further literature (both primary and secondary) through the comprehensive and extensive bibliographies provided with each chapter.

For over two and a half millennia Āyurveda was the mainstream healthcare programme in the Indian subcontinent. However, what was once seen as indispensable, is now often officially described as ‘alternative medicine’. Moreover, there seems to be a lack of proper understanding of the specific culture from which Āyurveda emerged. This is because existing works on the subject have mostly been mere compilations of Āyurvedic practices and focused on classical texts. This book studies the stages of development in the system of Āyurveda and its practice from proto-historic times until British colonization. Using original Pāli and Sanskrit works, archaeological artefacts, as well as oft-neglected medieval epigraphic documents, M.R. Raghava Varier highlights how centuries of privileging Western knowledge has resulted in the sidelining of indigenous learning—a process that accelerated with the advent of colonialism. Further, he makes use of Jain and Buddhist sources to question the assumption that Āyurveda is a purely Hindu or Brahmanical system, thus providing a historiographical frame for conceptually establishing the notion of Āyurveda.

This lucid and captivating book takes the reader back to the early history of all the sciences, starting from antiquity and ending roughly at the time of Newton — covering the period which can legitimately be called the “dawn” of the sciences. Each of the 24 chapters focuses on a particular and significant development in the evolution of science, and is connected in a coherent way to the others to yield a smooth, continuous narrative. The at-a-glance diagrams showing the “When” and “Where” give a brief summary of what was happening at the time, thereby providing the broader context of the scientific events highlighted in that chapter. Embellished with colourful photographs and illustrations, and “boxed” highlights scattered throughout the text, this book is a must-read for everyone interested in the history of science, and how it shaped our world today.

The book is all about concern to Indian Science: “The standard of science education is declining alarmingly. The best minds are not turning to science, and those who do, do not remain in science. The Indian contribution to basic sciences in global context is reducing both in quality and quantity. What are the remedial measures?” It is strongly felt that there is an urgent need to take historic political decisions and to move fast to reverse the situation, the collective efforts of all akin to Bosonic character.