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

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.

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.

In ancient India, learning spanned four quarters of one’s life. Learning was sought from the teacher, from one’s individual effort, from fellow students and in the last quarter, from the school of life itself. This book belongs to the third quarter for students of Ayurveda regardless of their background in medicine, science, or humanities. Apart from topics in the eight branches of Ayurveda, the book also deals with ?yurvedic Biology which seeks to study the concepts and procedures of Ayurveda with the tools of modern biology.

Verse work, with English translation and notes, on ayurveda system in Indic medicine.

This book looks at the institutionalisation and refashioning of Ayurveda as a robust, literate classical tradition, separated from the assorted, vernacular traditions of healing practices. It focuses on the dominant perspectives and theories of indigenous medicine and various compulsions which led to the codification and standardisation of Ayurveda in modern India. Critically engaging with authoritative scholarship, the book extrapolates from some of these theories, raising significant questions on the study of alternative knowledge practices. By using case studies of the southern Indian state of Kerala – which is known globally for its Ayurveda – it provides an in-depth analysis of local practices and histories. Drawing from interviews of practitioners, archival documents, vernacular texts and rare magazines on Ayurveda and indigenous medicine, it presents a nuanced understanding of the relationships between diverse practices. It highlights the interactions as well as the tensions within them, and the methods adopted to preserve the uniqueness of practices even while sharing elements of healing, herbs and medicine. It also discusses how regulations and standards set by the state have estranged assorted healing practices, created uncertainties and led to the formation of categories like Ayurveda and nattuvaidyam (indigenous medicine/ayurvedas). Lucid and topical, the book will be useful for researchers and people interested in social medicine, history of medicine, Ayurveda, cultural studies, history, indigenous studies, and social anthropology.

The Hippocratic Corpus comprises some sixty medical works of varying length, style and content. Collectively, this is the largest surviving body of early Greek prose. As such, it is an invaluable resource for scholars and students not only of ancient medicine but also of Greek life in general. Hippocrates lived in the age of Socrates and most of the treatises seem to originate in the classical period. There is, however, no consensus on Hippocratic attribution. The ‘Hippocratic’ Corpus examines the works individually under the broad headings: content - each work is summarised for the reader comment - the substance and style of each work is discussed context is provided not just in relation to the corpus as a whole but also to the work’s wider relevance. Whereas the scholar or student approaching, say, Euripides or Herodotus has a wealth of books available to provide introduction and orientation, no such study has existed for the Hippocratic Corpus. As The ‘Hippocratic’ Corpus has a substantial introduction, and as each work is summarised for the reader, it facilitates use and exploration of an important body of evidence by all interested in Greek medicine and society. Elizabeth Craik is Honorary Professor at University of St Andrews and Visiting Professor at University of Newcastle, UK.