Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Historical Evolution
The Historical Evolution
drill teeth and remove decay 8,000 to 9,000 years ago. Study
of fossils from Mehrgarh, now in Pakistan, revealed tiny holes
drilled into teeth on the biting surface of male molars. Evidence
has also been unearthed from Harappa and Lothal revealing
an ancient surgical practice on a Bronze Age skull dating back
to nearly 4,300 years ago. Trepanation, a common means of
surgery practised in prehistoric societies starting with the Stone
Age, involved drilling or cutting through the skull vault, often
to treat head injury or to remove bone splinters or blood clots
caused by a blow to the head.
An evolving pharmacopoeia
The practice of medicine in Ayurveda is based on the
principle that there is no substance in the world that does not
potentially have medicinal property. The evolution of Ayurvedic
pharmacopoeia represents a continuous and unfinished quest
for discovering new medicines from natural resources. About
1,500 medicinal plants have been described and formulated into
thousands of medicines in the tradition of Ayurveda. Hundreds
of animals and animal products have also been mentioned in the
texts. Around the 6th century in the Common Era, the branch of
medicine specializing in the use of minerals and metals known
as Rasaśāstra developed and established itself, especially in
the North of India. The older tradition of herbal medicines
continued to be practised in India’s southern states. In Tamil
Nadu, the system of Siddha medicine (traditionally regarded as
having been founded by eighteen ‘Siddhars’ or realized beings,
but in practice similar to Ayurveda) added to its pharmacopoeia
drugs metallic and mineral components.
the two streams of the folk and classical expressions. India has
a rich tradition of folk medicine, which was organized into a
paramedical force of health practitioners, bonesetters, poison
healers and birth attendants who delivered primary healthcare
for the people. Many of these traditions have survived into
modern times. Today India is perhaps the only country in
the world that officially recognizes a pluralistic healthcare
system patronizing medical systems like Ayurveda, Yoga and
Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy.
Cross-cultural interactions
Ayurveda benefited from cross-cultural interactions and
spread out of India into neighbouring countries like China, Sri
Lanka, Tibet, Thailand and Indonesia. Buddhism played a major
role in the spread of Ayurveda outside India. When Alexander
the Great invaded India in 325 BCE, he was so impressed by the
snakebite healers and Ayurvedic physicians that he invited them
to Greece. There is historical evidence indicating interactions
between the physicians of Greek medicine and Ayurveda.
Important textbooks of Ayurveda like Caraka Saṃhitā, Suśruta
Saṃhitā and Aṣṭāṇga Hṛdaya were translated into Tibetan,
Persian and Arabic languages in the Middle Ages.
Travellers from China and the Middle East narrated in
their accounts the advanced state of medical practice in India.