Ancient India - Science & Medicine

Coinage dating from the 8th Century B.C. to the17th Century A.D. Numismatic evidence of the advances made by smelting technology in ancient India.

This image of Natara a the !od of Dance is made of five metals "#ancha$Dhatu%. This technology of mi&ing t'o or more metals and deriving su(erior alloys has been observed and noted by the !ree) *istorian #hilostratus.

+ords from ancient India s(ea) of (roducts li)e ,ugar- Cotton "cloth%- Cam(hor- .ac!lass- Alloys of /etals "e.g. Brass%. These (roducts are not found in mature. They have to be manufactured using machinery "a((aratus% and having a )no'ledge of chemical engineering. Inventions include0 $ the techni1ue of algorithm used in com(uter science today. $ the science of algebra. $ the conce(t of 2ero $ on 'hich ultimately rests the binary code 'hich has given us all soft'are including the +++ through 'hich you are accessing this site3 $ the techni1ue of manufacturing crystal "sugar%cane sugar "the 'ord sugar is derived from the ,ans)rit term Sharkara%.

$ the ma)ing of cam(hor "this 'ord is derived from the ,ans)rit root 'ord Karpuram according to the 4&ford Dictionary%. $ the ma)ing of tin "the technical 5nglish 'ord for tin is Cassiterite 'hich is said to have been derived from the ,ans)rit term Kasthira%. $ The ma)ing of dyes li)e Anline and Indigo "the 'ord Indigo comes from the term India and the 'ord Anline is derived from the Arabic term An Nil 'hich is derived from the ,ans)rit term Neelam- according to the 4&ford dictionary%. $ the !umba2 that 'e see on mos1ues all over the 'orld originated as the interloc)ing dome in the Stupa of the Buddhist architectural tradition of India.

In ancient India /edical ,cience su((osedly made many advances. ,(ecifically these advances 'ere in the areas of (lastic surgery- e&traction of cataracts- and dental surgery. There is documentary evidence to (rove the e&istence of these (ractices.

An artist6s im(ression of an o(eration being (erformed in ancient India. In s(ite of the absence of anesthesia- com(le& o(erations 'ere (erformed. The (ractice of surgery has been recorded in India around 877 B.C. This need not come as a sur(rise because surgery ",hastra)arma% is one of the eight branches of Ayurveda the ancient Indian system of medicine. The oldest treatise dealing 'ith surgery is the ,hushruta$,amahita ",hushruta6s com(endium%. ,husruta 'ho lived in 8asi 'as one of the many Indian medical (ractitioners 'ho included Atraya and Chara)a. ,hushruta 'as one of the first to study the human anatomy. In the ,husruta,amahita he has described in detail the study of anatomy 'ith the aid of a dead body. ,husruta6s forte 'as rhino(lasty "#lastic surgery% and o(hthalmialogy "e ection of cataracts%. ,hushruta has described surgery under eight heads Chedya "e&cision%- .e)hya "scarification%9edhya "(uncturing%- 5sya "e&(loration%- Ahrya "e&traction%- 9sraya "evacuation% and ,ivya ",uturing%. 4(hthalmic ,urgery0

,hushruta s(eciali2ed in o(hthalmic surgery "e&traction of Cataracts%. A ty(ically o(eration (er formed by ,hushruta for removing cataracts is desired belo'. :It 'as a bright morning. The surgeon sat on a bench 'hich 'as as high as his )nees. The (atient sat o((osite on the ground so that the doctor 'as at a comfortable height for doing the o(eration on the (atient6s eye. After having ta)en bath and food- that (atient had been tied so that he could not move during the o(eration.: The (ractice of surgery has been recorded in India around 877 B.C. This need not come as a sur(rise because surgery ",hastra)arma% is one of the eight branches of Ayurveda the ancient Indian system of medicine. The oldest treatise dealing 'ith surgery is the ,hushruta$,amahita ",hushruta6s com(endium%. ,husruta 'ho lived in 8asi 'as one of the many Indian medical (ractitioners 'ho included Atraya and Chara)a. ,hushruta 'as one of the first to study the human anatomy. In the ,husruta,amahita he has described in detail the study of anatomy 'ith the aid of a dead body. ,husruta6s forte 'as rhino(lasty "#lastic surgery% and o(hthalmialogy "e ection of cataracts%. ,hushruta has described surgery under eight heads Chedya "e&cision%- .e)hya "scarification%9edhya "(uncturing%- 5sya "e&(loration%- Ahrya "e&traction%- 9sraya "evacuation% and ,ivya ",uturing%. :The doctor 'armed the (atient6s eye 'ith the breath ; of his mouth. *e rubbed the closed eye of the (atient 'ith his thumb and then as)ed the (atient to loo) at his )nees. The (atient6s head 'as held firmly. The doctor held the lancet bet'een his fore$fingermiddle$finger and thumb and introduced it into the (atient6s eye to'ards the (u(il- half a finger6s breadth from the blac) of the eye and a 1uarter of a finger6s breadth from the outer corner of the eye. *e moved the lancet gracefully bac) and forth and u('ard. There 'as a small sound and a dro( of 'ater came out. :The doctor s(o)e a fe' 'ords to comfort the (atient and moistened the eye 'ith mil). *e scratched the (u(il 'ith the ti( or the lancet- 'ithout hurting- and then drove the 6slime6 to'ards the nose. The (atient got rid of the 6slime6 by dra'ing it into his nose. It 'as a matter of oy for the (atient that the could see ob ects through his o(erated eye and the doctor dre' the lancet out slo'ly. *e then laid cotton soa)ed in fat on the 'ound and the (atient lay still 'ith the o(erated eye bandaged. It 'as the (atient6s left eye and the doctor used his right hand for the o(eration.: Does this not sound li)e the detailed (rocedure and ste(s of a cataract o(eration by an o(hthalmic surgeon< But this o(eration 'as (erformed around the 8th Century B.C. by ,husruta. Anatomy ,hushruta 'as not only one of the earliest (ioneers in surgery in the 'orld but also one of the earliest ones to study the human anatomy. In his ,amahita- he described in detail the study of anatomy 'ith the use of a dead body.

*e has described the follo'ing in his ,amahita- :=or these (ur(oses- a (erfectly (reserved body must be used. It should be the body of a (erson 'ho is not very old and did not die of (oison or severe disease. After the intestine have been cleaned- the body must be 'ra((ed in bast "the inner bar) of trees%- grass or hem( and (laced in cage "for (rotection against animals%. The cage should be (laced in a carefully concealed s(ot in a river 'ith fairly gentle current- and the body left to soften. :After seven days the body is to be removed from the 'ater and 'ith a brush of grassroots- hair and bamboo it should be brushed off a layer at a time 'hen this is done the eye can observe every large or small outer or inner (art of the body- beginning 'ith the s)in as each (art is laid bare by the brushing.: #lastic ,urgery #erha(s the greatest contribution of ,hushruta 'as the o(eration of rhino(lasty "restoration of a mutilated nose by (lastic surgery%. The detailed descri(tion of the rhino(lasty o(eration in the ,hushruta ,amahita is ama2ingly meticulous and com(rehensive. There is evidence to sho' that his success in this )ind of surgery 'as very high- 'hich attracted (eo(le from all over the country and (erha(s even from outside. Cutting off of the nose and ears 'as one of the common modes of (unishment in the early Indian )ingdoms. ,hushruta moved by his intense humane a((roach to life and e1ui((ed 'ith su(erb surgical s)ills- did the o(eration of rhino(lasty 'ith remar)able s)ill- grace and success. The details of the ste(s of this o(eration- as recorded in the ,hushruta ,amahita- are ama2ingly similar to the ste(s that are follo'ed even to$day in such advanced (lastic surgery. Indian medical tradition also goes bac) to 9edic times 'hen the Ash'ini)umars- 'ho 'ere (ractitioners of medicine 'ere given a divine status-. +e also have a !od of /edicine called Dhanvantari. In historic times the earliest recorded treatise on medicine in India vi2.- the ,hushruta ,amahita is dated around the 8th century B.C. #lastic surgery dentistry o(eration of cataracts- 'ere (ioneering advances- in the field of medicine. Ayurveda $ The ,cience of .ongevity This is the indigenous system of medicine in India. Ayurveda literally means 6the science of living6 "longevity%. Ayu means life and 9eda means )no'ledge. The origins of this system of medicine are lost in the hoary (ast- and the body of )no'ledge that comes under the heading Ayurveda constitutes ideas about diseases- diagnosis and cure- 'hich have been accumulated over the ages (ast. The feature that distinguishes this system of medicines from other systems li)e Allo(athy and *omeo(athy is that it is solely based on herbs and herbal com(ounds. This it shares in common 'ith the ideas on this area in tribal societies. But 'hat ma)es Ayurveda- a scientific art of healing is its disassociation from the magical as(ect 'hich tribal forms of

healing normally have. *ence the (ractitioner of Ayurveda could never degenerate to the level of a shaman or 'itch$doctor. *ocus (ocus and voodoo 'hich are still 'idely (revalent in rural India could not become a (art of Ayurveda as it al'ays retained a (hysical lin) bet'een the disease and its cure. According to Chara)a- a noted (ractitioner of Ayurveda in ancient India0 :A (hysician 'ho fails to enter the body of a (atient 'ith the lam( of )no'ledge and understanding can never treat diseases. *e should first study all the factors- including environment'hich influence a (atient6s disease- and then (rescribe treatment. It is more im(ortant to (revent the occurrence of disease than to see) a cure:. These remar)s may a((ear rudimentary today- but they 'ere made by Chara)a- some >7 centuries ago in his famous Ayurvedic treatise Chara)a ,amahita. The treatise contains many more such remar)s 'hich are held in reverence even today. ,ome of them are in the fields of (hysiology- etiology and embryology. Chara)a 'as the first (hysician to (resent the conce(t of digestion. metabolism and immunity. According to him a body functions because it contains three dosha or humours- namelybile- (hlegm and 'ind. These dosha are (roduced 'hen dhatus- namely blood- flesh and marro'- act u(on the food eaten. =or the same 1uantity of food eaten- one bodyho'ever- (roduces dosha in an amount different from another body. That is 'hy one body is different from another. =or instance- it is more 'eighty- stronger- more energetic=urther- illness is caused 'hen the balance among the three dosha in a human body is disturbed. To restore the balance Chara)a (rescribed medicinal drugs. Chara)a also )ne' the fundamentals of genetics. =or instance- he )ne' the factors determining the se& of a child. A genetic defect in a child- li)e lameness or blindness- he said- 'as not due to any defect in the mother or the father- but in the ovum or s(erm of the (arents 'hich is today an acce(ted fact. ?nder the guidance of the ancient (hysician Atreya- another (hysician named Agnivesa had 'ritten an encyclo(edic treatise in the eighth$ century B.C. *o'ever- it 'as only 'hen Chara)a revised this treatise that it gained (o(ularity and came to be )no'n as Chara)a$samahita. =or t'o millenniums it remained a standard 'or) on the sub ect and 'as translated into many foreign languages- including Arabic and .atin. The medical system of Ayurveda dra's heavily from the doctrines develo(ed in the Chara)a$,amahita. The main 1uality 'hich Ayurveda has borro'ed from Chara)a is its aim of removing the cause for illness and not ust curing the disease itself. In Ayurveda there are no such things as instant relievers- (ain )illers or antibiotics. The herbs used in Ayurvedic remedies do not o(erate against the body6s metabolism- their effect is registered gradually and hence there are minimum side$effects. The constituents of Ayurvedic medicines are largely based on organic matter. The absence of fast registering inorganic com(ounds 'hich are at times corrosive- contributes to the absence of side$ effects from Ayurvedic medicines.

This art of healing had been held in high esteem in ancient India. It 'as elevated to a divine status and Dhanvantari the (ractitioner of this art 'as deified as the !od of /edicine. 5ven ordinary (ractitioners of this art $ the Ash'ini)umars $ 'ere given a s(ecial status in mythology and fol)lore. Although very fe' ancient te&ts are available today- this method of healing 'as systemati2ed in early times. The fact that the term 9eda 'as attached to this body of thought testifies to this. 8no'ledge of this art 'as s(read among sages- hermits and medicos 'ho roamed from (lace to (lace. Those 'ho (racticed solely this art 'ere called 9aidyas and they generally belonged to the Brahmin caste. 8no'ledge of this art 'as (assed from generation to generation. But it remains sur(rising ho' this vocation did not obtain the status of a se(arate caste. The absence of a caste- 'herein this body of ideas could get crystalli2ed and changeless 'hich incidentally could ensure their (reservation- along 'ith the absence of a system for regular education and training for (ractitioners of the art has resulted in its gradual though (artial 'ithering over a (eriod of time. The above t'o lacunae also resulted in the emergence of 1uac)ery and made it difficult to distinguish bonafide (ractitioners from 1uac)s in absence of (rofessional standards. These lacunae have been identified in modern times and recently- organi2ed efforts have been launched to revive and nourish this flagging disci(line. @oga @oga is a system of e&ercises for (hysical and mental nourishment. The tradition of @oga is a hoary one and has been )e(t alive by ascetics and hermits. The thera(eutic 1ualities of yoga had s(ecial relevance for hermits 'ho roamed from (lace to (lace- meditating. +e normally see an ascetic ",adhu% meditating in a @ogic (ose. Indian classical dance styles also dis(lay many @ogic (ostures. A(art from being a system of e&ercise- an im(ortant as(ect of @oga is that of self$disci(line. @oga is a system of e&ercises for (hysical and mental nourishment. The tradition of @oga is a hoary one and has been )e(t alive by ascetics and hermits. The thera(eutic 1ualities of yoga had s(ecial relevance for hermits 'ho roamed from (lace to (lace- meditating. +e normally see an ascetic ",adhu% meditating in a @ogic (ose. Indian classical dance styles also dis(lay many @ogic (ostures. A(art from being a system of e&ercise- an im(ortant as(ect of @oga is that of self$disci(line. The term Yoga is itself derived from the ,ans)rit 'ord yoktra meaning a yo)e. The etymological closeness of the ,ans)rit and 5nglish 'ords is stri)ing. They have e&actly the same meaning. The self$disci(line as(ect of @oga is evident in the 1ualities of holding the breath "in #ranayama%- absolute stillness "in ,havasana%- celibacy "Bramhacharya%. There are innumerable asanas "(oses% in @oga. /ost of them derive their names from the semblance of the body in those (oses to different animals and ob ects. =or instance- there is a /atsyasana "fish (ose%- /ayurasana

"(eacoc) (ose%- ,imhasana "lion (ose%- *alasana "(lough (ose%- etc. But @oga is a multifarious system- there are various forms of disci(line touching different as(ects of human life- 'hich are brought under the heading @oga. +e have *athayoga "bodily e&ercise%- !yanyoga or Dnyanyoga "e&ercise for the mind and intellect%- 8armayoga "disci(line in our actions in daily life%. It 'as as early as the >nd century B.C. i.e. >177 years ago that the fundamentals of @oga 'ere systematically (resented. The (erson 'ho is credited 'ith having done this is #atan ali and his treatise is )no'n as @ogasutra i.e. @oga A(horisms. According to #atan ali- 'ithin the human body there are channels called Nadi and centres called Cha)ra. If these are ta((ed- The energy hidden in the body can be released. This energy is called 8undalini. The release of 8undalini enables the body to ac1uire many (o'ers 'hich are normally beyond its ca(ability. #atan ali gives eight stages of @oga vi2.- @ama "universal moral commandments%Niyama "self$(urification through disci(line%- Asana "(osture%- #ranayama "breath$ control%- #ratyahara "'ithdra'al of mind from e&ternal ob ects%- Dharana "concentration%Dhyana "meditation% and ,amadhi "state of su(er$consciousness% . But though the @ogasutras 'ere formulated t'o thousand years ago- @oga has been (racticed for countless generations- it is only in the last fe' years that scientists have begun to recogni2e the (o'ers of yoga. It has no' been established through e&(eriments that by (racticing @oga- several ailments can be cured. Tests conducted on @ogis sho' that they do ac1uire e&traordinary (hysical (o'ers. =or instance- they can live 'ithout o&ygen for a long time- they can also ad ust their metabolism if they have to remain 'ithout food for long (eriods. Traditionally- @oga in the strict sense has been (racticed by ,adhus and ,anyasis "sages and hermits% 'ho had renounced material (leasures and roamed the country- meditating and s(reading the gos(el of truth as they (erceived it. In ancient times the teaching of @oga 'as also an integral (art of the traditional manner of education as im(arted in Ashramas and !uru)ulas 'hich 'ere (resided over by hermits. Though education in these Ashramas 'as o(en only to a fe'- the (ractice of @oga in its lesser strict versions has been (o(ular among the common (eo(le all through the ages. In the (resent age though not much is being done officially to (romote the (ractice of @oga in India and abroad- the s(iritual movements originating in India 'hich find many adherents in the +est are a medium for the s(read of @oga. Although the Ashramas are vanishing- the tradition of @oga is )e(t alive today by !ymnasiums. ,tudents of Indian classical dances have to undergo some of @ogic training. But the field 'here the a((lication of @oga is being increasingly recogni2ed is (hysiothera(y. The =ive Basic #hysical 5lements

=rom the 9edic times- around A777 B.C. to 1777 B.C.- Indians "Indo$Aryans% had classified the material 'orld into four elements vi2. 5arth "#rithvi%- fire "Agni%- air "/aya% and 'ater "A(a%. To these four elements 'as added a fifth one vi2. ether or A)asha. According to some scholars these five elements or #ancha /ahabhootas 'ere identified 'ith the various human senses of (erce(tionB earth 'ith smell- air 'ith feelingfire 'ith vision- 'ater 'ith taste and ether 'ith sound. +hatever the validity behind this inter(retation- it is true that since very ancient times Indians had (erceived the material 'orld as com(rising these C elements. The Buddhist (hiloso(hers 'ho came laterre ected ether as an element and re(laced it 'ith life- oy and sorro'. Atomic #hysics ,ince ancient times Indian (hiloso(hers believed that e&ce(t A)ash "ether%- all other elements 'ere (hysically (al(able and hence com(rised miniscule (articles of matter. The last miniscule (article of matter 'hich could not be subdivided further 'as termed #armanu. The 'ord #armanu is a combination of #aram- meaning beyond- and any meaning atom. Thus the term #armanu is suggestive of the (ossibility that- at least at an abstract level Indian (hiloso(hers in ancient times had conceived the (ossibility of s(litting an atom 'hich- as 'e )no' today- is the source of atomic energy. This Indian conce(t of the atom 'as develo(ed inde(endently and (rior to the develo(ment of the idea in the !reco$Doman 'orld. The first Indian (hiloso(her 'ho formulated ideas about the atom in a systematic manner 'as 8anada 'ho lived in the Eth century B.C. Another Indian (hiloso(her- #a)udha 8atyayana 'ho also lived in the Eth century B.C. and 'as a contem(orary of !autama Buddha- had also (ro(ounded ideas about the atomic constitution of the material 'orld. These (hiloso(hers considered the Atom to be indestructible and hence eternal. The Buddhists believed atoms to be minute ob ects invisible to the na)ed eye and 'hich come into being and vanish in an instant. The 9aisheshi)a school of (hiloso(hers believed that an atom 'as a mere (oint in s(ace. Indian theories about the atom are greatly abstract and enmeshed in (hiloso(hy as they 'ere based on logic and not on (ersonal e&(erience or e&(erimentation. Thus the Indian theories lac)ed an em(irical base- but in the 'ords of A... Basham- the veteran Australian Indologist :they 'ere brilliant imaginative e&(lanations of the (hysical structure of the 'orld- and in a large measure- agreed 'ith the discoveries of modern (hysics.: