A Brief History of Ayurveda

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For over two and a half millennia Ayurveda 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 Ayurveda emerged. This is because existing works on the subject have mostly been mere compilations of Ayurvedic practices and focused on classical texts.

This book studies the stages of development in the system of Ayurveda and its practice from proto-historic times until British colonization. Using original Păli 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 Ayurveda is a purely Hindu or Brahmanical system, thus providing a historiographical frame for conceptually establishing the notion of Ayurveda.

M.R. Raghava Varier is director general at the Centre for Heritage Studies, Department of Culture, Government of Kerala, at Thrippunithura, Kerala. Prior to this, he was a consultant at the Museum of Ayurveda, Arya Vaidya Sala. Kottakal, Kerala, and chief editor at their Department of Publication before that. He was also visiting professor at the Department of History, Malayalam University, Tirur, Kerala, and M.G. University, Kottayam, Kerala, among others.

He received his training in epigraphy under the Directorate of Epigraphy, Mysore, Karnataka. He completed his PhD at Calicut University, Kerala; M.Phil at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi; and M.A. at Calicut University. His recent publications include the Kerala Archaeological Series (2010), published under the Government of Kerala, as well as books such as Aspects of Jainism in Kerala (forthcoming). Studies in South Indian Palaeography (forthcoming), and A History of Kerala (2018, with Rajan Gurukkal).

Following a general trend, Ayurveda is often officially described and commonly known even among its practi- tioners as 'alternative medicine', whereas the available sources clearly show that it was the mainstream healthcare programme in the subcontinent for roughly more than two- and-a-half millennia in the past. This is perhaps the result of an inherent indifference to the historical background of developments in the indigenous science of medicine and healthcare. Medicine and its practice do not exist in a vacuum, nor do they flourish without economic and social necessities. There is no dearth of literature on the history of Ayurveda but most of the available works are in the form of descriptive accounts of or discussions on the content of the classics, their commentaries, and so on. Generally speaking. these volumes seldom make any attempt to place the devel opments that occur from time to time in the system of Ayurveda in their historical context. This is perhaps due to the approaches, which are, as a rule, myopic when it comes to the archaeological and epigraphic sources that shed light on many dimly lit areas of the topic. Access to a proper intel- lectual apparatus and ideational acumen with an appropriate theoretical frame is essential for a meaningful explanation of medicine and its practice in India, with special reference to their historical context. The present volume is a humble attempt at viewing the stages of development of Ayurveda, which was the mainstream indigenous medicine, and its practice, and at placing them in their historical context.

I have paid due attention, wherever necessary, to establishing linkages between the processes of history and social formation on the one side and the developments in the knowledge and practice of the science of Ayurveda on the other. This was possible thanks to the supporting evidences from a large number of medieval epigraphic documents and structural remains as well as archaeological artefacts from stratified layers. This is perhaps the prime relevance of a text such as this in the midst of a vast amount of literature produced by learned scholars and physicians in the past.

Any discussion of the knowledge of Ayurveda would be incomplete without a consideration of some allied branches of knowledge. such as the treatments for animals and plants. Hence. I have included a section on the relevant topics of Asvayurveda, treatment for horses; Hastyäyurveda, treatment for elephants; and Vrksayurveda, treatment for plants; and so forth. in the present text.

This volume is aimed at providing useful knowledge of the science of Ayurveda and its stages of development over the course of its existence for more than three millennia without serious breaks. It is my hope that this will help readers view the major achievements of this indigenous branch of medicine in their true sense, devoid of attempts at various levels on the part of the authorities to describe it and situate it as 'alternative medicine'

A quick survey of the historiography of Indian medicine would show that the subject has invited scholarly attention from at least the mid-nineteenth century onwards, when a large number of foreign scholars and native experts pre- sented their views on various topics pertaining to the nature and evolution of the science of Ayurveda. A large corpus of literature has been produced on the subject. It is not our aim here to list them or to present a critique of the entire litera- ture on the topic.

My present attempt is restricted to highlighting some major areas that were left dim in studies done in recent times due mainly to the nature of sources and equally to the perspective. It is also our aim to explain the new develop- ments in terms of their historical context. At the same time, it is necessary to examine the points of view that exercised control over the writing and determined the tone of the studies. To cite an example, some scholars of the earlier part of the last century, such as H.T. Colebrook, who were preoccupied with the idea of a glorious Indian past, argued that the Hindus were teachers and not learners to establish that India owed nothing to foreign civilizations regarding the science of medicine. Some others, such as Stuart J. Pocock, went to the extent of saying that Pythagoras, the father of the art of healing in Greece, was originally an Indian whose name was Buddhaguru. Diaz Castillo was of the opinion that the medicinal culture of ancient Egypt was of Indian origin. Contrary to this view was an incurable prejudice that suggested an implausible identification of Suśruta, the pioneer- ing master of Indian surgical tradition who hailed from Kasi, as Socrates, the Greek philosopher who was a native of Kos. A perusal of the major works helps us identify certain trends that influenced the various perspectives of the historians dealing with almost the same source materials. Mention may be made of an Orientalist section and a Nationalist section, both having subgroups that had their own views on specific issues and areas of the subject. Looking from a broad perspective, it may be observed that the Orientalists constructed a glorious image of the Indian past, while the Nationalists traced all knowledge systems to ancient Indian civilization. Serious works have doubtlessly been produced on the history of medicine in other cultures and other languages. Some of them may serve as a model for the new venture. The most prominent among them is the celebrated work of Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China. Works of Ralph Jackson, such as Doctors and Diseases in the Roman Empire (1988), and of Mirko D. Grmek, such as Diseases in the Ancient Greek World (1989), are also important contributions to the subject. A large number of scholars from different cultures and dis- ciplines have since then attempted to trace the history of Ayurveda from various points of view. The subject witnessed revived interest with the advent of the British Raj, towards the end of the eighteenth century CE. Occasional writings and casual references apart, systematic enquiries and the study of various aspects of Indian knowledge and wisdom were started with the establishment of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784, thanks to the efforts of great scholars and Indologists such as Sir William Jones and H... Wilson. However, the interest of these pioneering scholars was confined, not without reason, mainly to the areas of literary and Dharmasastra texts.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages