An English Translation of the Sushruta Samhita (Bhishagratna ed.)

That is, the primitive fluid that is endued with motion in its evolution of Life gets knotted into five divisions, viz , Prdna, Apdna, Samdna, Uddna and Vydna, and this acting on any aggregated living matter is called Prana. So what we call Prana is not the Vayu itself, but a particular mode of its motion. Hence the question of identity and non-identity is a matter of choice. Shortly speaking, this is the Biology of the Hindus. This too is the sum and substance into which (as a department of Biology), Physiology unfolds itself. This too evidently serves as the line of Biology forms the demarcation between ^TfT^: and ^'.^j:, ^^fl'n^T^evllopel f^: -^ ^fwj. From this too as so much col- Health and Disease, Hygiene and lateral branches. r^,^^^^^^^^ Psychology and Sociology

have all their origin and start. In fact. Biology forms the basis

upon which the great edifice of the Indian Medical Science, as

a collateral branch, has been developed.

Conclusion. ^j^g general truths of Biology a e all

there in the Ayurveda ; but the special truths from medicine

Introduction. Xi

have been given so great a prominence that the real character of the book has been over-shadowed and it has been trans- formed into a Science of Medicine.

With a view to convey to the minds of our readers
an idea of the different branches of the Medical Science
which developed as a'collateral branch of this great Science of
Life, we would here touch upon a few of them in passing.

Magnetism had formed its way into the therapeutics of

the ancient Hindus and animal magne-

Masnetism. . , • , .

tism was very extensively practised in

India long before they were recognised by Mesmer in Germany

and subsequently by John Elliotson in England.

The Indian writers on Medical Science of the good old days have described in length the medicinal properties of the waters of the principal rivers, lakes, water-falls and mineral springs of the country that were known at the time and their respec- tive curative powers as applied to various ailments that human flesh is heir to. This goes a long way to establish the fact that Hydropathy was known in India long before it was even dreamt of in the Western world.

The ancient Hindu sages from time immemorial had been cognizant of the benefits of

assage. massage and shampooing and taken

to practising them. Whereas, it is but of late that the
advantages of these methods have begun to be appreciated
by the Western Medical School and it no longer hesitates
to acknowledge them as efficacious therapeutic agents.

The Science of begetting healthy and beautiful children,

which is just beginning to receive atten- Genesiology. ...

tion m other countries was not un- known to the ancient Hindus, and Manu in his Mdnava- dharma-Sdstra has laid down special injunctions which still form an integral part of the domestic life of the orthodox section of the community. As a matter of fact, they knew

Xll INTRODUCTION.

that mental impressions of the parents at the time of con- ception exercise a great influence over the future destiny of the child in embryo.

Thus we read in the Sastras : — "A woman^ though at a distance, conceives a child of the shape of the person she loves ardently and thinks of at the time. Just as a tree that grows is not different from the parent tree whether we plant a branch or sow a seed, so the main features of the child partake of the features of its father, though there might be slight changes due to the soil."

The subtle soul co-operates with the Manas (the mind) ; the mind co-operates with the senses ; the senses perceive objects 3 all this takes place in little or no time. The above is the connection between the soul and objects around us. What is there which the mind cannot comprehend ? There- fore, wherever the mind enters, the soul follows it.

"The soul being subtle, whenever it enters another soul,
requires some time and an effort of the mind to know the
latter. The soul, which intensely meditates on an object,
assumes the shape of that object.'' etc, etc.

In a book entitled Bhoja-Prabandha being a collection

of the anecdotes realating to the reign

Anaesthetics. ^^ ^^^^.^ p^^.^^ ^^ Pandita Ballala

there is narrated the detail of an interesting surgical opera- tion which had been performed on the Raja, who was suf- fering from an excruciating pain in the head. All the medical aid obtaining at the same time was availed of, but in vain and his condition became quite critical when two brother physicians accidentally arrived in Dhar, who were duly called in. These physicians, after carefully examining the patient, held that unless surgically treated no relief could possibly be afforded to the Royal patient. Accordingly they administered an anaesthetic called Sammohini with

* F/V/.?— -Baraha Mihir's Brihat Samhil^ Book, II. Chapter Ixxv- Verses 1-3.

INTRODUCTION. XUl

a view to render him insensible and, when completely, under the influence of the drug, they trephined his skull, lemoved the malignant portion of the brain, the actual seat of the complaint, closed and stitched up the opening and applied a healing balm to the wound. Then they adminis- tered a restoration known as Sanjivani to the patient, who, thereupon, regained consciousness and felt quite at ease. This incident (as narrated by Thakur Saheb 0/ Gondal in his Short History of Aryan Medical Science) goes to prove that the attendant physician of Buddha, is likewise recorded to have practised cranial surgery writh the greatest success. Instances of successful cases of abdominal section are also not rare. Thus it will appear that the ancient Indians knew and successfully practised surgical operations which are regarded now-a-days as the greatest triumphs of modern surgery. Tiie purpose of chloroform in the palmy days of yore was used to be served by Sammohini, but there is hardly a drug known to modern Pharmacopaeias, corresponding whith Sanjivani which certainly lessens the chances of deatlis that at present sometimes occur under anaesthetics. .. ^

Let them, who allege that the Hiudu system of the heal- ing Art is unscientific, now pause and reflect ere they make such an unwarranted and irresponsible assertion. How can a system which contains so accurate an account of the unions of bones and ligaments, anastomoses of nerves, veins and arteries, etc , and which assures the world of the existence of three crores and a half of veins and arteries in the human body giving facts and figures thereof with such mathe- matical precision, be regarded as being unscientific ?

It is certainly an undeniable fact that one of the colossal

achievements of modern Western Medical Science is its

Anatomy; but the point at issue is whether the process of

laying open the structures of the body

issec xon. with the lancets, is at all a satisfactory

method. For, is it not a fact that the finest and the

XIV INTRODUCTION.

minutest arteries of the skin are never disclosed, if the scalpel is used so recklessly to remove the skin all at once and not allowed to go deeper into the muscles to expose the minute branches of blood vessels and nerves that may happe i to lie embedded therein ? But, on the contrary, look at the process promulgated by Susruta for demonstrating practical Anatomy ! Its originality and perfection beats hollow all the known methods, although it was discovered in almost the pre-historic age. The process prescribed by the Hindu system is as follows : — Cover a dead body with Kusa grass and place it at the edge of the water of a rivulet. After three days take it out carefully, and gradually take off the succsesive layers of the epidermis and dermis and of the muscles beneath by gently and lightly rubbing it over with a soft brush. Thus the smallest and the thinnest arteries, which have by this time swelled and obtained a distinct existence are made palpable everywhere even to the minutest.

The process is termed, as we have pointed before, Ava- gharshana by Susruta. The Western method might be an ^ easier and a more off-hand one, but by no means precise. Though the merit of discovering this mode Avagharshana. ^^ dissection is due to Susruta, we are all blind to it and call Hippocrates the father of Medicine ! It is generally believed that with a view to further his researches and perfect his knowledge, it is Hippocrates who inaugurated the system of dissection of dead human bodies and he did the work secretly. Credulous people may lend a willing ear to such assertions but the fact is, that it was not till a century later that Hirophilus openly resorted to dissection of human bodies and thereby earned an undying fame in Europe, obliterating Susruta's name for ever, though, virtually speaking, he (Susruta) was the pioneer of dissection and figured in the world more than a millenium before the advent of Hippocrates and over eleven centuries prior to tb$ age of Herophilus^

Introduction. Xv

It would not, perhaps, be out of place here to mention that Dr. A. F. R. Hoernle, M. A , F. R. S , C. I. E., Ph. D., in his recent publication on Hindu Osteology, has proved it to the hilt, how systematic, scientific, unerring and exact were the researches of the ancient Hindus and what a mine of resplendent truths lay imbedded in them ! We, in our Intro- duction of the first volume of this work, have tried to prove how very superb, salutary and supremely happy was the theory of Vayu, Pitta, and Kapha promulgated by Susruta. There we have incidentally mentioned that the Science of Embryo- logy was not unknown to the Hindu sages. In the present volume we mean to prove to a point that the main principles promulgated in the Anatomy, the Physiology and the Patho- logy of Susruta yield in no way to the principles on those subjects included by the modern Western Scientists and investigators. On the other hand, we boldly affirm that in the theories propounded by Susruta some two thousand years back there lies a fund of truths which might well throw a flood of li^ht on the field of labour of the modern scientific men of the West. For is it not a fact that the theories of Vamana (causing to eject the contents of the stomach by mouth), Virechana (causing the evacuation of the intestines), Nasya (causing to inhale through the nose), Anuvdsana and Asthd- fana which, in ancient India, had earned the appellation of Pancha-Karma, and had gained universal prevalence, and were extensively practised by oriental physicians from time im- memorial, have, of late, been hailed by the medical authorities of the day as the most approved and commended mode of treatment.

Sceptics who care nor to examine and weigh solid facts, bluntly allege that the Ayurvedic system is not based upon experiment and observation — the keystone of all true Science, and such being the case its Anatomy, Physio- logy, Pathology and Therapeutics are all erroneous. The suggestion, cruel and baseless as it is, originally emanated from an eminent Indian physician who has earned an un-

XVI INTRODUCTION.

enviable reputation by writing a Treatise on Hindu Materia Medica. He says : — *'It (the Ayurvedic system) is built not so much upon experiment and observation as upon an erroneous system of Pathology and Therapeutics.*' But such an expression would not stand the light of day. Indeed none but the ancient Hindu sages did set a high value on experiment and observation, and where they did not claim some occult knowledge or intuition, it is upon these two that they mainly based all their knowledge.

The Materia Medica of the Hindus is really a marvel. Its description of the properties of drugs belonging to the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms, and of the articles of food essential to the maintenance of health and strength, its selection of the specific dietaries and elimination of what are prohibited in particular ailments are every day being found correct. The European preparations of Indian drugs and diets are corroborative evidence thereof. The theory adopted by the ancient Hindus as the basis of their investiga- tion is that every substance, whether regitable or animal, possesses five properties namely, — Rasa, Guna, Viryya, Vipaka and Prabhava which lenses alone cannot reveal, nor the body's eye after observation and experiment made upon rats and rabbits. And those who have opportunities of studying and practising both the Eastern and Western Medical Science assert that the ancient Medical Science of the Hindus once reached the highest standard of excellence and perfection in Materia Medica, Therapeutics and Hygiene and was simply unrivalled and unapproachable, as it blended Philosophy with Science— the mind's eye with the body's eye.