VAGBHATA - THE RENOWNED PHYSICIAN - SURGEON.

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VAGBHATA - THE RENOWNED PHYSICIAN - SURGEON He who indulges daily in healthy food and activities , who discriminates between good and bad and acts accordingly, who is not attached too much to the worldly affairs , who develops the habit of charity, considering all as equal, truthfulness, pardoning and keeping company of good persons become free from diseases. BACKGROUND Vagbhata , according to ancient Indian medical tradition is one of the three great medical authorities (Vridddha Trayi or old Triad), the other two being Atreya and Sushruta. His position in Indian medicine has been described as analogous to that of Galen in the medieval medicine of the west.

While in ancient times the two medical treatise namely Astanga Sangraha and Astanga Hrudaya Samhita were said to have been composed by Vagbhata, since the start of the present century some controversy and confusion has arisen as to whether there was only one Vagbhata who composed both the work or there were two Vagbhatas , the elder and the younger who composed them . Prominent foreign orientologists and some of the Indians also believe that there were two Vagbhata. They do so on the basis of a passage in Astanga Hrudaya, which clearly states that this treatise was based on earlier treatise namely Astanga Samgraha whose author was another older Vagbhata. The Scholars who believe that here was only one Vagbhata, author of both the works, base their opinion on the logic that the ancient medical tradition and medieval commentators of these treatises accept one author for both of them.

Better exposition and more mature views evident in Astanga Hrudaya, they say are due to the fact that the former work was composed by the author when he was much older, more experienced and capable of framing his own views instead of totally depending on the earlier writers . Besides that the author takes verses from Astanga Sangraha in verbatim and inserts them into Astanga Hrudaya, while references about Charaka and Sushruta Samhita, he mentions in his own language. Whatever future investigations may show, at present here seems to be no indisputable and adequate evidence to suggest that there were two different Vagabhatas as authors of the above two medical treatises. Astanga Sangraha as well as Astanga Hrudaya describe that Vagbhata was the son of Simhagupta and he was born in the country of Sindhu, the area around the course of river Indus . He studied under a

Buddhist teacher named Avalokita. In Astanga Hrudaya, the prayer at the beginning of each section seems to be addressed to the Buddha but various commands regarding the worship of gods, cows, Brahmanas, elders, physicians, kings, guests as well as the recommendations regarding the performance of proprietary rites, however, show Vedic influence. It is believed that Vagbhata though a Vedic Brahmana by birth, was influenced considerably by the teachings of Gautama Buddha and later in life adopted Buddhism as his religion Though the time when Vagbhata flourished cannot be stated with any certainty yet the consensus of opinion is to place him and the two treatises somewhere between the end of the sixth and the end of the seventh centuries. Tibetan, Chinese and Arabian sources lend support this view. CONTRIBUTIONS Astanga Sangraha:

Astanga Sangraha is still studied all over India , more so in the South. It is composed in a combination of verse and prose form and gathers up into a harmonious whole the more or less conflicting medical systems current at the time , particularly those contained in the Charaka and Sushruta Samhitas It, however, does contain much independent material also . Besides its inherent worth it has great value in verifying as well as supplementing the above two text.. Divided into six sections it contains a total of 150 chapters. Analysis of its contents gives a fair idea as to what comprised Ayurvedic medicine during those ancient times, In the first section on the Practice of Medicine, it describes the initiation of students, longevity and the methods of attaining it daily and seasonal observances, origin of diseases, properties

of different food articles such as rice meat, herbs, fruits, characteristics of poisoned food, treatment after having taken poisoned food, precautions to be observed by the kings, incompatibility in food, personal hygiene, drugs and their subdivisions, collection , composition, taste, strength, qualities and actions of medicinal substances, emetic and astringent drugs, three humors Vata, Pitta and Kapha and their derangement, various diseases, examination of the patient, principles of treatment, snuffs, fumigants, gargles, treatment of eye diseases with soothing application and eye drops, venesection, extraction of foreign bodies, caustics, cautery and their uses. Second section mainly on human anatomy describes the anatomy of pregnancy and foetus, management of difficult labour and diseases of pregnancy, anatomy of human body, vascular system, vital parts of the body, nature of man , different

types of men and their characteristics, abnormal characters, prognosis. Third section describes causes and pathology of various conditions such as fever, hemorrhage, asthma, phthisis, delirium, tremors, piles, diarrhea, retention of urine , diabetes , deep- seated abscesses, abdominal diseases, anemia's, leprosy, skin diseases and diseases of the nervous system. Fourth section is on purgation and vomiting. Fifth and the last section describes management of children and their treatment, superhuman influences and diseases caused by them and their treatment, treatment of insanity, epilepsy ,various diseases of the eyes including blindness and inflammation, diseases of the ear, nose, mouth, head , ulcers, wounds, fractures, fistulae , glandular enlargements, minor diseases, diseases of the genital organs, treatment of poisoning, snake, insect, spider and mouse bites, antidotes, rejuvenation and the use of aphrodisiacs.

ASTANGA HRUDAYA Astanga Hrudaya Samhita, in 120 chapters and divided into six sections , quotes Charaka, Sushruta, Bhela, Nimi, Kashyapa, Dhanvantari and other earlier authors and their works . The chief source, however, is Astanga Sangraha. It presents lucid description of the whole of Ayurvedic medicine with special reference to surgery as give in Sushruta Samhita. It does not mention the use of opium, pulse, feeling and other metallurgical processes. Interesting Health News: Garlic effective in treating arsenic poisoning: Study

Garlic, known for centuries to keep vampires and bad spirits at bay, may now help Indians ward off arsenic poisoning. An animal study, involving rats, conducted by scientists from the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology in Kolkata, has found evidences to prove that garlic helps fight arsenic poisoning ,caused by drinking contamination groundwater. The six-member team, headed by Dr. Keya Chaudhuri, observed rats for five days during which time they were administered daily doses of garlic and arsenic, equivalent to the levels found in groundwater in India and Bangladesh. Scientists then found that rats who consumed garlic extracts had 40% less arsenic in their blood and liver and also passed 45% more arsenic in their urine. Chaudhuri told TOI:" Garlic proved effective because it is rich in sulphur, which scavenged arsenic from tissues and

blood." .......Full article is available at our website http://chakrapaniayurveda.com/news/dec1207.html Source: The Times of India ==================================================================================

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