Description
D.P.S. Publishing House Encyclopaedia Of Indian Medicine Set Of 3 Volumes by Usha Shrivastava
All human societies have medical beliefs that provide explanations for birth, death, and disease. Throughout history, illness has been attributed to witchcraft, demons, adverse astral influence, or the will of the gods. The historical record for Indian civilization begins in the third millennium B.C.E., with the Indus Valley culture, but beyond evidence of a good knowledge of the plant and animal environment, little information can be recovered concerning the healing traditions of this time.
Indian medicine enshrines the theory that the human body consists of three substances, and that health requires a balance between them. They are usually translated as spirit, phlegm and bile. Greek medicine will later advance a similar theory, but one based on four humours rather than three. According to the compendium of Charaka, the Charakasamhita, health and disease are not predetermined and life may be prolonged by human effort. The compendium of Susruta, the Susrutasamhita defines the purpose of medicine to cure the diseases of the sick, protect the healthy, and to prolong life. Both these ancient compendia include details of the examination, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of numerous ailments.