Medieval Indian Texts on Medicine

During the late ancient and early medieval period, a number of texts and

commentaries were written on Ayurveda. The 7th century CE witnessed the

compilation of eight topics on medicine – the ‘Ashtangasamgraha’ of Vagabhata. A

very influential work on diagnosis and pathology, the ‘Rugvinishchaya’ was

written in the ninth century by Madhavakara. About the same time, Dridhabala

revised and enlarged the Charaka Samhita. Translations of both, the Sushruta

Samhita and Charaka Samhita, appeared in Arabic by the ninth century and

Ayurveda was partially absorbed into Arabic medicine. However, the core of Arabic

medicine continued to remain Greek.

During the Sultanate period, the Greek school of medicine (that had been

developed in Persian and Arabic) became dominant at the Delhi court. This was

Unani Tibb. Unani Tibb (which literally means ‘Greek Medicine’)

was a system of medicine that originated as a part of the ancient

Greek, Arabic and Persian medicine and it was introduced in

India in the 12th century CE. No one

individual is identified as the founder of

Unani Tibb, and instead many important

physicians contributed to its development. Among the

contributors, Galen is regarded as the most influential.

Contemporary Unani practitioners in India and Pakistan cite the

importance of Hippocrates as well. The main textbook of Unani

medicine is the Canon of Avincenna, which has been written in Persian.

A number of scholars and practitioners called ‘hakims’ and ‘tabibs’

encouraged the spread of Unani medicine in India, and it gradually became one of

the prominent Indian medical systems. In course of time, it embraced Indian ideas,

therapies and pharmacy and adapted itself to the local conditions. In fact, the great

success of Unani medicine in India has often been attributed to the fact that both,

Ayurveda and Unani rely on the medicinal uses of native plants and herbs.

The reverse was also true. During the medieval period, a number of renowned

Indian vaidyas were invited to Baghdad and many Ayurvedic treatises were

translated into Arabic. For example, Sushruta Samhita was translated into Arabic

as ‘Kitab-shawasoon-al-hind’. During the Sultanate

period, there was also an attempt to make use of the

Ayurvedic system. For example, Milhana wrote

‘Chikitsamrita’, a Sanskrit work on Ayurvedic

therapeutics. The traveller Ziauddin Barani mentions

Ayurvedic practitioners in Delhi in the early

fourteenth century, such as the physician Mah

Chandra. When Sultan Mahmud Khalji built a

hospital in Mandu (present-day Malwa) in 1442-43,

he ordered that medicines should be procured as

well as prescribed by ‘Islamic’ and ‘Brahmanical’

physicians. In 1512-13, an Afghan noble Miyan Bhuwah wrote a Persian

compilation of all the major Ayurvedic Sanskrit texts, including the Sushruta

Samhita, the Charaka Samhita and twelve others. It is quite interesting that,

according to him, such translations were necessary because the Greek medicines

did not suit the climate in India and most of the medicinal plants mentioned in the

Greek system were unidentifiable or unobtainable in India.

Even in present-day India, Unani medicine is practiced alongside

Ayurvedic and modern European medicine.

INITIATIVES BY FIROZ TUGHLAQ

The ruler Firoz Tughlaq personally supervised the compilation of a comprehensive work on medicine – the ‘Tibb-i-Firozshahi’. He also established a hospital for the

masses. An interesting initiative undertaken by him was to gather all the mentally ill patients and detain them in the hospital for treatment. The historian Irfan Habib

has regarded this as a modern approach to the problem.

ACTIVITY

Find out about and elaborate upon the key similarities and differences between

Ayurveda and Unani systems of medicines.

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REFERENCES: Irfan Habib, Medieval India: The Study of a Civilization Helen E. Sheehan and S. J. Hussain, “Unani Tibb: History, Theory, and Contemporary Practice in South Asia” R. L. Verma, “The Growth of Greco-Arabian Medicine in Medieval India” Tazimuddin Siddiqi, “Unani Medicine in India during the Delhi Sultanate” http://www.ayushtamilnadu.com/images/unani.jpg http://www.herbalniamaths.com/images/ph2.jpg