Surgery in ancient India (Study)
by P. P. Prathapan | 2011 | 50,270 words
This essay studies Surgery in ancient India based on Sanskrit sources.—The Sushruta Samhita details the practice of surgery known to ancient Indian traditional medicine, which showcases an advanced development in this field as well as theoretical and practical knowledge of hygiene rivaling contemporary routine practices. The present thesis further ...
7. Application of the Tala Yantras
The tala yantras which measure twelve fingers in length, may 43 be divided into two classes as the single tala and the double tala. The former resemble the scales of fish in shape, while the latter, according to certain authorities, are made to resemble the entire mouth of a fish of the Bhetuli species. These yantras are used in extracting splinters from inside the nose, ears and other external channels or passages of the body. The third class of blunt instruments is called tala yantra. It has a length of twelve anguli, and are shaped like the jaws of a fish. They may be made either with a single blade (ekatala) or with double blades (dvitala) soldered at one end, the hooked ends being free. They are intended for the purpose of extracting 233
foreign bodies from the ear, nose and other outer canals of the body. The ear scoop now used by the barbers of India for extracting wax from the ear is a tala yantra.