Essay name: Surgery in ancient India (Study)
Author:
P. P. Prathapan
Affiliation: Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit / Department of Sanskrit Sahitya
This essay studies Surgery in ancient India based on Sanskrit sources such as the Sushruta Samhita. These references indicate evidence of theoretical and practical knowledge of hygiene rivaling contemporary routine practices. Further topics include Ayurveda, a historical study of surgery, surgical schools and instruments used in ancient India.
Chapter 1 - Ayurveda and Sanskrit literature
23 (of 54)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
Download the PDF file of the original publication
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
23
more than parents because the parents are merely the sources of out
gross physical birth while the preceptor is the source of illumination of our
mind leading to reach the ultimate goal of life. The preceptor gives the
pupils spiritual birth whereas the worldly father is the progenitor of
12 biological birth. The gurukula was a second home for the students. The
guru put a fatherly control over the life of the śisya. The pupils wanted to
please the guru and they were ready to do any act ordered by him. The
blessing of the guru was necessary for the fulfillment of education.
Students living with guru's family were counted on par with the
guru's family members. The students maintained close friendship and
even developed a common brotherhood. Often one of the disciples
married the daughter of the guru and became a member of gurus family.
They went though various experiences of happiness and sorrow. The
young child, who was admitted to the gurukula, after a couple of years,
was transformed in to a young man of wisdom and practical knowledge,
which were necessary to form of his future life. The students followed a
collective life in the gurukula. The daily routine was filled with certain
rituals and ceremonies and duties and service. They studied Vedas and
concerned topics in the early morning from the guru. This session
continued up to midday. In the evening they were employed in various
services. It was a custom to listen to the distinguished visitors who came
