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 3 - Schools of Surgery in ancient India
22 (of 46)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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179
Practitioners of sapt膩ha go through some traditional training in this
field. Most of them listen to their senior family members and accompany
the veteran performers and thus acquires skill in the field.
They had already some Sanskrit education from their family or from
school. For example Vasudevan Namputiri who live near Paramekkavu
temple at Thrissur, is a reciter of Bh膩gavata in temples and family
gatherings. In an interview he informed that he learned the method of
Bh膩gavata reciting from his mothers elder sister Devaki Antharjanam.
She used to read Bh膩gavata in his ancestral house every year.
23 As noted
earlier the reading of epics and pur膩峁嘺s in the past was conducted in
temples, and also on rare occasions in the houses of high castes. There
is no provision for lower castes to read the Sanskrit Bh膩gavata. They
chant only the Malayalam Bh膩gavatam Kilipp膩峁弓u written by Tuncat
Ezhuttachan. But today the Sanskrit recital and explanation is conducted
more and more in temples and common places. In the Sapt膩ha performed
at houses all relatives and family members attend the function and get
knowledge of the pur膩峁嘺. In the course of hearing the verses they also
enhance there familiarity and knowledge of Sanskrit also.
Recent trents
Vazhakkunnam Vasudevan Namputiri conducted Bh膩gavata
discourses at Madras in 1936 and again in the month of September 1937
