Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c6.s2.t2.30

v1.c6.s2.t2.30

There are several references in Chinese historical documents which refer to Indians performing successful eye surgeries. Even popular literature was no exception. Famous Chinese poet Bo Juyi (772-846 CE) in one of his poems, refers to a classic of Nagarjuna – the Doctor and a medicine called “Drug of Bright Eyesight”¹⁵. Yet another poet Liu Yuxi (772-842 CE) wrote in his poem, entitled “The Brahmin Priest Physician Who Bestowed Eyes”, how an Indian monk, who also happened to be a physician, removed cataract opacity from his eyes and enabled him to see clearly once again. These poems suggest that Nagarjuna was considered as an authority on eye diseases at that time. His book was well-known and specially the method of golden needle for the removal of cataract was famous as an effective surgical treatment introduced by the Indians.