Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s3.196

v2.c4.s3.196

There is some evidence in the Rigveda¹⁸ that the practice of medicine was already a profession; this is supported by the inclusion of a physician in the list of victims at the Puruṣamedha (‘human sacrifice’) in the Yajurveda.¹⁹ According to Bloomfield,²⁰ a hymn of the Atharvaveda²¹ contains a physician’s deprecation of the use of home-made remedies instead of reliance on his professional training.