History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c21.s1.1

v1.c21.s1.1

Śalya is the name applied to the art of surgery in Indian Medicine and is derived from the root Śal or Śval meaning to move quickly. Foreign bodies of every kind are denoted as Śalya, but it specifically refers to the arrow, which was the commonest and most dangerous foreign body causing wounds and requiring surgical treatment during the Aryan invaders, and surgeons were directly requisitioned to attend on the wounded.