History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c22.s2.1

v1.c22.s2.1

The art of prognosis was highly developed in ancient Indian Medicine. The origin of the art of prognosis has to be traced to the inherent desire of the physician to know with some certainty what would be the outcome of his treatment and the course which the disease he was treating would take. In pre-vedic times when the cause of disease was attributed to external agencies the modest physician looked to these agencies for some guidance as to the outcome of the disease. But as magic and witchcraft were replaced by empiricism and reason, prognosis assumed a different aspect. It was common experience that some patients died inspite of adequate treatment. As Caraka remarks, there are patients that meet with death not withstanding the application of treatment in its entirety. Not all patients by obtaining treatment obtain recovery. The reason is that not all diseases are capable of cure. The great problem therefore was to discover what were the factors that influenced the course of treatment for good or ill and how to ascertain them before hand i.e. before the treatment was commenced ‘Men die’ says Suśruta from their action of former life, from improper treatment, and from the uncertainty of human life. When life is about to depart, spirits ghosts and demons approach the dying and from their desire to kill, prevent the action of medicine hence no treatment is effective with persons whose lives are at an end (SS. Sū 31. 31).