A Concise History of Science in India c8.s3.t3.2

c8.s3.t3.2

A supposedly ancient treatise of this branch of medicine, *Nāḍīparīkṣā* by Rāvaṇa (a comprehensive treatise on this subject), and another work *Nāḍīvijñāna*, claiming to embody the teachings of Kaṇāda and Gautama on this science, give us an idea of this school of medicine. The styles of writing of both these works do not support any claim to antiquity and they may be comparatively recent works,b at least much more recent than the periods of the legendary demon-king Rāvaṇa of the *Rāmāyaṇa* (who is claimed to be the author of the first work) or even of the great philosophical teachings incorporated in the *Caraka Saṃhitā* and possibly the more ancient *Agniveśa Saṃhitā*. The classical compendiums of *Āyurveda* do not contain any clear reference to *nāḍīvijñāna*, and it is logical to suppose that this branch of medicine came into existence in much later times. The medical literature of the Tantras contains innumerable references to *nāḍī* but here the term has suffered a semantic change and generally meant nerves, which also were considered fundamental causative factors in diseases and bodily conditions.