The Classical Doctrine of Indian Medicine: Its Origins and its Greek Parallels c7.s2.1

c7.s2.1

The comparison of passages concerning medicine in the oldest texts of India and Iran, that is in the Vedas and in the Avesta, is likely to indicate some of the notions which had been formed during the period of the Indo-Iranian community and have been preserved both by the Iranians and the Aryans who entered India. These notions are not very numerous and are quite vague. But nevertheless it is worthwhile taking them into consideration. It is necessary to take stock of these ideas so that it may be possible to see which elements of classical Indian medicine can be traced to the period of the old Indo-Aryan community and which have been acquired at a later date. But this stock-taking is quite a delicate affair because all that is common to Indians and Iranians of the historical period does not necessarily go back to the Indo-Iranian community. The two peoples could have separately borrowed the same notions from a third people or better still, either of the two could have communicated its own acquisitions in the subject to the other.