The Classical Doctrine of Indian Medicine: Its Origins and its Greek Parallels c7.s2.191

c7.s2.191

In the Pehlavi texts, one could easily pursue the research for concordances between the cosm-ophysiological doctrines of Iran and India. A passage of the *Bundahisn*, (from the recension usually called the "Big Bundehesh"), published and translated by E. Blochet¹ deals with the human body considered as representing the world. The correspondences established by this text between the elements of the world and the parts of the body are found to a great extent in the Indian texts, but to a lesser extent in those of the Vedic group than those of the classical epoch. The *Bundahisn* compares the movement of the Wind to that of life in the body (VII, 6)² and there one may see the parallel of the Vedic conception of the wind and *prāṇa*. The *Denkart* teaches that air circulates as much in the earth as in the human body and produces the earthquakes, an idea which reappears in Caraka.³ As regards the constitution of the body by the three elements of water, fire and wind, the Pehlavi books sometimes agree with Caraka and other Indian doctors.⁴ But in these cases, one should not, however, hurriedly conclude that even the evident concordances between the Iranian and Indian teaching denote the existence of corresponding notions form the Indo-Iranian period. The remarks that we made, in the beginning of this chapter,