The Classical Doctrine of Indian Medicine: Its Origins and its Greek Parallels c8.s1.11

c8.s1.11

Arundhatī is used to obtain the cicatrisation of wounds and heal up that which is broken. V. Henry believed that it owed its virtues solely to the speculation of popular grammar on the etymology of its name, arun . . . might have signified arus, “wound”, and -dhatī might have suggested the idea of the root dhā, “to heal”.² He put aside deliberately the hypothesis that recognised healing properties might have given it its name. The case where the name of a thing commands its use in magic is extremely common and many Indian plants or vegetable products draw their properties from an etymological hypothesis or from a popular etymology.³ But here etymology has had no rôle to play. Once arundhatī is recognised as the resin-gum, the reason of its use as a healer becomes evident; this gum which comes to fill up the incisions in the trunks of trees and stops them by hardening is the