Indian Medicine (Medicin), translated by C. G. Kashikar c16: Addenda
Indian Medicine (Medicin), translated by C. G. Kashikar c16
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Addenda
c16.1
To Chaper 1 :— The *Report on the search of Sanskrit Manuscripts* (1895 to 1900) by Haraprasad Shastri (Calcutta 1901, pp. 25) shows important manuscript discoveries made by Haraprasad Shastri and Prof. Bendall in 1897 and 1898 in Nepal in the domain of ancient medical Sanskrit literature. A MS of *laṅkāvatāra*—"a Hindu Tantrika work on Medicine, in the Darbar Library" (in Katmandu) dates from Nepal Samwat 28=908 A. D.; a MS of the medical glossary *sūrottaranirghaṇṭa* by Ācāryavarya was written in 1080 A. D. A fragment of *kāśyapa-saṃhitā* chiefly relating to the fever and its treatment is written about the same time. Kāśyapa is already mentioned in the Bower MS (2.1010-40) and in Caraka (1.1.9). The *Yogaśataka* with the commentary of Dhanvapāla in a MS of 1415 A.D., and the extensive *Yogasāra* are attributed to the famous Nāgārjuna. *Cikitsāmṛta* of Milhaṇa, an extensive text book of medicine, was composed in 1224 A. D. in Delhi during the reign of Sumsuddin Iltishmish, *Nāḍīparīkṣā* on pulse-feeling (cf. § 3) by Rāmacandra Somayājin was written in 1348 A. D. (Samvat 1405). *Yogamañjarī* of Vardhamāna, *Aśvavaidyaka* of Dipaṅkara and *Aśvāyurveda* of Gaṇa deal with animal medicine. According to Cordier who has examined a part of these MSS, the commentary on *Yogaśataka* is by Dhruvapāla and not by Dhanvapāla (as communicated by him by letter). Cordier ("Origines" 82, 84) also mentions the fragments of Jatūkarṇa, Parāśara and Hārīta found in Nepal, as well as remnants of the authors Vaitaraṇa, Pauṣkalāvata, Gopuraraksita mentioned by Suśruta. May these finds and particularly the extrabands of *Notice of Sanskrit Manuscripts* on the MSS of the Durbar Library announced by Haraprasad Shastri soon be published. For the Greek bearings on the Indian astronomy and so also on the Indian medicine (§ 16) compare the new information of the *Yavanajātaka* of Yavaneśvara which seems to be directly translated from the Greek and received between 169 and 269 A. D. (Report p. 8).
c16.2
§ 5 :— *Nidāna* 1-32 was composed by Vijayarakṣita, the remaining by Śrīkaṇṭhadatta. Cf. Cordier JA, 1901. I cannot agree with Cordier in fixing the date (about 1260-80) in view of the citation from Hemādri (§ 5).
c16.3
§ 6 :— Cf. also Cordier, *La variole Śitalā* (January 1901).