Indian Medicine (Medicin), translated by C. G. Kashikar c17.81

c17.81

Prof. Johannes Nobel has very recently published a study in German language (Ein alter medizinischer Sanskrit-text und seine Deutung, Supplement to JAOS, No. 11, July-September 1951, pp. 1-35) of the 16th chapter called "Vyādhipraśamana" of Suvarṇaprabhāsasūtra—a Sanskrit work belonging to the Mahāyāna Buddhism. The chapter is obviously a medical tract dating as back as 300 A. D., i. e. earlier than the Bower MS. The entire sūtra has been translated into the Tibetan language. There are also two Chinese translations : one is by Dharmakṣema who flourished in Central India and went to China in 414 A. D. where he stayed until 433 A. D.; it was translated between 414 and 421; the other is by I-tsing—the famous pilgrim who travelled in India and died in 713 A. D. The medical tract is a very small chapter consisting only of 13 verses, some of which are badly preserved. The Tibetan trans. substantially helps in restoring their text. Looking to the brevity of the chapter, I-tsing added 24 verses of his own, making a total of 37 verses, and also wrote some portion in prose. The work, even though a small one, is very important for the study of the origins of the Ayurvedic science, because in certain essential points such as the meaning of the term *dhātu* it deviates substantially from the teachings of Caraka and Suśruta. The Tibetan trans. has endeavoured, as is always the case, to interprete the text faithfully, while the Chinese translations have tried to reconcile the Buddhistic Medicine with the contemporary Indian Medicine, ignoring the philological precision.