Indian Medicine (Medicin), translated by C. G. Kashikar c4.6

c4.6

I have tried to make the translation as literal as possible, so much so that the idiom of the German language has often been preserved intact. The very beginning sentence of the first chapter will bear testimony to this. For this I crave the indulgence of the reader. Not being conversant with the medical science, I might not have used proper technical terms. While translating the work I have verified the references to Ayurvedic works and thus have been able to remove a few printing mistakes in the original book which otherwise would have remained incorrected. In the case of references to important works like the Caraka Samhitā, Suśruta Samhitā and Aṣṭāngahṛdaya, I have consulted the latest critical editions of the works and have modified the references accordingly. Extensive literature has been published since the publication of Prof. Jolly's work in 1901. I have, therefore, thought it fit to add bibliographical Notes with a view to bringing the book up-to-date. In giving these Notes I have tried to make a reference to as many editions of a work as came to my notice without, however, claiming to be comprehensive. The bibliographical Notes as given here do not cover the entire literature published in the field of Indian Medicine. Only such books and articles have been referred to in the Notes as were directly concerned with the subject matter of the main book. There is much that remains outside the scope of these Notes. For example, the papers dealing with the history of Indian plants written by Prof. P. K. Gode and others could not be mentioned because the main book gives only the general lines of treatment and does not go into the details. Certain clarifications and corrections were found to be essential and these have also found place in the Notes. In this connection I have derived some help from my Vaidya friends in Poona. At the end I have given a Sanskrit Index and a General Index which, though existing in the original work, had to be compiled anew. The supplementary Notes given by me have also been taken into account while compiling the indices. A thorough list of abbreviations has been given at the beginning mentioning the latest editions wherever possible. As a result of my study of recent works as recorded in the supplementary Notes, a large number had to be added to the original list. Types with diacritical marks to denote Sanskrit words have been used throughout except in a few cases where, it is hoped, the reading will not be found so difficult. The system of transliterating Sanskrit words has been given at the beginning for the convenience of the Ayurvedic readers in India who are generally not accustomed to it. This system is in vogue for a very long time in the field of Sanskrit and Oriental studies throughout the world and it is hoped Ayurvedists will make a point to adopt it whenever they have an occasion to write Sanskrit words in Roman characters.