Vanaspati: Plants and Plant-Life as in Indian Treatises and Traditions c7.2

c7.2

Our thesis contains, we hope, sufficient evidence to show that the knowledge of Botany developed on three different lines, first, in and through various philosophical speculations; secondly, as *Bheshaja Vidyā*, in and through the Science of Medicine; and thirdly, as *Vrikshāyurveda*, in and through the Science of Agriculture. There are quotations from sources referring to some independent treatises, or manuals of the Science of the medicinal properties of plants, those of the Science of Agriculture, as well as works dealing with the treatment of plants and other topics falling within the province of Botany. We have only glimpses of these manuals and works through the summaries and incidental references in other treatises which are non-Botanical. Even that which survives or remains, clearly indicates that the division of knowledge by water-tight compartments was yet unknown.