A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c46.322

v3.c46.322

The verses at the end of the Abhidhānamañjarī, which inform us about the descent of Bhiṣagārya, are repeated at the end of the anonymous Tantrayukti, where it is added that Nīlamegha, the author of the Tantrayuktivicāra, was a descendant of Bhiṣagārya. The Abhidhānamañjarī is therefore earlier than the Tantrayuktivicāra. It is also anterior to the Kairalī commentary on the Aṣṭāngahṛdayasaṃhitā, which often quotes it. The materia medica described in the Abhidhānamañjarī points to a rather late date. Five types of balā, for example, would be very unusual for an early work. 298 The numerous varieties mentioned are, in general, in favour of assigning the work to a period after the composition of the Rājanighaṇṭu and Bhāvaprakāśa, i.e., after the sixteenth century.