A History of Indian Medical Literature v4.c57.25

v4.c57.25

25 Viśvanadha Sharma (1960) advanced the view that the title Nāvanītaka refers to its author, Navanīta. This improbable interpretation was accepted by V.N. Pandey and A. Pandey (1988: 5; see also V.N. Pandey, 1992: 230). The title Nāvanītaka, which points to the work being an extract from earlier treatises and its being compared to the butter extracted from milk, is repeated at the end of chapters 1, 3, 4, and 8 of part II. The term siddhasamkarṣa, used to characterize the work as an extract (samkarṣa) of approved (siddha) (formulae), may also be regarded as an alternative title (V.N. Pandey and A. Pandey, 1988: 5; V.N. Pandey, 1992: 229–230); it precedes the title Nāvanītaka at the end of chapters 3 and 8. G. Bühler (1891b: 304) had already his doubts on the title of the treatise, which was, in his opinion, either Nāvanītaka or Siddhasamkarṣa. Compare the views of G. Hāldār (Vṛddhatrayī 165) on the derivation of the word nāvanītaka.