आयुर्वेद - दर्शनम् - Philosophy of Ayurveda

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About the Book Basics fundamental and philosophical concepts of Ayurveda have been established in aphorisms and are thoroughly discussed in the following exhaustive annotation with sutra and bhasya being in lucid Sanskrit. For convenience of readers these have been translated into Hindi as well-as in English. The contents are divided into four Padas as follows :

1. Prameyapada (on objects of knowledge)

2. Pramanapada (on means of knowledge)

3. Prakrtipada (on health)

4. Vikrtipada (on disease)

Many new ideas have been put forth by the author on various topics. Thus the book may be taken as the latest and original contribution in the field of Ayurveda.

About the Author Prof. P.V. Sharma is well known for his valuable contributions in the field of Ayurveda. During the last five decades he has written on various aspects of Ayurveda-literary as-well-as scientific, conceptual as-well-as historical.

Born on 1st November, 1920 in a small village near Patna, in the family of traditional Vaidyas he gradually acquired highest degrees in Ayurveda. Sanskrit and Hindi and held highest posts in academic and administrative fields. In Bihar, he was, for many years, Principal, Govt. Ayurvedic college, Patna and Dy. Director of Health Services (I.M.). Finally, he was appointed as Professor of Dravyaguna, also as Head and later Director of the Post-graduate Institute of Indian Medicine, also Dean of the Faculty of Indian Medicine in Banaras Hindu University. He retired in 1980.

Prof. Sharma has been participating in International conferences abroad and has been associated with several committees on Ayurveda on national level. He has authored about 50 books and has about 500 published papers to his credit.

Introduction During the last more than fifty years of my academic career I have been constantly pondering over the basic concepts of Ayurveda and writing on various topics. My first article on `critical study of ojas' appeared in 1941 in the then reputed journal of Ayurveda Sudhanidhi' edited by Ayurveda-pancanana Pt. Jagannatha Prasad Shukla of Allahabad. Almost all my ideas were published in the form of articles in different journals from time to time the number of which has come to about 450 until now. The present book `Ayurveda-darsanam' is, in fact, collection of all such ideas more refined in the light of intuition and experience and set in the ancient style of aphorisms. In childhood, I was primarily trained in Sanskrit and it gives me pleasure to write in that gods' language. So I also wrote annotation in Sanskrit. But looking to the difficulties of the present generation I had to work further for the translation of the entire material in Hindi and English. As these translations are from the author's own hand, it may give the original flavor to the readers.

The word 'philosophy' here has been used in wider connotation comprising metaphysical aspect, basic concepts and philosophy of approach to medicine. Medicine being a secular science, never sticks to any dogma and utilises all the available ideas to interpret the physio-pathological phenomena. That is why the ancient seers discussed all the different views prevalent at that time and made use of them in proper cases. Because of having broader outlook and integrated approach they have been called as `Prthudarsin' (SS.Sa.1.11). An effort has been made to highlight this approach which has been vitally significant in development of the basic concepts of Ayurveda.

The book has been divided into four sections (quarters) - prameyapada, pramanapada, prakrtipada and vikrtipada. Prameyapada covers almost half of the book and discusses the basic concepts of Ayurveda. Pramanapada deals with the investigation (pariksha) and its means. It is important to note that Caraka has used the word 'pariksha' for pramana (means of valid knowledge). Prakrtipada deals with the metaphysical aspect and concepts relating to health. The last quarter, vikrtipada, discusses the different aspects of disease and approach to their treatment.

In the context of prameyas (objects of knowledge), it has been established that Sarira (body), sattva (psyche) and atman (soul) -these three are the padarthas of Ayurveda and not the so much publicised six padarthas - dravya, guna, karma, samanya, visesa and samavaya -enunciated by the Vasesika system of philosophy. They have been taken as ancillary to the above three padarthas for their interpretation. Since long the definition of 'dosa' has been a matter of controversy and has been discussed at length in the commentaries of illustrious scholars like Cakrapanidatta, Vijayaraksita etc. but I observed that no commentator has emphasised or even touched the relation of dosa with prana which is so vital and essential. Dosa can't exist without prana, it emerges with prana and departs therewith. Moreover, they dwelt upon only upon the negative aspect of dosa by exposing their essential role in pathogenesis while ignoring their important role in controlling and regulating the physiological functions. In order to remove all these discrepancies, I have proposed a new definition of dosa which covers all these aspects and fulfills other requirements too.

Similarly in case of agni the traditional view is to emphasise on the jatharagni because it tackles the food first and prepares it for further processing but, in my opinion, it is the bhutagni which is the most important one as the final conversion is in the form of bhutas which constitute the body elements. This point has been amply clarified.

In section on pramanas, a detailed examination of yukti is given. Caraka, besides describing pratyaksa, anumana and aptopadesa, has accepted yukti as a pramana which is an original contribution to the field of dialectic. Unfortunately the commentators did not undertand its significance properly and followed the footsteps of non-medical philosophers like Santaraksita and Kamalasila. I have tried to provide proper interpretation of yukti and its special significance in medical science. Yukti, In fact, is rational combination of various factors which contribute to health and disease. This is a concept developed during the Samhita period on which stands the yuktivyapasraya (rational medicine) of Ayurveda.

**Contents and Sample Pages**