Ayurveda
: Ancient Heritage in the Age of Globalisation
65
drew upon the entire range of their literature including
those pertaining to religion, magic and administration as
well aswell as their purelymedicalwriting and interpreted
them with the help of his own unique combination of
medical knowledge and experience. Sigerist aimed to
discuss the medicine from the angle of historical sociology
as reflected from his paper ‘Sociology of Medicine’ (1960)
are indispensable for students working in the field of
medical history. The second volume of the monumental
study deals with the Vedic medicine of ancient India.
Among other topics it takes account of possible diseases
in ancient Indian society, various philosophic schools of
early India and their relation with Greece in scientific and
historical perspectives.
The major shortcomings of his approach include
theoveremphasisonIndiantraditionsofotherworldliness.
At one place the scholar opines that (in case of droughts)
an Indian may lie down and die of starvation in front of
food-stores (of the opulent) without rebelling (1961:134).
Similarly, there is excessive stress on the description of
Indian philosophies. Unwarranted comparison to Greek
medicine and repeated emphasis on poverty of scientific
zeal in ancient Indian society (supposedly due to racial
and climatic reasons) are also among the demerits of
these volumes which are dedicated to the ‘Hippocratic
tradition in medicine’.
