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Ayurveda
: Ancient Heritage in the Age of Globalisation
The monograph of Vidyalankar (1976) is a
successful work combining general history with the
evolution and practice of medicine in India. The treatment
of the system of medical studies in ancient India in the
book serves as a valuable reading. Almost equally useful
is the book by Sharma (1981) on the history of Ayurveda.
The short book of Vakil (1966) is another satisfactory
study in this direction. It also covers the possible
specializations in ancient Indian medical studies. A recent
work by Rao (1985) serves a valuable historical
perspective. Mention may also be made to the two small
papers by Swamy (1978) and Bagachi (1979) which are
chronological studies of the development of Ayurveda or
ancient Indian medicine. Linking the growth of medicine
of India with urbanization is also a valuable issue raised
by Nath (1970). A small write-up of Raghunathan (1984)
has cast light on the myths and history of the Siddha
system. In this group of social studies may be included the
paper of Murthy (1971) on the refusal of patients for
therapy in ancient India, and of Menon and Haberman
(1970) on cultural significance of the oath of medical
students in ancient India. A small paper by Basham
(1976), the doyen of ancient Indian historical studies,
presents a highly readable account on a number
of topics including medical training and social status of
physicians in ancient India.
