AmMa°rch,r9of.rm"}    Ancient  and  Modern  Hindu  Medicine.  123 
A  GLANCE  AT  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  HINDU 
MEDICINE. 
By  Anna  S.  Kugler,  M.D. 
The  claims  made  by  the  Hindus  in  regard  to  the  antiquity  of 
their  medical  science  exceed  those  made  by  any  other  people.  The 
Ayur  Veda,  or  Science  of  Life,  is  considered  to  be  a  portion  of  the 
fourth  or  Atharva  Veda.  Brahma  communicated  the  Ayur  Veda 
to  Dakshprajapati,  who,  in  turn,  communicated  it  to  the  Ashvini 
Kumars,  the  twin  sons  of  the  Sun. 
The  Ayur  Veda  consisted  of  one  hundred  adhyayas  or  sections, 
of  one  thousand  slokas  or  stanzas  each.  It  is  divided  into  eight 
parts,  as  follows : 
(1)  Skalya  (surgery).  This  includes  the  methods  of  removing 
foreign  bodies,  of  using  surgical  instruments,  of  applying  bandages, 
and  of  treating  various  surgical  diseases. 
(2)  Shalakya.  Treatment  of  diseases  of  parts  above  the  clavicles 
or  collar-bones,  such  as  diseases  of  the  eyes,  nose,  mouth,  etc. 
(3)  Kaya  Chikitsa.  General  diseases  affecting  the  whole  body, 
such  as  fever,  diabetes,  etc. 
(4)  Bhoot  Vidya.    Demoniacal  diseases. 
(5)  Kanmara  Bhritya.  Management  of  children  and  diseases  of 
mothers  and  nurses. 
(6)  Agada.    Antidotes  for  poisons. 
(7)  Rasayana  treats  of  medicines  preserving  vigor,  restoring 
youth,  improving  memory,  and  curing  and  preventing  diseases  in 
general. 
(8)  Vajikarana.  This  treats  of  how  the  increase  of  the  human 
race  could  best  be  promoted. 
It  is  said  that  the  oldest  existing  treatise  on  Indian  medicine  is 
that  ascribed  to  a  son  of  the  Vedic  Saint  Atreya,  and  hence  called 
the  Atreya  Samhita.  This  is  a  very  large  work,  consisting  of  several 
divisions.  Atreya  is  said  to  have  met  some  of  his  pupils  on  the 
northern  face  of  the  Himalayas. 
Harita,  one  of  the  pupils,  asked  questions  on  the  origin  and  treat- 
ment of  disease.  Atreya  explained  that  the  Ayur  Veda  or  Medical 
Science  could  not  be  fully  explained  within  the  limits  of  human 
life,  and  that  his  pupils  must  be  content  with  his  own  composition, 
which  is  completed  within  1,500  stanzas.    These  treat  of  almost  all 
