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Medicine (Hinduism)

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Hinduism and Tribal Religions

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

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Introduction

The genetic and archaeological evidence indicates that ancient Hindus had a vast amount of medical knowledge which gradually evolved through trial and error and by mutual exchange of know-how between diverse races and communities [1]. In the Ramayana, there is a reference to a magical herb, namely, Sanjeevani. It is believed that this herb could cure any malady – the herb was so powerful that it could even revive a person from the deathbed. This medicine is mentioned in the Ramayana when Meghnad gave a mortal wound to Lakshma; Hanuman brought this herb from the Himalayas to save his life. In the Mahabharata, Gandhari gave birth to a lump of flesh which was cut into a 101 pieces by Vyasa, and later on the lump developed into a girl and 100 boys. The Hindus believe in the narratives of Ramayana and Mahabharata, and following that they claim that ancient Indian medical science was more developed than the present time [3]. The excavations at Harappa and Mohenjodaro sites...

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Humanities & Social Sciences – Languages & Literature, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra, India

    Amitabh Vikram Dwivedi

Authors
  1. Amitabh Vikram Dwivedi
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Correspondence to Amitabh Vikram Dwivedi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Anthropology, The University of North Texas Dept of Anthropology, Denton, Texas, USA

    Pankaj Jain

  2. The Graduate Theological Union , Berkeley, California, USA

    Rita Sherma

  3. Jamia Millia Islamia, Centre for the Study of Comparative Reli Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    Madhu Khanna

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Dwivedi, A.V. (2018). Medicine (Hinduism). In: Jain, P., Sherma, R., Khanna, M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_60-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_60-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

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