Abstract
The roadmap for Ayurveda education in modern India is a complex exercise. It cannot be treated as a de novo project because Ayurveda education has been imparted from 1500 BCE to this date. The amazing fact related to its long history is that the foundational texts of Ayurveda like Charaka and Sushruta Samhita have remained unchanged across more than 3500 years. Despite its antiquity, the foundational texts contain principles and operational frameworks to solve contemporary medical problems in dynamic and evolving epidemiological contexts. There is historical documentation that shows that Ayurveda spread to Persia, Greece, and to countries in Asia since fifth century BCE. However, the global influence of Ayurveda in the West and East has not yet been introduced in scholarship on history of medicine. This article points out that in order to understand educational processes, it is the ontological and epistemological underpinnings of knowledge and not only goals and pedagogy that determine the uniqueness, commonality or differences in the analysis of education. In the twentieth century, under the powerful influence of the western scheme of higher education in India, the Ayurvedic leadership, perhaps in a temporary loss of self-confidence, thought it prudent to adopt and copy the educational design of western biomedical education, in order to establish parity with the mainstream. The challenge before medical education planners in the twenty-first century is to create new out-of-the-box knowledge institutions which will have autonomy to develop excellence far above the minimum standard set by medical councils.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Notes
- 1.
Meulenbeld, G. J. (1999–2002). A history of Indian medicinal literature. Groningen: E. Forsten.
- 2.
Meulenbeld, G. J. (1999). A history of Indian medical literature (Vol. IA, pp. 333–357). Groningen: E. Forsten.
- 3.
A rare manuscript of the Sushruta Samhita is available in the Burrough Wellcome collection, in 183 Euston Road, London, UK.
- 4.
Dharampal. (1971). Indian science and technology in the eighteenth century: Some contemporary European accounts. Delhi: Impex India.
Champaneria, M. C., Workman, A. D., Gupta, S. C. (2014, July). Sushruta: Father of plastic surgery. Annals of Plastic Surgery 73(1), 2–7. https://doi.org/10.1097/SAP.0b013e31827ae9f5. ISSN 1536-3708. PMID 23788147.
- 5.
Sharma, P. V. (1981). Ayurveda ka Vaijnanika Itihasa: Scientific history of Ayurveda (2nd ed.). Varanasi: Chaukhambha Orientalia.
- 6.
Meulenbeld, G. J. (1999–2002). A history of Indian medicinal literature. Groningen: E. Forsten.
Valiathan, M. S. (2017). Ayurvedic inheritance: A reader’s companion. Manipal: Manipal University Press.
- 7.
Sharma, P. V. (1981). Ayurveda ka Vaijnanika Itihasa: Scientific history of Ayurveda (2nd ed.). Varanasi: Chaukhambha Orientalia.
- 8.
Bloomfield, M. (1899). The Atharvaveda. Strasburg: Trübner.
- 9.
Pointed out to me in personal communication by Prof Murlidhar Sharma a reputed Ayurvedic surgeon, SDM Udupi, Karnataka, India.
- 10.
Meulenbeld, G. J. (1999–2002). A history of Indian medicinal literature. Groningen: E. Forsten
- 11.
Gaur, B. L., & Sharma, P. V. (2008). Priya Vrat researches in Ayurveda past and present (Vd. P.V. Sharma Felicitation Vol.). In: Ayurveda ka Vaijnanika Itihasa: Scientific history of Ayurveda (2nd ed.). Varanasi: Chaukhambha Orientalia.
- 12.
West, M. L. (2010). The Hymns of Zoroaster: A new translation of the most ancient sacred texts of Iran. I.B. Tauris.
- 13.
The relationship between Chandokya Upanishad and the Zend Avasta was proposed by the late Seer of Kanchipuram Matha, Sankarcharya Sri Chandrashekhar Sarasvati.
- 14.
Nefiodkin, A. K. (2004). On the origin of the Scythed Chariots. Historia: Zeitschrift Fur Alte Geschichte, 53(3), 369–378. Retrieved from http://14.139.155.5:2059/stable/. Accessed 21 Aug 2019.
- 15.
Bastieu, J. W. (1989). Difference between Kallawaya-Andeaum and Greek-European theory. Social Science and Medicine, 28(1), 45–57.
- 16.
Grube, G. (1954). Greek medicine and the Greek genius. Phoenix, 8(4), 123–135. https://doi.org/10.2307/1086122. https://14.139.155.5:2330/stable/1086122?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
- 17.
Wujastyk, D. (2000). The combinatorics of Tates and Humours in classical Indian medicine and mathematics. Journal of Indian Philosophy, 28, 479–495
- 18.
Patwardhan, K. (2012). The history of the discovery of blood circulation: Unrecognized contributions of Ayurveda masters. Historical perspectives, Advance in Physiology Education, 36, 77–82.
- 19.
Filliozat, J. (1964). The classical Doctrine of Indian medicine and its Greek parallel. Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal.
- 20.
An insightful suggestion made by my colleague Prof. Kishor Patwardhan, Ayurveda Faculty, BHU.
- 21.
Bos, J. (2009, June 15). The rise and decline of character: Humoral psychology in ancient and early modern medical theory. First Published Research Article. https://doi.org/10.1177/0952695109104422.
- 22.
Kahl, O. The Sanskrit, Syriac and Persian sources in the comprehensive book of Rhazes. https://brill.com/.
- 23.
Langermann, Y. T. (2018). Intellectual history of the Islamicate world. https://brill.com/.
- 24.
Trans-Disciplinary University, Bangalore. (2019). Database on medicinal plants of India.
- 25.
Liyanaratne, J. (1995). Buddhism and traditional medicine in Sri Lanka, Pacific World, New series, no. 11.
- 26.
Salguero, C. P. (2018, September). Buddhist medicine and its circulation (Oxford research encyclopedia of Asian history). https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.215
- 27.
Buddhism first entered China during the Han Dynasty. It was introduced spread by missionaries from Parthia and the Kushan Empire of northern India during (206 BCE–220 CE). Traditional Chinese medical texts inspired by Ayurveda were written during this period. Japan’s KAMPO medicine is based on Chinese medical texts written during the Han Dynasty. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Buddhism
- 28.
Filliozat, J. (1964). The classical Doctrine of Indian medicine and its Greek parallel. Delhi: Munshiraqm Manoharlal.
- 29.
Chen Ming. (2001). Jivaka-Pustaka – A bilingual Sanskrit and Khotanese medical classic from Dunhuang caves (2001: 1).
Chen Ming. (2006, March). The transmission of Indian Ayurvedic doctrines in medieval China: A case study of Astânga and Tridosa fragments from the Silk Road. Annual report of The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University, 2005, Vol. ix.
FanKa Wai. (2005). Couching for cataract and Sino-Indian medical exchange from the sixth to the twelfth century AD. Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology, 33(2), 188–190.
Ji Xianlin. (1994). Indian ophthalmology in ancient China. Researches in National Studies, 2, 555.
- 30.
Cooper, E. L. (2008, March). Ayurveda in embraced by eCAM. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. PMC, 5(1), 1–2.
- 31.
Quirke, V., & Gaudillee, J. (2008, October). The era of biomedicine: Science, medicine and public health in Britain and France after the Second World War. Cambridge Journals medical History, 54(4), 441–452.
- 32.
Wujastyk, D., & Smith, M. F. (Ed.). (2013). Modern and global Ayurveda Pluralism and Paradigms. Suny Press.
- 33.
Lemonnier, N., et al. (2007). Traditional knowledge-based medicine: A review of history, principles and relevance in the present context of P4 systems medicine. Progress in Preventive Medicine, 2(7), Wolters Kluwer.
- 34.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Needham. Accessed 17 Apr 2019.
- 35.
Park, H.-L. et al. (2012). Traditional medicine in China, Kora and Japan: A brief introduction and comparison. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Hindwai Publishing Corporation, 2012, 429103. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/429103
- 36.
Werner, M. (2009, December). China’s search for cultural and national identity from the nineteenth century to the present. China perspectives [Online], 68, connection on 23 April 2019. http://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/3103
- 37.
Dharampal. (1971). Indian science and technology in the eighteenth century: Some contemporary European accounts. Delhi: Impex India.
- 38.
Patwardhan, K. (2012, June 1). History of the discovery of blood circulation: Unrecognized contributions of Ayurveda masters. https://www.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/advan.00123.2011
- 39.
Shiva, V. (2006). Earth democracy. London: Zed books Ltd.
- 40.
Christopher A Longhurst, Robert A. Harrigton and Nigam H Shah, healthaffairs.org, Stanford University Medical Center, A green button for using aggregate patient data at the point of care.
Tricoci, P., et al. (2017). Scientific evidence underlying the ACC/AHD, clinical practice guidelines. Jama/4453/03/28/2017
- 41.
CS.Su.5/1; CS.Su.12.1; CS.S2.20/1
- 42.
The structure and analysis of Charaka Samhita text was shared with me by Prof Muralidhar Sharma, SDM College, Udupi, Karnataka.
- 43.
Charaka samhita, Vimana sthana, chapter 6, sloka 4” (Cs.vI.6.4), (tatra vyādhayō' aparisaṅkhyēyā bhavanti).
- 44.
Manohar, P. R. (2012). Evidence-based practice in complementary and alternative medicine: Perspectives, protocols, problems and potential in Ayurveda. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer.
- 45.
Suresh, N., Sridhar, M. K., & Nagendra, K. M. (2018, April). Holistic model of personality based on the six schools (Darshanas) of Hindu philosophy and western personality concept. Internationa Journal of Creative Research Thoughts, 6(2).
- 46.
Engler, S. (2003). Science vs. religion in classical Ayurveda. JSTOR, Numen, 50(5), 416–463.
- 47.
Wolfgram, Mathew. (2010, June). Truth claims and disputes in Ayurveda medical science. JSTOR, Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 20(1), 149–165. Special Issue: Performing Disputes.
- 48.
- 49.
Morcom, L. A. (2017). Indigenous holistic education in philosophy and practice, with Wampum as a case study. Foro de Educacion, 15(23), 121–138
- 50.
Mazzoocchi, F. (2006, May). Western science and traditional Knowledge: Despite their variations, different forms of knowledge can learn from each other. EMBO reports, 7(5), 463–466.
- 51.
Patwardan, K., Gehlot, S., Singh, G., & Rathore, H. C. S. (2011). The Ayurveda education in India: How well are the graduates exposed to basic clinical skills. Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2011, 197391
- 52.
Narayan, J. (2010). Teaching reforms required for Ayurveda, Central Council of India Medicine, New Delhi. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 1(2).
- 53.
- 54.
Kumar, M. V. (2015, July–September). Reforms in Ayurveda education; the challenges ahead. AYU, 36(3), 231–232.
- 55.
Patwardhan, K., & Patwardhan, B. (2017, April–January). Ayurveda education reforms in India. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 8(2), 59–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.Jaim.2017.05.001.
- 56.
Information provided by Dr Prasan Shankar, Senior Physician, IAIM, Trans-Disciplinary University Bangalore.
- 57.
Quirke, V., & Gaudillee, J. (2008, October). The era of biomedicine: Science, medicine and public health in Britain and France after the second world war. Cambridge Journals Medical History, 54(4), 441–452.
- 58.
Peterson, T., et al. (2016). Corrigendum: Identification of altered metabolomic profiles following a Panchakarma-based Ayurvedic intervention in healthy subjects: The self-directed biological transformation initiative (SBTI). Scientific Reports 6, 34678. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep34678.
Furst, D., et al. (2011). Double-blind, randomized, controlled, pilot study comparing classic Ayurvedic medicine, methotrexate, and their combination in rheumatoid arthritis. Journal of Clinical Rheumatology: Practical Reports on Rheumatic & Musculoskeletal Diseases 17, 185–192. https://doi.org/10.1097/RHU.0b013e31821c0310.
Joshi, K., et al. (2017). Dosha Phenotype specific Ayurveda intervention ameliorates asthma symptoms through cytokine modulations: Results of whole system clinical trial. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 197, 110–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2016.07.071.
- 59.
Suruta Samhita – Sutra sthana, chapter 15 sloka 15 (Su.su.15/10).
- 60.
Valiathan, M. S. (2016, March). Ayurveda-biology: The first decade. Proceedings of Indian National Science Academy, 82(1), 13–19.
- 61.
Mahajan, V., et al. (In press). Analysis of HMIS data with standard software tools to generate insightful empirical evidence of Ayurveda practice in a University hospital.
- 62.
FRLHT-TDU database 2019 on medicinal plants of India and their applications.
- 63.
See QCI-FRLHT national scheme on certification and accreditation of Traditional Community Health Providers (TCHP)
- 64.
Patwardhan, B. (2015). Integrative approaches for health: Biomedical research Ayurveda and yoga. USA: Academic Press/Elsevier.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Shankar, D. (2020). Roadmap for Ayurveda Education in Modern India. In: Sarangapani, P.M., Pappu, R. (eds) Handbook of Education Systems in South Asia. Global Education Systems. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3309-5_5-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3309-5_5-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-3309-5
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-3309-5
eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education