The Roots of Ayurveda (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

Various (Author), Dominik Wujastyk (Editor, Translator, Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Classics | Publication Date: April 29, 2003

Ayurveda, the ancient art of healing, has been practiced in India for more than two thousand years and survives today as a living medical tradition whose principles are at the heart of many "alternative" therapies now used in the West. This "science of longevity" has parallels with Buddhist thought, and advocates a life of moderation through which the three humors of the body will be brought into balance. The writings selected for this volume are taken from Sanskrit medical texts written by the first Ayurvedic physicians, who lived between the fifth century b.c. and the fourteenth century a.d. Here readers will find wide-ranging and fascinating advice on the benefits of garlic therapy, prayers for protection against malevolent disease deities, surgical techniques, exercise regimens, the treatment of poisons, the interpretation of dreams, and more.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dominik Wujastyk is associate curator for South Asian collections at the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at University College London. He has taught Sanskrit grammar and literature as well as the history of classical Indian medicine and science.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (April 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140448241
• ISBN-13: 978-0140448245
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #756,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dominik Wujastyk was born in London. His childhood and early education took place in London as well as in Portugal, Madeira, Sudan, and Uganda. His secondary education took place in Malta, from where he returned to London for university. He took undergraduate degrees in Physics (Imperial College, London) and then Sanskrit with Pali (Brasenose College, Oxford), and a doctorate in Sanskrit from Oxford that led to the publication of his book "Metarules of Paninian Grammar". His doctoral research was partly conducted in India, at the University of Pune. He then worked for several years at the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine in London, as an academic curator of Indian manuscripts, and a contributor to the teaching and research of the Institute. During these years, he published many research articles, and books including a Penguin Classic, "The Roots of Ayurveda." In 2002 he took up a Senior Research Fellowship at University College London, in the then newly-established Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL. Since 2009, he has been on the staff of the University of Vienna, in Austria, where he currently (2010) lives and works. His research interests include Sanskrit literature and language, medieval manuscript studies, history of science, and the cultural and intellectual history of pre-modern South Asia.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful, readable distillation of Ayurveda's ancient wisdom, January 2, 2011

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William Courson "William Courson" (Montclair, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Roots of Ayurveda (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

Ayurveda, whose Sanskrit name means "the science of longevity" is an ancient (perhaps the most ancient) art of healing, that has been practiced in India for millenia and survives today as a living medical tradition whose principles are at the heart of many alternative, complementary and "holistic" therapies now increasingly popular in the West. According to myth, Ayurveda is said to have materialized at the beginning of time, when life itself was created - born of the mind of Lord Brahma, creator of the universe, and transmitted through Indra, Dhanvantari and other deities to humankind for the sake of relieving suffering. It is therefore thought to have no concrete beginning and will thus continue until the end of creation.

Ayurveda's exact roots are difficult to reckon as its practices do indeed go back to the mists of primordial antiquity around the time when people started to cultivate crops and herd animals, settle in communities and become conscious of their own welfare, synchronously awakening to the fact that they had to take measures to improve and preserve their lives and when fallen ill restore their health.

While it is hard to set a concrete time when actual Ayurvedic practices came about, by the time of the Indus Valley Civilization (whose earliest antecedents at Mehrgar trace back to about 7,000 BCE), Ayurveda was well developed and the attitude of people towards health practices was advanced. The ancient cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro were intricately planned to include drainage systems, public wells and waste removal structures indicating their appreciation of proper sanitation. Excavations of these cities found stag-horn and cuttlefish bone suggesting that vegetables, animals and minerals were used as sources for drugs (stag horn and cuttlefish bone are known to be useful in treating cardiac pain and respiratory disorders and, interestingly, among many of these ancient remedies are still used in Ayurveda today).

In addition to the use of certain drugs, Indus peoples placed great emphasis on personal hygiene and fitness, and with their efficient techniques, sound thinking about health matters and insightful knowledge into therapeutics, the Indus Valley Civilization played a vital role in the early development of Ayurveda. In addition to its great age, dating Ayurveda is made all the more difficult by the fact that its canon was reduced to writing very late in its development, having existed solely in oral form for countless centuries.

"The Roots of Ayurveda" brings together selections from the Sanskrit classics of Ayurveda's founding rishis, seers and sages: physicians Charaka, Sushruta, Kashyapa, Vagabhata and Sarangadhara who likely lived between the mid-first millennium BCE up to the fourteenth century CE. Their encyclopedic works included discourses on the structure and function of the physical body; the therapeutic natures and actions of a great many plant and mineral drugs; the surgical treatment and repair of trauma and a great many other kinds of surgical operations; the circumstances leading to the miscarriage and the means to be utilized to ensure a maximum number of births of male children; the means for arresting and reversing the ravages of aging - these are among the aspects of speculative and practical interest described in Ayurveda's foundational works which are ably translated and described in detail in this volume. Here readers will find wide-ranging and fascinating advice on the benefits of garlic therapy, prayers for protection against malevolent disease deities, exercise regimens, the treatment of poisons, the interpretation of dreams, and much more.

The translations - which are from the oldest extant writings of the physicians rather than later commentaries - are in standard modern English. But care has been taken not to transpose English medical terms onto the Ayurvedic concepts. Author Dominik Wujastyk's authentic, critical and reader-friendly renderings of original Sanskrit medical texts offer us a glimpse into Ayurveda as a complete, scientific and living medical tradition.

This is a very concise but nonetheless comprehensive distillation of the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda's classics, the Sushrutha Samhita (the surgical compendium), the Charaka Samhita (the internal medicine compendium) and the Ashtanga Hridaya (the Eightfold Heart of Medicine), to name only the most important. This volume is highly recommended for newcomers to Ayurveda and those interested in developing an appreciation for the historical side of the practice and the unique flavor of its literary cadence. It is also a very worthwhile read for students of Hinduism, ancient India and medical anthropology as well as the history of science generally. Dr. Dominik Wujastyk has done a wonderful service for the Ayurvedic community in producing this thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening work.