HISTORY OF SCIENTIFIC STUDIES IN INDIA

ASTRONOMY IN INDIA
Terms Specific to Hindu Astronomy
• Nakshatras: These are essentially the divisions of the ecliptic into 27 equal parts. Their
names are: Ashvini, Bharni, Kritika, Rohini, Mrigashirsha, Adra, Punarvasu, Pushya,
Ashiesha, Magha, Purva Phalguni, Hasta, Chitra, Swati, Vishakha, Anurasha, Jyeshtha,
Mula, Purva Ashadha, Uttara Ashadha, Abhijit, Sravna, Dhanishta, Shatabhisha, Purva
Bhadrapada, Uttara Bhadrapada and Revati.
• Padas (Quarters): Each nakshatra is again divided into quarters, or four equal padas.
Twenty-seven nakshatras, each with 4 padas, give a total of 108 padas which is the
number of beads in a mala (rosary) indicating all the elements (ansh) of Vishnu.
• Eclipses: Eclipses have been mentioned in Vedic literature. However, there is nothing
there to suggest as to how far the real cause of eclipses was known at that time. At one
place it is mentioned that the Sun which was concealed in darkness by Sarvabhanu, the
son of a Raksha, has been reclaimed by Atris who has this power which others do not
have.
• Planets: Planets are located near the path of the sun in the sky. These look like other
stars but are relatively brighter. According to a German Scholar, Webber, the names of
the planets must have originated from India itself because their present names are
essentially Indian.
CHEMISTRY IN INDIA
Indus valley civilization was the earliest society, which had developed an elaborate urban
system depicted in terms of streets, public baths, temples and granaries etc. They also had the
means of mass production of pottery, houses made of baked bricks and a script of their own.
So, we can say that the story of early chemistry in India begins from here.
According to Rig Veda, tanning of leather and dyeing of cotton was practised during this period.
During the period c. 1000-400 BCE they made a particular kind of polished grey pottery known
as Painted Grey Ware. Other varieties of pottery, for example, red or Northern Black-Polished
(N. B. P.) Ware (600-200 BCE), were also made later. These wares indicate their mastery of
control over temperatures.
After the Vedas, came the classical texts like Brahmanas, Upanishads and Puranas, which also
give valuable information about the chemical processes carried out in this period. Kautilya's
Arthasastra was a scientific landmark of this period. It described the production of salt from
sea water and collection of shells, diamonds, pearls and corals. Charaka Samhita and Susruta
Samhita were two celebrated ayurvedic treatises on medicine and surgery, respectively.
Chemical Arts and Crafts in Later Periods
Glass making, pottery, jewellery making, dyeing of clothes and tanning of leather, etc., were
the major chemical arts and crafts in the early periods. As a result of this expanded activity, the
alchemical knowledge increased. Following were the major chemical products that contributed
to the development of chemistry.
Glass: Ramayana, Brhatsamhita, Kautilya's Arthasatra and Sukranitisara mention the use of
glass. There is ample evidence to suggest that ancient India glass-making was quite widespread
and a high degree of perfection was achieved in this craft. There was a traditional glass factory
at Kopia in Basti district of Uttar Pradesh. Glass slag was found at Kolhapur, Nevasa, Paunar
and Maheshwar. Glass furnaces of late medieval period were found at Mysore. The Mughal
period (1526-1707) saw the flourishing of the art of glass-making in India.
Paper: From the Chinese traveller I-Tsing's account it appears that paper was known to India
in the seventh century. In the beginning the process of paper-making was simple and more or
less similar in all parts of the country. The main centres of paper-making in medieval India
were Sialkot, Zafarbad, Murshidabad, Ahmedabad, Mysore etc.
Soap: For washing clothes ancient Indians used certain plants and their fruits like the soap nuts
of reetha and shikakai. Fruits like Sriphala and Sarsapa (Brassica compestris) were called
Phenaka in the second and third century texts like Manusmrti and Yajnavalkyasmrti. also used
to wash different kinds of clothes. There were references to soap like substances Indians
definitely began to make proper soaps in the eighteenth-century AD. In Gujarat, the oil of
Eranda (Ricinus communis), seeds of plant Mahua (Madhuca indica) and impure calcium
carbonate were used by them. These were used for washing but gradually soft soaps for bathing
were made.
Dyeing: A number of classical texts like Atharva Veda (1000 BCE) mention some dve stuffs.
Dyes were extracted from inorganic substances by repeatedly soaking and mixing them in
water and allowing the materials to settle. Then the solution was taken out and spread on a pot
and evaporated to get the dry dye. Some other substances having tinting properties were
Kampillaka (Mallotus phillippinesis), Pattanga (Cesalpinia sappan) and Jatuka (a species of
Oldenlandia). A large number of other materials were also used for dyeing. Synthetic dyes were
made by mid-nineteenth century.
Cosmetic and Perfumes: A large number of references to cosmetics and perfumes in Sanskrit
literature were found, like in Brhatsamhita of Varahamihira. Cosmetics and perfumes making
were mainly practised for the purpose of worship, sale and sensual enjoyment. The Bower
Manuscript (Navanitaka) contained recipes of hair dyes which consisted of a number of plants
like indigo and minerals like iron powder, black iron or steel and acidic extracts of sour rice
gruel. Gandhayukti gave recipes for making scents. It gives a list of eight aromatic ingredients
used for making scents. They were: Rodhara, Usira, Bignonia, Aguru, Musta, Vana, Priyangu,
and Pathya. The Gandhayukti also gave recipes for mouth perfumes, bath powders, incense and
talcum powder. The manufacture of rose water began perhaps in the nineteenth century AD.
INK: An inkpot was unearthed during the excavations at Takshila, which suggests that ink was
known and used in India from fourth century BCE. Ajanta caves displayed some inscriptions
that were written with coloured ink, made from chalk, and red lead. The recipe for ink was also
given in Rasaratnakara of Nityanatha. Special inks prepared from roasted rice, lampblack,
sugar and the juice of plant Kesurte (Verbsina scandens) was used in the Jain manuscripts.
Alcoholic Liquors: Somarasa, which was mentioned in the Vedas, was probably the earliest
evidence of the use of intoxicants in India. Kautilya's Arthashastra list a variety of liquors such
as Medaka, Prasanna, Asava, Arista, Maireya and Madhu. Charaka Samhita. Sushruta-Samhita
used the word khola for alcoholic beverages; perhaps the modern word alcohol is derived from
it. Alcoholic liquors were classified into the following categories depending on their
applications in alchemical operations:
• Dasanapasani Sura: used in dyeing operations
• Sarvacarani Sura: used in mixing operations of all kinds
• Dravani Sura: used in dissolving substances
• Ranjani Sura: used in dyeing operations
• Rasabandhani Sura: used in binding mercury
• Rasampatani Sura: used in distillation of mercury
Pharmaceuticals: Medicines were chiefly derived from plants, although a few ingredients
originated from animals. Preparations of medicines involved collection of the ingredients, their
purification, extraction of their essences and compounding of these extracts by means of
processes like grinding, pasting and maceration. Processes like dissolution, distillation,
sublimation, precipitation, combustion, dilution and decocting were carried out in these
preparations. Mercury and gold were also used in a number of drugs.
Medieval Alchemy (AD 800-1300): Alchemy in India flourished in the medieval period.
Numerous alchemical texts were written between the ninth and the fourteenth centuries.
Modern Chemistry: During this period of stagnation, the pharmaceutical industry based on
Ayurveda continued to exist, but this too declined gradually. Modern science appeared late on
the Indian scene, i. e., only in the later part of the nineteenth century. By the mid- nineteenth
century European scientists started coming to India. A science college was established in
Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1814. The study of chemistry was first introduced in the Presidency
College of Calcutta in 1872, followed by post-graduate teaching in chemistry in 1886.
MATHEMATICS IN INDIA
Mathematical tradition in India goes back at least to the Vedas. For compositions with a broad
scope covering all aspects of life, spiritual as well as secular, the Vedas show a great fascination
for large numbers. As the transmission of knowledge was oral, the numbers were not written,
but expressed as combinations of powers of 10.
The decimal system of writing numbers, together with the use of '0' is known to have
blossomed in India in the early centuries CE, and spread to the West through the intermediacy
of Persians and Arabs.
It is well-known that Geometry was pursued in India in the context of construction of vedis for
yajnas in the Vedic period. The Sulvasutras contain elaborate descriptions of construction of
vedis and enunciate various geometric principles.
Mathematics in Ancient Times (3000 to 600 BCE) Indus valley civilization is considered to
have existed around 3000 BCE. Two of its most famous cities, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro,
provide evidence that construction of buildings followed a standardized measurement which
was decimal in nature.
No account of Indian mathematics would be complete without a discussion of Indian numerals,
the place-value system, and the concept of zero. The numerals that we use even today can be
traced to the Brahmi numerals that seem to have made their appearance in 300 BCE. But
Brahmi numerals were not part of a place-value system. They evolved into the Gupta numerals
around 400 CE and subsequently into the Devanagari numerals, which developed slowly
between 600 and 1000 CE.
The Classical Era of Indian Mathematics (500 to 1200 CE) The most famous names of Indian
mathematics belong to what is known as the classical era. This includes Aryabhatta I (500 CE)
Brahmagupta (700 CE), Bhaskara I (900 CE), Mahavira (900 CE). Aryabhatta II (1000 CE)
and Bhaskarachrya or Bhaskara II (1200 CE). During this period, two centres of mathematical
research emerged, one at Kusumapura near Pataliputra and the other at Ujjain. Aryabhatta I
was the dominant figure at Kusumapura and may even have been the founder of the local
school. His fundamental work, the Aryabhatiya, set the agenda for research in mathematics and
astronomy in India for many centuries.
In more recent times many important discoveries have been made by mathematicians of the
Indian origin. There have been three main contributors to Indian mathematics- Srinivasa
Ramanujan, Harish-Chandra, and Manjul Bhargava.
Some of the Major Contributions of Indian Mathematicians are:
Solutions of quadratic equations: In the seventh century, the first written evidence of the
rules for working with zero were formalized in the Brahmasputha Siddhanta. In his seminal
text, the astronomer Brahmagupta introduced rules for solving quadratic equations and for
computing square roots.
Basis for calculus: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was one of the first Europeans to use zero and
the negatives in a systematic way in his development of calculus in the late 17th century. But
Indian mathematician Bhaskara had already discovered many of Leibniz's ideas over 500 years
earlier. Bhaskara, also made major contributions to algebra, arithmetic, geometry and
trigonometry.
The Idea of Zero: Little needs to be written about the mathematical digit 'zero', one of the
most important inventions of all time. Mathematician Aryabhatta was the first person to create
a symbol for zero and it was through his efforts that mathematical operations like addition and
subtraction started using the digit, zero.
Decimal System: India gave the ingenious method of expressing all numbers by means of ten
symbols - the decimal system. In this system, each symbol received a value of position as well
as an absolute value. Due to the simplicity of the decimal notation, which facilitated
calculation. This system made the use of arithmetic in practical inventions much faster and
easier.
Numeral Notations: Indians, as early as 500 BCE, had devised a system of different Arabs
who called it the hind numerals. Centuries later, this notation system was adopted symbols for
every number from one to nine. This notation system was adopted by the by the Arab traders.
Binary Numbers: Binary numbers is the basic language in which computer programs are
written. Binary basically refers to a set of two numbers, 1 and 0, the combinations of which are
called bits and bytes. The binary number system was first described by the Vedic scholar
Pingala, in his book Chhandashastra, which is the earliest known Sanskrit treatise on prosody
(the study of poetic metres and verse).
Ruler Measurements: Excavations at Harappan sites have yielded measuring scales (rulers)
or linear measures made from ivory and shell. Marked out in minute subdivisions with amazing
accuracy, the calibrations correspond closely with the hasta increments, traditionally used in
the ancient architecture of south India. Ancient bricks found at the excavation sites have
dimensions that correspond to the units on these rulers.
PHYSICS IN INDIA
Indian physics considers both the objective universe, which is taken to be atomic, and the
subjective universe of the experimenter or the observer, which is taken to be non-atomic
Physics. The concept of atom can be traced to Vedic times. The material world was divided
into five elements, namely, earth (Prithvi), fire (Agni), air (Vayu), water (Jal) and ether or space
(Akasha). Paramanu (beyond atom) was considered to be the smallest particle, which cannot
be divided further. Nuclear energy is produced today splitting the same.
The two schools of Nyaya and Vaisheshika are two important Vedic texts which throw light on
contemporary science, especially astronomy and physics, in the Vedic era. The existence of
natural forces such as earth's gravitation and magnetic fields were well known during the Vedic
period. Subhash Kak and Raja Ram Mohan Roy studied Vedic texts and brought out some
interesting aspects of physics described in various Vedas.
The Nyaya Sutras of Aksapada Gautama (550 BCE) deal with Tarka-Vidya, or the science of
logic, and Vada-Vidya or the science of debate. Nyaya sutras are divided into five books; each
book is further subdivided into two ahnikas. It is believed that Maharsi Aksapada Gautama
discussed all the Nyaya sutras in ten lectures, corresponding to the 10 ahnikas.
Vaiseshika Darshan of Kanada explains the entire physics in two volumes in the verse form.
The Nyaya-Vaiseshika Sutra (in 12 chapters) has 575 sutras in it.
Several centuries after Kanada, Prashastapada explained the contents of Vaisheshika in his
commentary Svartha Dharma Sangraha. He described the composition of earth, water, air and
fire in terms of their atomic constituents that excludes space since its nature is taken to be non-
atomic.
AGRICULTURE IN INDIA
• Agriculture came to be practised when man gave up his nomadic habits and settled in
favourable climate and topography. Although it has not been ascertained when the early
inhabitants of India took to farming as their chief occupation, the practice of agriculture
has been traced back to the Indus valley civilization.
• Thus, for at least the last 4,500 years the Indian society has been primarily an
agricultural one.
• The variety of topography and climate of the subcontinent has afforded a great diversity
in the crops cultivated in different regions.
• Moreover, the country possesses vast arable land. Indeed, India's agricultural wealth in
terms of variety and production has significantly influenced the course of its history.
• Although farming methods in the medieval period remained much the same as before,
considerable progress was made in the introduction of new crops and improvement of
some old ones.
MEDICINE IN INDIA
Ayurveda
The traditional system of Indian medicine is a special branch of knowledge on life dealing with
both body and mind.
This is implicit in the two components of the term ayurveda: dyes and veda. The former means
'life' and the latter, 'knowledge' or more precisely 'science'.
According to the Charaka samhita, dyus comprises sukha (happiness), dushkha (sorrow), hita
(good), and ahita (bad).
Sukhamayuh, or a life of happiness, is free from physical and mental disease; endowed with
vigour, strength, energy, and vitality; and is full of all sorts of enjoyment and success.
Asukhamayuh, or a life of dushkha is just the opposite.
Ayurveda deals with all these four conditions of life. It is also concerned with the prolongation
of life.
Scope of Ayurveda: The scope of Ayurveda is not limited to physical health alone. It also seeks
to promote a totality of physical, mental, and spiritual health in the context of man's interaction
with his environment. Ayurveda is concerned with the origin of life and intelligence which are
eternal. The wide scope of Ayurveda, in general, covers:
• cosmological and ontological speculations about the intrinsic relationship between
matter and life;
• biological theories concerning (a) embryonic conception, (b) body, life, and soul, and
(c) rules of genetics;
• physiological and pathological theories;
• food;
• rules of health and longevity;
• diseases, their diagnosis and treatment;
• poisons and antidotes;
• ethics.
Pre-Aryan Medical Elements
• Archaeological remains concerning pre-Aryan medical elements unearthed from
different sites of Indus and pre-Indus cultures testify to the ideas about some medical
and surgical practices prevallent in India.
• Surgical operations are inferred from human skulls and curved knives from two pre-
Indus sites, viz., Burzahom in Kashmir and Kalibangan in Rajasthan.
• Medical practices inclusive of some health and hygienic measures are indicated in
excavations at Mohenjodaro and Harappa.
• These comprise medicinal substances consisting of stag-horn, cuttle-fish bone, and
bitumen.
• The craniotomic operation described in the Susruta-samhita, hygienic rules and
regulations as part of medical practice, application of vapour bath in medical treatment,
 and utilization of animal and mineral substances in medical prescriptions are some of
the instances of borrowing by the Ayurvedic system from earlier cultures.
Indo-Aryan Medical Elements
• While pre-Aryan elements led to the development of some medical practices in
Ayurveda, Indo-Aryan medical elements facilitated the growth of some concepts and
theories.
• These are mainly noticed in (a) cosmo-physiological speculations about the three basic
constituents of living organisms, viz., vayu, pitta, and kapha; (b) ideas about the
aetiology of diseases; and (c) belief in the association of medical treatment with good
physicians.
Ayurveda and the Vedas: In its conceptual aspects Ayurveda has greater affinity to Rig-Vedic
notions, while in practice it draws much from Atharva-Vedic medicine. Its relation to the
Atharva Veda is seen in its:
(i) two-fold objective of curing of disease and attainment of a long life;
(ii) anatomical and physiological ideas. Under this category may be cited
Three types of bodily channels-hirdydhamani, and nadi-used in the sense of duct in the
Atharva-Veda and corresponding to Hrady, dhamani, and nadi of Ayurveda which mentions an
additional channel (srotas);
• Ideas of five vital breaths common in the two systems;
• Osteological ideas in connection with the number and nomen-clature of bones; and
• Ojas (albumen), the vital element in the body recognized in Atharvan medicine and in
Ayurveda.
The Atharva Veda stresses the wrath of God and treatment by charms, whereas drug treatment
predominates in Ayurveda.
History of Scientific Studies in India Ayurveda, which incorporates different traditions, has a
distinct place alongside Vedas. It forms an upanga of the Atharva Veda and upaveda associated
particularly with the Rig Veda. It is sometimes called panchama-veda, or the fifth Veda. It is
indeed mentioned as a fifth or distinct Veda in the Brahmavaivarta Purana.
Modern writers consider it as a Vedanga or an appendage to Vedic literature. All the
aforementioned epithets of Ayurveda point to its existence in some form during the composition
of Vedic literature. Although glorified as an appendage of Vedic literature, Ayurveda as such is
not mentioned there. A later Vedic text designates a medical treatise as subhesaja. The
Mahabharata first refers to Ayurveda with its eight branches of knowledge.
METALLURGY IN INDIA
Metallurgy may be defined as the complete process of extraction, purification, alloying and
application of metals. Today, some eighty-six metals are known, but most of them were
discovered by the modern word in the last two centuries. The seven metals of antiquity as they
are sometimes called, were, more or less in order of discovery: gold, copper, silver, lead, tin,
iron and mercury. For over 7,000 years, India has had a high tradition of metallurgical skills.
The ancient Indian metallurgists have also made major contributions which deserve their place
in the metallurgical history of the world along with other great civilizations of the world.
There are many more references in the Vedas to metal and metal-working, often used as a
metaphor. The word for metal was 'ayas', which in the Rig Veda, refers to copper or bronze, not
to iron. In later literature, terms like krsnayas, kalayasa or syamayas, i. e., dark metal came into
use, which clearly referred to iron; loha (literally, red') or lohayas initially referred to copper,
but later became a generic term for metal, and often came to mean iron.
In Arthasastra: A passage, from a long chapter on the department of mines, reveals an intimate
knowledge of the different types of metal ores and the ways to test and purify different metals,
or to create alloys. Kautilya said, that the Director of Mines, being conversant with the sciences
of metal veins in the earth and metallurgy, the art of smelting and the art of colouring gems, or
having the assistance of experts in these, and fully equipped with workmen skilled in the work
and with implements, should inspect an old mine by the marks of dross, crucibles, coal and
ashes, or a new mine, where there are ores in the earth, in rocky or in liquid form, with excessive
colour and heaviness and with a strong smell and taste.
In Khadgalaksanam, Varahamihira explains the process of carburization and hardening of iron
swords. Carburization is the controlled addition of carbon to iron, so as to turn it into steel; it
is usually done by adding organic substances, whether vegetal or animal, in the course of
smelting.
Classification of metals in Ancient Indian literature
Acoording to ancient Indian literary reference, in nature there are four suddha (native metals),
viz.,
1. Suvarna (Gold),
2. Tamra (Copper),
3. Rajata (Silver),
4. Loha (Iron).
In addition, there are two putilohas- naga (lead) and vanga (tin) and three misraloha (alloys)
viz., peetala (brass), kamsya (bell metal) and vartaloha (an alloy made of five metals). The term
loha is derived from the root luh which means karsana.
GEOGRAPHIC STUDIES IN INDIA
Geography as a branch of scientific study has developed as a consequence of man's immediate
need for functioning in the world around him.
Familiarity with the surrounding terrain, its lakes and rivers, the climatic conditions, and the
neighbouring tribes - matters of daily experience - was the rudimentary beginning of
geographical study.
In India, the earliest references to geographical data are found in the Rig Veda. Casual
references to tribes, rivers, and other geographical landmarks indicate that geographical
knowledge was not lacking during the Vedic period.
Vedic Period: The ancient Indians conceptions of the universe and the earth determined to a
great extent their understanding of the earth's physical properties and conditions.
In Vedic literature, the universe is sometimes conceived as consisting of the earth and sky
(heaven), and sometimes of the earth, air (atmosphere), and sky.
The Satapatha Brahmana uses the term graha, which later came to mean planet. Some scholars
like Oldenberg identify the grahas with the adityas, numbering seven the sun, moon, and the
five planets. The earth is denoted in the Rig Veda such words as prthivi (the expansive or large),
prthvi or urvi (the broad), mahi (the great), apara (the limitless), and uttana (the stretched out).
The Rig Veda contains references suggesting the spherical shape of the earth. It says, for
instance, that every sacrificial altar or ground on the surface of the earth is its centre. This has
been interpreted as implying the earth's sphericity. In the Satapatha Brahmana the earth is
expressly mentioned as being circular (parimandala). In the cosmogonic and theosophic hymns
of Atharva Veda the earth and the heavens have been imagined as constituting two hemispheres.
The Vedic Hindus had clear ideas about the four directions, further elaborated in connection
with the placement of sacrificial altars.
The term dvipa (island) occurs in the Rig Veda and other Vedic texts. The names of a large
number of rivers occur in the Rig Veda. Some among these are the Sindhu, Sarasvati, Satadru,
Vitasta, Sarayu, and Gomati. The Rig Veda also refers to mountains, e. g., the Himavant and
Mujavant. The Himavant may reasonably be identified with the Himalayas, though it is
possible that it included hills of the Suleiman range.
In Post-Vedic Period: Abundant evidence of the geographical knowledge of the Indian people
is available in post-Vedic literature. The Epics contain numerous incidental geographical
references about the earth in general and Bharatavarsha in particular, the latter being especially
dealt with in the Kiskindha-kanda of the Ramayana and the Bhisma- parvan of the Mahabharata
Buddhist works like the Vinava Pitaka. Mahavastu, and the Nikayas, particularly the
AnguttaraNikava, are important sources of geographical information. Indeed, from about the
time of Buddha to that of Asoka, Buddhist canonical literature constituted the principal source
of geographical information about contemporary India.
The Buddhist Jataka stories mention various places and add to our geographical knowledge of
the country.
The Puranas constitute the most detailed and comprehensive source of geographical knowledge
of the post-Vedic period. The treatment of geographical information is not uniform in all the
Puranas: some go into greater detail than others. The Vayu, Brahmanda, Vamana and
Markandeya, for instance, contain sections entitled Bhuvana-kosa, Bhuvana- vinvasa.
Jambudvipavarnana, and so on, which deal primarily with geographical information.
The Earth and its Dvipas (any land which was ordinarily inaccessible or detached by virtue of
its being surrounded by water, sand, swamp or even high mountains or thick forests. Thus, the
term may indicate an island, a peninsula, or a doab, or even a specific area of land, large or
small, which is distinguished by particular geographical features).
The concept of the earth comprising a number of dvipas, meaning continents, seems to have
emerged in the post-Vedic period. The Mahabharata gives the number of such continents
variously in its different sections.
The Pali Buddhist literature mentions four mahadvipas (great islands), namely, Uttara- Kuru or
Kuru in the north, Jambudvipa in the south, Purva-Videha in the east, and 39 Apara-Godana in
the west, as constituting the earth. The Mahabharata gives a general description of these four
regions, and of Jambudvipa in particular.
BIOLOGY
In the chapter 24 of Yajur Veda there is a vast list of animals wild and domestic, birds and those
creatures which live in water. In Atharva Veda (12. 1. 49) there is mention of wild animals
including lions and tigers, elephants and ashva (horses) etc. (14. 49, 4).
Sushruta mentions more than 300 different operations such as cataract, hernia, Lithotomy and
caesarian section, etc. employing 42 different surgical processes and 121 different types of
instruments, including lancets, sounds, forceps, catheters, and rectal and vaginal speculums.
The Samhitas divide Ayurveda into 8 different branches: Shalyatantra (surgical knowledge),
Shalakyatantra (treatment of diseases of the ears, nose, eye, tongue, oral cavity and throat),
Bhutavidya (knowledge of mental diseases, supernatural origins diseases), Kaumarabhrtya
(care of children and infantile disorders), Agadatantra (toxicology), Rasayanatantra (syrup,
tonic knowledge) and Vajikaranatantra (knowledge of virility).
The general picture of Indian medicine is one of rapid development in the Vedic and Buddhist
periods, followed by centuries of slow and cautious improvement.
Late Stone Age (10,000 - 20,000 BCE)
Man first cultivated wheat, barley, lentils and peas. In India rice was first cultivated at
Mehergarh and Mahagarh (6000 years ago) and about 1 lakh variety was developed in ancient
India. Wild rice originated somewhere in coastal of Bengal, Odisha and Andhra. Breeds of goat,
sheep, pig, cattle, dog were also raised.
Vedic Age (2500 - 6500 BCE)
As in our Vedic literature, people of that time (2500 BCE to 650 BCE) used to observe plants
and animals and recorded 740 plants and 250 animals.
Sushruta described in details parts of plants such as:Ankura (sprout) Kanda (bulb or stem)
Pushpa (flower) Mool (root) Patra (leaf) and Phala (fruit).