Story

The ancient and original civilization of India was formed in the III millennium BC. e. within the Hindustan subcontinent (Fig. 28) long before the Indo-Iranian (Aryan) tribes appeared in the country. Currently, modern states are located on its territory: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal. Periodization of the history of healing In the history of healing of ancient India, three stages are clearly traced, separated both in time and in space:

1) the period of the Harappan civilization (III - started in the 2nd millennium BC., Valley of the Indus River), when the first slave-owning city-states in the history of ancient India were formed on the territory of modern Pakistan;

2) the Vedic period (the end of the 2nd — mid I millennium BC, valley of the Ganges), when with the arrival of the Aryans the center of civilization moved to the eastern part of the subcontinent and the compilation of “sacred texts” (Sanskrit - Veda), transmitted during a long period in oral tradition;

3) the classical period (the second half of the first millennium BC - the beginning of the first millennium AD, the Indian subcontinent) is the highest flourish of the traditional culture of ancient INDIA. It is characterized by the high development of agriculture, handicrafts and trade, the rise of original culture, the establishment and spread of Buddhism — the first of three world religions; success in various fields of knowledge, literature and art; and the wide development of India’s trade and cultural ties with the countries of the ancient world, which brought it fame "Land of the wise."

Sources on the history and healing of ancient India

The main sources are: ancient literary monuments (religious and philosophical works - the Vedas, I millennium BC. E .; “Prescriptions of Manu”, II century BC., Samkhi-you Charaki. (“Caraka-samhita”) and Sush-rut ("Sushruta-samhita"), the first centuries of our era), data of archeology and ethnography, real monuments, national epic (tab. 7). Famous historians, philosophers and travelers of antiquity wrote about ancient India: Greek historians Herodot, Strabo and Diodorus, participants in the campaigns of Alexander the Great, Ambassador Seleuki-Dov at the court of King Chandragupta - Megasphen, Chinese historian Syma Qian, pilgrim Fa Xian and others.

SANITARY CASE OF PERIOD OF CHARAPPSKY CIVILIZATION

In the second half of the III millennium BC. e. in the basin of the river. The Indus formed a highly developed urban culture, which later received the name "Kharappa" (from the city of Harap-pa in the territory of modern Pakistan). The heyday of the Harappan culture falls at the end of the third - beginning of the second millennium BC. e. Its characteristic features are monumental architecture, planned urban development, a high level of sanitary improvement, the development of artificial irrigation, handicrafts (ceramics, terracotta, metal and stone products) and foreign trade, the creation of Proto-Indian writing, which, unfortunately, has not yet been completely decoded .

In many respects (in terms of size, level of urban construction, sanitary improvement, etc.), Harappan culture significantly exceeded the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia of the corresponding period.

Construction of Harappan cities (more than 800 settlements were opened in the Indus Valley) was carried out according to a previously developed plan. Straight streets, oriented from west to east and from south to north, speak of strict construction control over the centuries and are the oldest example of urban planning known in the history of mankind.

One of them - Mohenjo-Daro (translated from Sindhi language “Hill of the Dead”) - was found at a depth of 12 m and belongs to at least the XXV century. BC e. - the time when civilizations were formed on about. Crete (see p. 89). Mohenjo-Daro occupied an area of ​​about 2.5 square kilometers; according to scientists, it lived 35-100. thousand people

In the city there were workshops, a granary (size 61x46 m), a platform for grinding grain, sanitary facilities: wells, baths, a pool, a sewage system — the oldest known at present.

The most wonderful of these is the bath. In its center there was a unique pool (possibly of a cult purpose) 12.m long, 7m wide and about 3m deep (Fig. 29). The bottom of the pool was covered with bitumen; its water resistance lasts for more than four millennia. On both sides of the pool are two stairs with swimming pads. The water in it was running: acting on one-pipe, it constantly flowed on the other. Around the perimeter of the pool was surrounded by an arcade of small rooms for ablutions. Here were located two baths, which, according to the researchers, were heated by hot air and used for religious rites.

In various parts of the city there were wells lined with baked bricks (Fig. 30). Their diameter reached 1 m. Large wells built their own wells. The premises where they were located were carefully paved.

The residential buildings in Mohenjo-Daro were built of burnt bricks, were two or three-storeyed, reached a height of 7.5 m and had up to 30 rooms. There were no windows on the street. The hearth was located in the middle of the courtyard.

Each brick house had an ablution room, which was usually a small square or rectangular room with a carefully laid brick floor that had a slope to one of the corners. In this corner was placed drain. The tight laying of the bricks with which the floor was paved prevented water from seeping. Drainpipes through the thickness of the walls went out into the sewage system of the city, which, according to the testimony of the well-known English indologist A. Bashchev-ma, represents "one of the most impressive achievements of the Indian civilization ... No other pre-civilization, even Roman, had such perfect water supply systems. "

Each street and each lane had its own brick-lined canal for sewage flow with a depth of 30 to 60 cm and a width of 20 to 50 cm. From above, all the channels were covered with well-fitted bricks that could be easily removed during the inspection and cleaning of the system, which was particularly important value. This is also evidenced by the dimensions of the main pipes, whose diameter reached 2 m. Before entering the canals, wastewater and sewage passed through septic tanks and cesspools covered with tightly ground-in lids. Much more attention was paid to the wastewater system in Mohenjo-Daro than to the construction of residential buildings. This speaks of the high culture of the ancient civilization of the Indus Valley, which, two thousand years before the Roman aqueduct, had succeeded in creating the most perfect specimen of sanitary construction of antiquity.

The high sanitary condition of the ancient cities of the Harappan civilization makes it possible even in the absence or insufficiency of deciphered medical texts to draw a conclusion about a relatively high level and empirical healing in the Indus Valley in the middle of the 3rd — beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e.

At the same time, the high level of sanitary facilities of the Harappan civilization does not characterize the general level of sanitary construction in ancient India as a whole — in subsequent periods of the history of ancient India, it decreased significantly and did not reach the level of the Harappa culture.

In the XIX — XVIII centuries. BC e. in the Indus Valley (as well as in Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia) there is a decline in cultural centers. Its causes, according to researchers, were mainly of an internal nature (floods, droughts, depletion of domestic resources).

DOCTOR'S EDUCATION

The center of civilization at this stage in the history of ancient India was the r. Ganges in the north-east of the country, where after the arrival of the Indo-Iranian Aryan tribes, several states were formed.

Information about the healing of the Vedic period is very limited. Instructions for medical knowledge are preserved in the Rigveda (Rigveda — Veda hymns and mythological plots, the oral tradition of which dates back to the 12th — 10th centuries BC) and Atharvaveda (Atharva-veda) —– veda spells and conspiracies, VIII — VI centuries BC.). To write down the sacred texts began in the middle of I millennium BC. e. (ca. 500 BC. e., see diagram 4). '

Three illnesses are mentioned in the Rig Veda: leprosy, consumption, bleeding, and once it is said about - the healer in the following words: "Our desires are different, the driver craves for firewood, the healer - for diseases, and the priest - for sacrificial libations." Some sections of the "Rig Veda" contain texts about the rites of magical healing - in the Vedic period medical knowledge was closely intertwined with religious beliefs and magic concepts.

The main medical deities of the Vedic period were: the twin Ashvins - the gods healers and custodians, Rudra - the lord of medicinal herbs and the patron saint of hunters, as well as the highest deities: Ag-ni - the god of fire and resurgent life, Indra - a symbol of heavenly thunder and the donor of rain - Sun God.

In the vast ancient Indian mythology were evil demons. (asuras and rakshasas), which (as believed) brought people misfortune, disease, ruin, deprived offspring. Thus, in "Atharvaveda," diseases are either associated with evil spirits, or regarded as punishment of the gods; healing of ailments was due to the action of sacrifices, prayers and spells. At the same time, “Atharvaveda” also reflects the people's practical experience in the use of medicinal plants, the effect of which at that time was understood as a healing force opposing evil spirits. The ancient healers were called that - bhishad ("casting out demons"). This name was retained for them in later periods of Indian history, when the healer-charmer turned into a healer-healer. Over time, changed and ideas about the causes of disease. Thus, in Yajurveda (Yajurveda, the Veda of sacrificial spells, in the 8th — 7th centuries BC), four juices of the organism are already mentioned.

At the end of the Vedic period, the ancient Indian society was finally subdivided into four main estates (varnas): brahmans (brahma-pa who knew sacred teachings, i.e., priest), kshatriyas (ksatriya — endowed with power, i.e. military nobility and members of royal families ), vaishyas (vaisya - a free congregate, i.e. mainly farmers and herders) and sudras (sud-ga - powerless poor people). Each of the varnas consisted of a multitude of castes and a podcast (Portuguese casto is pure; in Sanskrit jati is a group of people of the same origin). In addition, outside the Varna and, as it were, outside the law, there was the fifth, lowest class - pariahs (untouchables), used in the most unpleasant and degrading works.

This social structure of ancient India, based mainly on the division of functions, was considered the original, unshakable, established divine will of Brahma — the greatest of ancient gods. Sudras and pariah had almost no rights. They were not allowed to listen and chant the Vedas. Only representatives of the three higher varnas had the right to practice healing and study the Vedas.

CLASSICAL PERIOD DOCTORS (Magadh-Maurian and Kushan-Gupt eras)

In the VI. BC e. ancient India entered a period of intensive, spiritual and intellectual development. It is characterized by major achievements in various fields of knowledge and the creation of outstanding monuments of the ancient Indian writing: “Prescriptions for Maku” (II century BC - II century AD), mathematical, astronomical and medical treatises (first centuries of our era) , as well as the emergence and spread of religious and philosophical teachings - Buddhism (from the 6th century BC) - the first world religion.

By the beginning of our era in ancient India there was a highly developed system of medical knowledge, "in some respects: similar to the system of Hippocrates and Galen, and in some gone even further ahead," as A. Bash wrote about it.

The art of healing (Sanskrit Ayurveda - the study of long life) was highly valued in ancient India. Buddhist traditions and texts have preserved the glory of the miraculous healers of D-zhivak (6th-5th centuries BC), Charak and Sushrut (first centuries of our era).

The main directions of the traditional ancient Indian medicine of the classical period are reflected in two outstanding monuments of ancient Ayurvedic writing: “Charaka-Samkhita” (dates from the 1st-2nd centuries AD.) And “Sushruta-Samhnt” (dates from the 4th century AD.) ).

The earlier "Charaka-Samhita" is dedicated to the treatment of internal diseases and contains information on more than 600 medicines of plant, animal and mineral origin. Their use is reported in eight sections: wound healing; treatment of diseases of the head; treatment of diseases of the whole body; treatment of mental illness; treatment of childhood diseases; antidotes; elixirs against senile aging; sex enhancers.

Sushruta Samhita is mainly dedicated to surgical treatment; It describes more than 300 operations, more than 120 surgical instruments and at least 650 drugs.

The knowledge of Indian healers about the structure of the human body was the most complete in the ancient world. Despite the imperfection of the research method, which was based on the maceration of the body of the deceased in running water, the ancient Indians distinguished: 7 membranes, 500 muscles,

900 ligaments, 90 tendons, 300 bones (this includes teeth and cartilage), which subdivided into flat, round and long, 107 joints, 40 major vessels and their 700 branches (for blood, mucus and air), 24 nerve, 9 sense organs and 3 substances (right on, mucus and bile). Some zones body (palm, soles, testicles, pahareas, etc.) stood out as “Especially important” (Sanskrit - marman).

Damage was considered dangerous.

for life. Indian knowledge whose in the field of the structure of the human body were an important milestone in the history of anatomii and played a significant role the formation of the old Indian chirurgii

It should be noted here that the comparison of the achievements of the ancient Indians with the knowledge of the ancient Egyptians and Aztecs is very conditional: the Egyptian texts of medical content are recorded in the II millennium BC. e. (i.e., almost two millennia earlier), and the flowering of Aztec medicine was in the middle of the second millennium n. e. (i.e. more than a millennium later). In the classical period of the history of ancient India, healers moved away from the supernatural ideas about the causes of diseases that prevailed in the Vedic period. Religious and philosophical systems, on which they were based in search of the foundations of the universe, also revealed elements of natural science knowledge. The man was considered in close connection with the outside world, which, according to the ancient Indians, consisted of five elements: earth, air, fire, water and ether. The different quality of objects was explained by a different combination of the smallest particles of the anu ("atoms"). The vital activity of organizing was considered through the interaction of three substances: air, fire and water (whose carriers in the body were considered prana, bile and mucus). Health was understood as the result of a balanced ratio of three substances, the correct fulfillment of the body’s vital functions, the normal state of the sense organs and mental clarity, and the disease as a violation of these correct proportions and a negative effect on a person of five elements (the influence of seasons, climate, indigestible food, unhealthy water etc.). Sushruta divided all diseases into natural ones, connected with nature and supernatural, sent by the gods (for example, leprosy, venereal and other infectious diseases, the reasons for which were still impossible at that time).

Diagnosis of diseases was based on a detailed survey of the patient and the study of body heat, color and tongue, discharge, noise in the lungs, voice, etc. It is interesting that neither Sushruta nor Charak report anything about the pulse study. At the same time, Sushruta describes sugar diabetes, which is not known even to the ancient Greeks, which he defined according to the taste of urine.

In the treatise Sushruta three stages of inflammation are described, with signs of which he considered: in the first period - minor pain; in the second, shooting pains, swelling, pressure, local heat, redness and dysfunction; in the third - reduction of swelling and the formation of pus. For the treatment of inflammation Sushruta suggested local medicines and surgical methods.

The tactics of treatment in ancient India, as well as in other countries of the ancient world, was determined primarily by the curability or incurability of the disease. With a favorable prognosis, the healer took into account the characteristics of the disease, season, age, temperament, strength and mind of the patient. The treatment was aimed at balancing the disturbed ratio of fluids (substances), which was achieved, firstly, with diet, secondly with drug therapy (emetic, laxative, diaphoretic, etc.), and thirdly with surgical methods of treatment, in which the ancient Indians achieved high perfection.

About the versatility of skills and. the knowledge of the ancient Indian healer 'is indicated by the well-known words of Sushruta: “A physician familiar with the healing properties of roots and herbs is a man; familiar with the properties of the knife and fire - demon; knowing the power of prayer, the prophet; the acquaintance with the properties of mercury is god! ”The best medicinal plants were delivered from the Himalayas. Only healers were engaged in the preparation of drugs, poisons and antidotes (from snake bites): “for those bitten by the Indian snake there was no healing if he did not turn to Indian healers — the Indians themselves cured those who had bitten” [Kdika ”. Xv. Ii].

The fame of the healing properties of Indian plants has spread widely beyond ancient India; by sea and land trade routes, they were brought to Parthia, the countries of the Mediterranean and Central Asia, the basins of the Caspian and Black Seas, South Siberia, China. The main export items were backgammon, musk, sandalwood, kinnamon, aloe and other plants and incense. In the Middle Ages, the experience of Indian medicine was borrowed by Tibetan healers, as evidenced by the famous treatise of the Indo-Tibetan medicine "Zhud-shi" (VIII — IX centuries AD., See p. 169).

Maternity in ancient India (Fig. 31) was considered an independent area of ​​healing. In the treatise Sushruty, the advice to pregnant women about keeping cleanliness and proper lifestyle is described in detail, deviations from the normal course of childbirth, fetal deformity, embryotomy (which was recommended in cases of impossibility of turning the fetus to the pedicle or head), caesarean section (used after the death of the pregnant woman to save the infant) are described. ) and the twist of the fetus on the leg, also described by the Roman doctor Soran in the II century, i.e., two centuries before Sushruta (in the Indian port of Aricalides in the I-II centuries. there was a Roman trading post; an investigator oh, it is possible that Soran could borrow this method from earlier Buddhist writings, which often mentions the successful cure by surgical healing).

The art of surgical treatment (surgery) in ancient India was the highest in the ancient world. Sushruta considered surgery "the first and best of all medical sciences, a precious piece of the sky (according to legend, the first surgeons were the sky healers - Ashwin's twins) as a sure source of fame." Having no idea about antisepsis and asepsis, Indian healers, following the customs of their country, have achieved careful adherence to the number of patients during operations. They are distinguished by courage, dexterity and excellent possession of tools.

Surgical instruments were made by experienced blacksmiths from steel, which they learned to make in India in ancient times, sharpened so that they could easily cut the hair they were stored in .10. special wooden korokah.

The healers of ancient India performed amputations of the limbs of la-: arotomy, stone-cutting, hernia repair, plastic surgery. They “were able to restore noses, ears and lips lost or mutilated in battle or by court sentence. In this area, Indian surgery was ahead of Europe until the 18th century, when surgeons from the East India Company did not consider it humiliating to learn the art of rhinoplasty in India, ”wrote A. Bzsh.

The method of rhinoplasty, described in detail in the treatise Sushruta, went down in history ^ under the name of the "Indian method". The skin flap for the formation of a future nose was cut on the vascular pedicle from the skin of the forehead or cheek. Other recovery operations on the face were performed in a similar way.

In India, the idols and traditions have long developed. Great importance was attached to personal hygiene, beauty and tidiness of the body, cleanliness of the home, the impact of climate and seasons on human health. Hygiene-4 empirical skills developed in the “Prescriptions Million”:

One should never eat food ... sick, not one that had hair or insects on it, either intentionally touched by a foot ... neither pecked by a bird, nor touched by a dog.

It is necessary to remove urine, water used for washing the feet, food debris and water used during the cleansing rites far from home.

In the morning you have to get dressed, bathe, brush your teeth, rub your eyes with a collirium; and honor the gods.

Disease prevention was one of the most important areas of Indian healing. Already in ancient times, attempts were made to prevent the disease of smallpox, widespread in India.

So, in the text, which is attributed to the legendary healer of antiquity Dhanvantari (dated to the 5th century AD), it says: “use pointers with a surgical knife, either from the udder of the cow, or from the hand of an already infected person, puncture between the elbow and the shoulder there is a fever on the arm of another person before the blood, and when the pus enters with the blood inside the body. ” (In Europe, smallpox vaccination was discovered by the English doctor E. Jenner in 1796).

Hygienic traditions contributed to the development of the medical business. In the Maurev Empire (4th — 2nd centuries BC.), Strict rules were in effect, prohibiting the release of sewage onto the streets of the city and regulating the place and methods of burning the corpses of the dead; in doubtful cases of death, an autopsy was prescribed; the body of the deceased was examined and covered with special oil in order to protect it from decomposition. Strict penalties were also established for mixing poisons with food, medicine, and incense.

At the time of Ashoka (268–231 BC), the most prominent ruler of ancient India (see Fig. 28), almshouses were built at Buddhist temples and rooms for patients — dharma-shala (hospitals) that appeared in India several centuries earlier than in Europe. Ashoka also encouraged the cultivation of medicinal plants, the construction of wells, and the landscaping of roads.

Somewhat later, during the period of the Gupt empire (4th — 6th centuries AD) —the golden age of Indian history — special houses were built in the country for the crippled, maimed, widows, orphans, and the sick. This era includes the activities of Susruty and his followers.

Medicine of ancient India was closely associated with religious and philosophical teachings, among which yoga occupies a special place. She combined religious philosophy, moral and ethical teaching and a system of exercises, poses (asanas). Much attention in yoga is given to cleanliness of the body and a peculiar way of life. The doctrine of yoga consists of two levels: hatha yoga (physical yoga) and raja yoga (mastery of the spirit). In modern India, yoga is practiced by healthy and sick (in yogotherapy clinics); research institutes continue to study this ancient empirical system.

The position of the physician in ancient India was not the same at the stages of history. In the Vedic period, practicing medicine was not reprehensible: even Agni and the Ashvina twins were respectfully called miraculous healers. By the end of antiquity, with the development of the caste system and social inequality, some studies (for example, surgery) began to be considered ritually “unclean”. However, in general, practicing medicine was a matter of great respect.

An important role in the development of healing in ancient India was played by monasteries and monks, among whom there were many knowledgeable healers. All the monks had some knowledge in the field of medicine, as providing medical assistance to the laity was considered a high virtue.

Among the centers of medical education a special place is occupied by the city of Taxila (ind. Takshashila). According to the Buddhist tradition, he studied Jivaka medicine for six years (6th-5th centuries BC) —the famous healer at the court of the Maadd King Bimbisara (according to the legend of Jivak he treated Buddha). After the Indian campaign of Alexander the Great, Taxila became the site of the settlement of the Greeks, who eventually indianized and influenced the development of local culture.

The student of medicine had to master all facets of the medical art: “The doctor, unskilled in operations, comes to the bed of the patient in confusion, like a cowardly soldier who first fell into the battle; the doctor, who only knows how to operate and who neglects theoretical information, does not deserve respect and can even endanger the lives of kings. Each of them owns only half of his art and looks like a bird with only one wing, ”recorded in Sushra-ta-samhita.

Upon graduation, the future Physician delivered a sermon that. given in "Charaka-samhita":

If you want to achieve success in your activities, wealth and glory and heaven after death ... You must wholeheartedly seek to heal the sick. You should not betray your patients even. at the cost of your own life ... You should not get drunk, should not do evil or have evil comrades ... Your speech should be pleasant ... You should be prudent and always strive to improve your knowledge ... About anything that occurs in the home of a sick person, you should not tell ... to anyone who, using the knowledge gained, could harm the patient or another.

Recorded in the I — II centuries. n Oe., this sermon bears the characteristics of its time, but in its basic provisions it is very similar to the Oath of the ancient Greek healers (recorded in the 3rd century BC). This demonstrates the common principles of medical ethics in the countries of the ancient world.

The medical ethics of ancient India strictly demanded that the healer, “who wishes to succeed in practice, be healthy, tidy, modest, patient, wear a short-cropped beard, carefully cleaned, cut off nails, white perfumed clothes, left the house only with a stick and an umbrella, especially he avoided chatter ... ". Remuneration for treatment was forbidden from demanding friends of the doctor and brahmans; and vice versa, if the wealthy people refused to pay for the treatment, the healer was awarded all their property. For improper treatment, the healer paid a fine depending on the social status of the patient.

In the classical period, traditional Indian medicine reached an apoy its development. By the time of ets, it coincides with the epoch of Hellenism and races by the color of the Roman Empire in the West, with which states ancient India had trade and cultural ties by land (from the 1st millennium BC) and the sea (from the 2nd century BC). ways. Throughout history, Indian medicine has had and continues to have a great influence on the development of medicine in various regions of the globe.