Short THREAD on Medical education in ancient Bharat.
Important points:
1) Candidates from all 4 Varnas were eligible to enroll as medical students.
2) Special Upanayana ceremony was conducted for students seeking admission to medical courses.
(1)
3) The student was expected to be proficient in Sanskrit.
4) Rote learning was discouraged. This is said by the great Sushruta himself.
5) Different medical specialization courses were offered.
6) Emphasis was laid on practical training in surgery & pharmacy.
(2)
7) Beginner students were taught how to hold medical instruments by teachers. They practiced dissection procedures first on pumpkins, cucumbers followed by dead animals.
8) Students were also taught suturing techniques.
(3)
9) Emphasis was put on training the students in dissection. Advanced students practiced it on dead bodies.
10) Students were required to have a throughout knowledge of the human anatomy.
11) The quality of medical education imparted in Bharat was the highest for that era.
(4)
12) Large medical colleges (Arogyavihara) existed in cities like Pataliputra where some of the students received training in advanced medical techniques
13) Hindu doctors were renowned for their proficiency. Arabs invited Hindu doctors to arab peninsula to teach & supervise
(5)
14) The following is an extract from the Charakasamhitha Vimanasthana. It was an oath initiated to students on completion of their course.
Some of the points mentioned here:
A) Everyday you should continuously & wholeheartedly try to promote the health of your patients.
(6)
B) Even if your own life is in danger you should not desert your patients.
C) Your speech should be smooth, polished, truthful & to the point.
D) You must treat as strictly confidential all information about the patient & their family.
(7)
E) You should make a deliberate endeavor to increase the stock of your knowledge & instruments.
F) Where there is a danger of the patient or any of his relatives receiving a shock, you should not divulge the impending death of the patient, even when you are aware of it.
(8)
G) Though well grounded in your line, you much not praise your knowledge much. One can never get a mastery of the entire medical science.
H) A wise physician should listen to & derive benefit from the discoveries & observations of even an enemy.
(9)
Ancient Hindu doctors were regarded as among the best in the world. They were experts in performing various advanced medical procedures including cataract surgery.
Hindu doctors trained & imparted medical knowledge to lesser evolved societies like the arabs.
(10)
Source: Education in Ancient India by AS Altekar.
/end
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Namaste friends🙏 Had the good fortune of having a darshana at one of the most iconic temples of Bharat last week, the ancient Pallava era Kailasanatha Temple at Kanchi.
This is a thread on the temple's history, architecture & sculptures. There is so much to share. Do read. 🕉️
Firstly, brief history of the temple. It was built during the 8th century by Pallava emperor Rajasimha. The temple also goes by the name Rajasimheshwara. This temple served as the architectural blueprint for the Chalukyas & later Rashtrakutas for their temples at Vatapi & Ellora.
There is a Pallava-Granta inscription in the temple that praises Rajasimha as a great ruler. He is praised as having mastered the vedas and shaiva siddhantha. He is compared to Indra & Kubera
Some of the titles used by Rajasimha were Ishanacharana, Sivachudamani, Kalasamudra.
A detailed THREAD on the history, architecture & sculpture of the Hoysala built Chennakeshava Temple at Somanathapura, Karnataka.
This is going to be a long one & it took me a while to piece all the information together. Do continue reading till the end. Lets's start 🕉️ (1)
The Keshava temple was constructed by Somanatha Dandanayaka on receiving funds from reigning King Narasimha III. This temple was consecrated in 1238 CE & is considered the last major temple building activity undertaken by the Hoysalas. (2)
In front of the entrance of the temple is a 10mt high Dipasthambha. The Temple is enclosed in a prakara wall & is entered through a mantapa on the east. To the left of this mantapa is a 3mt high slab with inscription in both Kannada & Sanskrit dating to the reign of Narasimha (3)
A Thread on the history, architecture, paintings and sculpture at The Veerabhadra swamy temple in Lepakshi, Andhra. The temple represents the awe inspiring architectural brilliance of the Vijayanagara Empire. (1)
Hanumalinga shrine is located at the southwest corner of the pradaksina path that surrounds the garbhagrha & antarala (vestibule) of the Veerabhadra shrine. The entrance to this shrine is situated in the southwest corner of the pradaksina wall. (57)
Facing the east, the shrine consists solely of the garbhagriha, which houses a linga placed on a vedi (pedestal). Above the roof is a four faced Nagara Shikhara. (58)
Da Vinci was undoubtedly a great innovator. But 500 years before him was Paramara Bhoja. He authored the Samarangana Sutradhara, a multi disciplinary text, where he describes building advanced warfare machines including mechanized soliders! This is 500 years before Da Vinci! (1)
Bhoja's legendary work, the Samarangana Sutradhara has no parallel for its time. In this particular chapter called Yantra vidhanam, he describes the method of building advanced mechanical devices like Golakabhramana, Jalayantra & many others. (2)
Bhoja talks about a number of advanced mechanical devices which he calls as "Yantras"
He defines a Yantra as " The device by which the mahabhutas like earth, water, fire, air & ether are controlled. When the free & natural activities of these mahabhutas...cont...(3)
THREAD. Chief reasons for the decline of Buddhism in India listed out by historian scholar PV Kane.
1) People realised the dangers of buddhist teachings of constantly being preached on how the world is a place of suffering & giving up on all desires etc
(1)
2) Hindu concept of 4 Ashrama system gave men a real purpose in life. Inculcated discipline in them, unlike Buddhist philosophy that threatened the very stability & continuance of human society that gradually led to loss of physical & mental vitality, idleness & race suicide
(2)
3) Later Buddhists strayed so much from the original teachings of buddha, in the process they simply ended up copying Hindu ideals like Bhakti. The line between Buddhism & Hinduism got so thin that the former got subsumed in the vast superior ocean that is Hindu dharma.
After turushka invader muhammad khalji destroyed nalanda & vikramashila, his hordes set eye in tibet. On the way back, his men were ambushed by Vallabhadeva's army. Vallabhadeva was the then ruler of Assam. In the battle many turushkas were killed. An inscription records this.
For the next century and a half, turushkas kept trying to push into Assam & failed. Some were mortally wounded & their armies destroyed. Resistance to turushkas by Hindu assamese is a great inspirational story.
When turushka malik yuzbak decided to invade Assam in 1257 CE, the then Hindu king set up a well planned trap which led to malik being captured & executed. His army was destroyed too. The Hindu king who led this operation is identified as Kamateshvara Sandhya.