Eternal India Encyclopedia

Ancient Concepts, Sciences & Systems

Eternal India encyclopedia

LIFE SCIENCES IN ANCIENT INDIA

Archaeological excavations have revealed the evidences of cul- tivation of many cereals like wheat, barley etc. in ancient India pointing to their antiquity. Rig Veda, the earliest ever written record, has numerous refer- ences to plants. Banyan ( Nyagrodha ), Peepal ( Aswatha ) are men- tioned, besides Soma plant with its hallucinogenic properties. The Atharva Veda classifies trees into various types such as Vishaka (spreading branches), Manjari (leaves in long clusters), St - hambhini (bushy), Prastanavati (expanding type), Amshumati (many culms) etc. The Vajasneyi Samhita and Taittereya Samhita identify the various parts of the plant as follows - Mula (root), Tula (Shoot), Kanda (Stem), Valsa (twig), Puspa (flower) etc. The epic Mahabharata has certain verses in Santiparva which speak of the sensory perceptions of plants. Absorption of food materials including water from the soil, their movement in the plant upwards and the preparation of food is also mentioned in the Santiparva of Mahabharata. The term Padapa (that which sucks from its base) for trees is an indication of water absorption from soil. The phenomenon of ascent of sap through transpiration pull is also clearly illustrated in a verse which states - just as water may be drawn up by sucking through the lotus petiole applied to the mouth, ( Vaktrenotpalanalena yathordham jalama- dadeth), so also plants absorb water with the help of air ( Tatha pavana samyuktaha, padai pibathi padapaha). The water with the food materials combines with Agni (energy of Sun) and Marutha (air-C0 2 ) in the plant and help it to grow. Secular texts like Arthasastra of Kautilya, Brihat Samhita of Varahamihira and Amarakosha of Amara Simha have numerous references to plants. The Arthasastra of Kautilya (4 Cent. B.C.) is in the form of advice to the prospective king who should know everything about the statecraft. Methods of sowing, planting and economic uses of plants have been given in detail. The Brihat Samhita (5 Cent. A.D.) is an encyclopaedic work having a chapter on Vrkshayurveda. Varahamihira, the author, gives methods of vegetative propagation, details of transplanta- tion, use of green manure etc. Of greater interest in this chapter is an account of plant disease and their treatment. Plant diseases are classified into four types Pandupatrata (Chlorosis), Pravala Avridhi (falling off of buds), Sakhasosha (Drying of branches) Rasasruti (gummosis). Application of cow dung, ghee, extract of many medicinal herbs is prescribed as treatment for the plant diseases.

Ancient Indians had a profound knowledge of the living world around them and were second to none in pressing the biological en- vironment to human service. Many Western historians of biology like Nordenskiold, Bodenheimer etc however have very little to say about the contributions of ancient Indians to biology. This is largely due to the lack of knowledge of Sanskrit which is the chief reposi- tory of ancient Indian wisdom. As the following paragraphs will show there is enormous evidence (literary, archaeological, folklore, sculptural etc) to indicate that the biological knowledge of ancient Indians compares more than favourably with that of contemporary Western civilizations. PLANT SCIENCE Ayurveda , the celebrated ancient Indian medical science, had reached very exacting standards as early as the first century B.C. The fact that Ayurveda very heavily depends on the vegetable kingdom for its medicinal sources is a clear indicator to show that ancient Indians must have had a thorough understanding of the flora from the point of view of their growth, cultivation, identification, classification, chemical properties etc. The ancient Indian name for botany is Vrkshayurveda. The fact that plant science in ancient India had developed as a separate sci- entific discipline can be proved by the observation of Vatsyayana, the author of Kamasutra, who regards Vrkshayurveda as one of the 64 branches of knowledge. The codification of botanical knowledge scattered in various Sanskrit texts perhaps started a little earlier to the beginning of the Christian era. As the legend goes, Parasara who is hailed as the father of Indian botany, was requested by the sages assembled in the Chitraratha forest (during the course of a scientific symposium) to let them know details of plant science. Upon their request Parasara codified all the available botanical knowledge in the form of Vrkshayurveda. Unfortunately, the full text of Parasara’s Vrkshayurveda is not extant, while a few ex- cerpts have been published here and there. A historian of Indian botany therefore has to collate information available as scattered references in the entire gamut of Sanskrit literature. Information on plants is available in (i) religious or ritualistic literature (ii) lay literature and (iii)technical literature. The reli- gious literature includes Vedas, Upanishads, Aranyakas, Braha- maws, Epics etc; the lay literature includes — prose, poetry, drama etc., while the technical literature which is purely secular in content includes medicinal literature and Vrkshayurveda texts. A few of the Vrkshayurveda texts are available in Oriental libraries in India and abroad.