{"id":296682,"date":"2025-10-12T07:03:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T07:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/296682\/"},"modified":"2025-10-12T07:03:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T07:03:10","slug":"education-ministrys-book-traces-ayurveda-back-to-ancient-health-meet-lists-tenets-of-indian-knowledge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/296682\/","title":{"rendered":"Education ministry\u2019s book traces Ayurveda back to ancient health meet, lists tenets of Indian knowledge"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Delhi:<\/strong> A newly released book by the Union Education Ministry\u2019s Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) division spotlights India\u2019s ancient contributions to science, including an account of a health conference held thousands of years ago at the foothills of the Himalayas.<\/p>\n

The book highlights how ancient Indian teachers\u2014key contributors to Ayurveda\u2014gathered to discuss ailments affecting not just humans, but also animals and plants. It traces Ayurveda\u2019s roots to the Vedas, and dates its codification to at least 4,000 years ago\u2014predating Hippocrates, known as father of Western medicine, by over 1,500 years.<\/p>\n

The book, \u2018Indian Knowledge Systems: India\u2019s Contribution to Science \u2013 Volume 1\u2019, is authored by eight academicians and edited by G.K. Venkataraman, former curator at the National Council of Science Museums, and Professor Ganti S. Murthy, professor at IIT Indore and National Coordinator for the IKS division.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tShow Full Article<\/p>\n

It features eight chapters, including the origins of IKS, Indian astronomy and instruments, ancient mathematics and chemistry, Ayurveda, medicinal plants, and traditional sustainable agriculture.<\/p>\n

Additionally, it highlights how colonisation severely damaged India\u2019s Indigenous knowledge systems, which had evolved over thousands of years. It also mentions how the revival of yoga and Ayurveda played a key role in the revival of IKS.<\/p>\n

The book is meant for higher education institutions, research scholars and anyone who is interested in knowing about IKS, the Division said.<\/p>\n

Describing the book as a celebration of India\u2019s rich intellectual legacy, the editors note stated, \u201cThis book is a testament to the ingenuity, creativity, and wisdom of ancient Indian scholars and scientists who made significant contributions to various fields of knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n

They further said that the book will not only \u201cinspire\u201d readers to explore India\u2019s knowledge traditions but also serve as \u201can essential compass for anyone looking to navigate the vast and vibrant ocean of Indian knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also Read: <\/b>Back to the future: Govt launches national contest to recreate India\u2019s traditional astronomy tools<\/a><\/p>\n

Focus on Ayurveda<\/strong><\/p>\n

The book describes a \u201cremarkable\u201d and \u201cwell-documented\u201d event in the history of \u0100yurveda\u2014a conference on health and disease management held thousands of years ago, whose proceedings have survived to this day.<\/p>\n

According to the book, \u0100yurvedic \u0101c\u0101ryas (teachers) from across India and neighbouring regions gathered on the slopes of the Himalayas with the shared goal of addressing the growing issue of ill-health.<\/p>\n

The discussions focused on the emergence of diseases that were affecting the longevity and happiness of all living beings.<\/p>\n

During the conference, the book stated, Bharadv\u0101ja (a vedic sage) presented the foundational concepts of \u0100yurveda, outlining the three core principles of etiology (the scientific study of the causes of disease), symptomatology (the set of symptoms characteristic of a medical condition or exhibited by a patient), and therapeutics as essential to achieving well-being.<\/p>\n

These principles, it said, were thoroughly debated and ultimately accepted by the scholars as the basis of a structured medical system.<\/p>\n

The conference was chaired by Atreya, one of Bharadv\u0101ja\u2019s renowned students, the book notes, citing references from the Charaka Samhita, a foundational Sanskrit text on Ayurveda.<\/p>\n

The book also mentioned the names of at least 50 scholars who had attended that conference.<\/p>\n

It also carries an illustration depicts an ancient eye surgery on a horse, based on the \u015a\u0101lihotra Sa\u1e43hit\u0101, a classical Sanskrit veterinary text, highlighting the advanced medical knowledge of ancient Indian veterinarians in treating animal ailments.<\/p>\n

The book states that modern medicine is increasingly embracing holistic approaches, recognising the role of diet, lifestyle, and mental health\u2014areas long addressed by \u0100yurveda. \u201cAll these ideas already find practical expression in the way \u0100yurveda understands and manages health and disease. This underscores the continuing relevance and importance of \u0100yurveda in today\u2019s healthcare landscape,\u201d it stated.<\/p>\n

Emphasising that Ayurveda has a \u201ccrucial role\u201d to play in modern healthcare, the book states that it should not be seen merely as a reminder of past glory but as a living example of India\u2019s knowledge system with contemporary relevance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIts vast clinical experience, accumulated and documented meticulously over millennia, should be utilised to benefit those who suffer,\u201d the book stated.<\/p>\n

Colonisation effects<\/strong><\/p>\n

The book explains that colonisation was not just political takeover, but a complete system of control\u2014economic, cultural, and intellectual. To justify their rule, colonisers portrayed Indian society as \u201cbarbaric and uncivilized,\u201d masking exploitation under a so-called \u201ccivilising mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

It outlines three overlapping phases: \u201cbrutal conquest, economic exploitation, and intellectual subjugation.\u201d That began with violent invasions, such as the Arab conquest of Sindh in 712 CE, where sacred sites like the Shiva temple at Debal were destroyed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis physical destruction was a calculated strategy to demoralize the populace and uproot the sacred geography that had bound the civilization together for millennia,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

The Portuguese followed with the Goa Inquisition in the 16th century, during which \u201ca royal decree in 1560 CE outlawed Hindu temples and rituals\u201d and punished those who resisted conversion.<\/p>\n

British colonisation brought systematic economic exploitation. After gaining control in 1757, \u201ctrillions of dollars were siphoned from India to Britain,\u201d and traditional industries like textiles were dismantled. Policies prioritising profit over people led to massive suffering, including the Great Bengal Famine of 1770, which \u201cclaimed up to ten million lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Intellectual colonisation, it said, came through the English Education Act of 1835. Thomas Macaulay aimed to create a class which was \u201cIndian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the book states that despite this, India\u2019s resilience endured. \u201cDecolonization and colonisation proceeded simultaneously,\u201d and the revival of IKS continues today, reclaiming a rich intellectual legacy, it adds.<\/p>\n

(Edited by Tony Rai)<\/p>\n

Also Read:<\/b> Centre forms expert panel to review UGC draft curriculum amid concerns over \u2018grave defects\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

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