Triveni Journal

1927 | 11,233,916 words

Triveni is a journal dedicated to ancient Indian culture, history, philosophy, art, spirituality, music and all sorts of literature. Triveni was founded at Madras in 1927 and since that time various authors have donated their creativity in the form of articles, covering many aspects of public life....

The Medicine Man: A Forerunner

R. Suryanarayana Murthy

In the world of disease, where billions are prey to myriad troubles.
Giving them sleepless nights.
When anxiety and worry about the dawn of the morrow
Keeps persons in high tension and low spirits
The presence of a doctor by the bedside
Could be the greatest of boons.

Not for nothing the medicine man was glorified by the early tribes
He is nicknamed sorcerer by modern pundits
But could be truly a scientist with an all-embracing role,
Using his medical knowledge for political gain
While compelling death to take a glance and pass by
Instead of pouncing on his patients with its piercing claws.

In ancient Taxila a student searches and searches in vain
To find one plant or herb not useful for man
In the vast herbal garden adjacent to his school
Is it an insignia of acquisition of highest knowledge?
Or is it the starting point of research?
As no visible sign there is to set a limit to knowledge horizons
Which seem to recede further and further
The more the knowledge is acquired.

In Mahabharata a tribal chief,
Practising the highest arts in life saving game
Befools Takshaka, the serpent king,
By bringing to life a tree
Reduced into cinder by its venomous fangs
A miracle indeed but medical science presents many such miracles

The great Asoka built many a hospital for man and beast
To restore life or give it a fresh lease
A time when sciences and arts mingled in harmony
To make life less miserable to man.

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