Ārogyasamskṛti – The Ayurveda Component
Indian civilization has been a very health-conscious culture and nurtured a rich and diverse system of health care comprising folk and classical streams of knowledge. The dictum “health is the basis for the pursuit of the goals of human life” has inspired the development of a people-oriented health care system. So much so that the spectrum of non-Ayurvedic Sanskrit literature across centuries has codified a wealth of health-related information that is not found even in Ayurvedic texts. Two hundred forty such texts have been identified already. An explicit reference to the tridoṣas as gunas (properties) rather than dravyas (substances) is found only in the Mahābharata. Different methods of bathing depending on the health of the individual are described in works like Jābālasmṛti, Ācāramayūkha, Manusmṛti, and so on, which is missing in classical Ayurvedic texts. Ayurvedic texts describe protocols for eating food properly, but the exact recommended timing for meals is described in non-Ayurvedic literature like Mahābharata. The systematic compilation, classification, and development of a comprehensive, searchable database of such knowledge with relevant linkages to Ayurvedic texts will serve as a valuable resource to revitalize the people-oriented health culture of India.
The work on Ārogyasamskṛti will be implemented in the following phases.
- Compilation of health information content from non-Ayurvedic Sanskrit texts (240 such texts have been identified already) missing in Āyurveda texts. The Vaidyakiya Subhashitam of Govinda Bhaskar Ghanekar illustrates the health information available in non-Ayurvedic Sanskrit texts in a non-medical context1. Mathpati et al. have pointed out the loss of traditional knowledge on health due to the medicalization of Ayurveda.
- Compilation of additional content from other unexplored non-Ayurvedic Sanskrit sources through a random search of articles, books, and personal communication with renowned scholars.
- Translation and critical analysis of compiled content and classification into specific Ayurvedic Subject Headings (ASH). ASH will be organized in a tree format with headings and sub-headings. For converting the collected information into a searchable database.
- Linking the ASH terms with relevant sections of classical Ayurvedic texts like Carakasaṃhitā, Suśrutasaṃhitā, Aṣṭāṅgasaṅgraha, etc. This exercise will help identify and contrast unique health information from non-Ayurvedic Sanskrit literature.
- Organising the compiled content into a searchable database of classified health information from non-Ayurvedic Sanskrit texts with relevant linkages to Ayurvedic texts.
- Chrono-geographical mapping of the source texts highlights the continuous dissemination of health information through non-medical literature across centuries in different geographical regions of the country.
- Critical study of health information in non-Ayurvedic texts concerning Ayurvedic texts and modern health sciences. This exercise will become the basis for generating content for research papers, popularization narratives, and identifying seed ideas for further research.
Pāṭhavimarśātmaka saṃpādana and adhyayana of Aṣṭādhyāyī – The Vyākaraṇa Component
The study of Aṣṭādhyāyi has constituted a necessary component of the traditional curriculum in this country for the last nearly 2000 years. Since Böthlingk’s first edition was published in 1848, it has been widely studied in the West. The second edition of this work in 1888 is regarded as the standard in India and the West. Several Indian editions of the Aṣṭādhyāyi have been published since 1932. However, a critical edition of the text based on the rigorous methodology of textual criticism has, till today, remained a desideratum. Such a critical edition is even more necessary because the sūtrapāṭha shows variations within the Pāṇinian tradition. For instance, the text of the sūtrās found in the Kāśikāvṛtti, the first full-fledged commentary on the Aṣṭādhyāyi, differs in a considerable number of places from that known to the foremost commentators, Kātyayana and Patañjali. Again, Bhattoji Dikshit, the author of the Vaiyākaraṇa-siddhāntakaumudī, a sixteenth-century commentary on the rearranged sūtrapāṭha, appears to combine both the traditions in the text accepted by him. An urgent need is, therefore, felt to publish a critical edition of Pāṇini’s Aṣṭādhyāyī.
- Collection of manuscripts and printed editions
MSS. of the Aṣṭādhyāyi are preserved in libraries spread across India and other parts of the world. All accessible MSS. will be procured and collated. The following criteria will be considered for classifying the collected manuscripts – i. The year in which the MSS. is written, ii. The script, iii. The region
All well-known and standardized editions of the Aṣṭādhyāyī will be utilized (For instance- the editions compiled by Böhtlingk3, Cardona4, Dixit5, etc.). Further, the traditions of sūtrapāṭha by Patañjali6, the author of Kāśikā7 as well as of the Siddhāntakaumudī8 will be subjected to comparison. A comparison between the printed texts can be, indeed, benefit from working. - Collation and comparison of different traditions and commentaries:
Aṣṭādhyāyī has a wide range of articles. An analytical comparison between Kāśikā, Siddhāntakaumudī, and Prakriyāsārasarvasva9 will be made.
Yogavibhāga [Yoga means a sūtra. The term Yogavibhāga stands for the division of a sūtra traditionally given as one. The split is followed for the formulation of certain words] introduced by Patañjali and Kātyāyana, and the tradition accepts variations caused by them. Several times, these Yogavibhāga are continued in the later versions. A severe academic attempt will be made to assess Yogavibhāga. - Preparation of critically edited text with critical notes:
After primary textual criticism based on written as well as printed traditions is completed, the text of the Aṣṭādhyāyī will be subjected to textual criticism, which will mainly consist of
i.Separating Vārtika-s from the sūtrapāṭha, ii. Searching for later interpolations, and iii. finding out the emendations in the original sutras.
Critical notes and observations will thus accompany the zero draft of the critically edited text.
Parīkṣāpaddhati – The Darśana Component
Darśanas are generally perceived as dealing primarily with philosophy and spirituality. However, Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, and Sāṅkhya have developed an epistemological and ontological framework blending science and spirituality for knowledge creation. This can be formulated into a rigorous research methodology and integrated with modern scientific methods. Such a tool will help to conduct proper research in IKS domains. The project team has experience in this area concerning Āyurveda.
These activities will exemplify the synergy of the chosen focus areas for this project as enunciated in VākyapadĪya – kāyavāgbuddhiviṣayā ye malāḥ samupasthitāḥ | cikitsālakṣaṇādhyātmaśāstraisteṣāṃ viśuddhayaḥ|| The impurities of the body, speech and intellect can be removed with Āyurveda, Vyākaraṇa, and Darśana.
There is consensus about the need for interdisciplinary research to foster the development of IKS in the contemporary world. However, it is found that modern scientific research methods are applied to IKS disciplines without examining suitability and appropriateness. An integrated research methodology based on epistemology and ontological framework of IKS adopting appropriate current scientific practices and tools is the first step to promoting meaningful research in IKS.
- Systematic review of published literature discussing methods of knowledge creation in especially Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, and Sāṅkhya Darśanas. The focus will be on methods of personal verification using tools of pratyakṣa (direct observation) and anumāna (inference based on observations) as opposed to codified knowledge accepted based on trust in the form of āptopadeśa (teachings of experts). The guiding principle in this exercise is the statement of Ādi Śaṅkara – na ca pratyakṣavirodhe śruteḥ prāmāṇyaṃ – Scripture does not become an authority when refuted by direct observation. And further, his categorical idea that “even if a hundred Vedic texts claim that fire is cold and devoid of light, it cannot be accepted10.”
- Corroboration of findings from a systematic review of published work with source texts of the relevant Darśanas. The aim is to identify and extract approaches in the Darśanas that support verification through direct observation and inference as a tool for validating knowledge. Understanding the scope of immediate confirmation in knowledge creation and transmission will create the conceptual space for integrating IKS with modern scientific research methods.
- The above concepts will be studied in the context of Āyurveda, an example of IKS that has been subjected to modern scientific research methods. Specific focus will be on the technique of parīkṣā or investigation expounded in the Carakasaṃhitā, which involves verification of Āptopadeśa using the tools of Pratyakṣa and Anumāna. Of interest is the emphasis laid on distinguishing chance effect (yadṛcchā siddhi) and natural effect (prātiniyamikī siddhi)12 when assessing outcomes of clinical interventions. The scope of direct verification through analysis of observations in the field of Āyurveda will be identified.
- In light of the above findings, a methodology for validating IKS disciplines like Āyurveda will be drafted based on the methods described in Darśanas and applied in Āyurveda. Areas of convergence and divergence with modern scientific research methods will be identified. This document will highlight the most appropriate and suitable areas for integrating ancient knowledge creation practices and current scientific research methods. This document will be a white paper for developing an integrated research methodology to validate IKS.
