Materia Medica of Tibetan Medicine (with illustrations)

by Vaidya Bhagwan Dash

Contents:

1. Introduction
2. Drugs belonging to 33 groups (ganas) described in the sutra section (15th chapter of Astanga hrdaya)
3. Supplementary plants
4. Food and drinks
5. Animals and animal-products
6. Tree and its parts
7. Synonyms and Homonyms.
8. Indices:
   1. Tibetan names of drugs etc., with their Sanskrit &  Botanical/English equivalents
   2. Sanskrit names of drugs etc., with their Tibetan and Botanical/English equivalents
   3. Botanical/English names of drugs etc., with their Tibetan and Sanskrit equivalents
   4. Therapeutic indications of drugs.

The present work is divided into six sections.

• Section I deals with drugs belonging to 33 groups (ganas) described in Astanga hrdaya
• Section II deals with other drugs collected from different other sources, which included plants, metals, minerals, gems, jewels and some animal products
• Section III deals with ingredients of food and drinks
• Section IV: It deal with animals and animal-products
• Section V deals with tree etc., their parts and some technical terms used in medicine
• Section VI deals with synonyms and homonyms of the drugs.

At the end, four indices dealing with Tibetan, Sanskrit as well as Botanical/English names of drugs and their therapeutic properties are provided.

About the Author:

Vaidya Bhagwan Dash has had an outstandingly brilliant academic career. In addition to graduate and postgraduate qualifications in Ayurveda, he holds a Master's degree in Sanskrit and a Doctorate from University of Delhi. In the course of over thirty years dedicated to research and practice of Ayurveda, Dr. Dash has attended several international conferences and seminars held in Brazil, Mexico and France. He was invited to deliver a course of lectures in Ayurveda at the Patrice Lumumba Friendship University, Moscow and the Australian School of Ayurveda at Adelaide, South Australia. A sanskrit scholar; he handles the English language with equal felicity.

A significant advantage to his propensity for research in Ayurveda is Dr. Dash's proficiency in Tibetan Medicine. Author of over twenty-eight important publications covering different aspects of Ayurveda and Tibetan Medicine, he has to his credit an English translation and commentary of Caraka Samhita, the most authentic Ayurvedic classic. He was Deputy Adviser in Ayurveda to the Government of India in the Ministry of Health and F.W. till 1981, when he took voluntary retirement to enable him to devote more time for academic and research activities.

As a Consultant in Traditional Medicine of the World Health Organisation, he had paid several visits to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma and Mongolia to study and advise on the Health Development Programmes of those countries.