Ayurvedic Medicine
Ayurvedic Medicine An ancient medical practice in the Indian subcontinent for treating diseases. When the British came to India, the Indian medical system included Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, and various types of folk medicine. In the nineteenth century, the Ayurvedic professionals or doctors of Bengal were mainly members of upper-caste Hindu families and were proficient in Sanskrit. There was a kind of traditional relationship between doctors and patients. In addition to diagnosing the disease, the doctor advised the patient to follow a proper diet and follow other rules and regulations while taking medicine. To ensure the purity of the ingredients of the medicine and the proper process of preparation of the medicine, the Doctor would give the medicine to the patient only by hand or under his own supervision. Renowned Ayurvedic physicians used to teach ancient Sanskrit lessons to the students in Tole. The students also assisted the doctors in treating the patients and making medicines and thus gained the necessary practical experience. Kumartuli and Murshidabad were famous for their medicinal, vascular, and diagnostic properties.
In the first few decades of the nineteenth century, Indian and Western medical systems were prevalent. Western medical researchers have a great deal of interest in this indigenous medical system. By the end of the eighteenth century, medicine had become a symbol of Indian civilization. Orientalists have strongly argued that there is an ancient system of medicine in India that is searchable. To rediscover this knowledge, it is necessary to take the initiative to search the ancient Sanskrit manuscripts. The efforts of scholars such as Sir William Jones, an orientalist, have largely turned critical ancient medical writings into critical and systematic research.
After establishing Calcutta Medical College in 1835, the Ayurvedic educational institutions faced a lack of government support and financial crisis. Gangadhar Roy was born in a village in Jessore in 1789 and was educated in Ayurvedic medicine at Ramakant Sen’s Tole. After completing his education, he went to Calcutta to start his career. Another purpose of his visit to Calcutta was to publish the famous Sanskrit work ‘Charak-Sanhita.’ Going to Calcutta found out that a person there had an exact copy of the Charak-Sanhita. Gangadhar Roy was in Calcutta from 1819 to 1835. He left the city because the weather there was not conducive to his health. Then he settled at Saidabad in Bahrampur. He opened a toll in his house for the purpose of teaching disciples. Gangadhar became famous for diagnosing diseases and using poisonous herbs. He made great contributions to the field of Ayurveda by writing the well-known discussion of Charak-Sanhita, Jalpakalpataru, and commentaries on other Sanskrit works. He died in 1885, but his disciples continued his work.
The movement for the revival of indigenous medicine from the late nineteenth century onwards had three main forms: compilation and dissemination of knowledge in ancient and later Ayurvedic scriptures, the institutionalization of education and training system, and preparation and marketing of Ayurvedic medicine. Vijayaratna Sen, a student of Ganga Prasad Sen, translated one of the three ancient Sanskrit works on Ayurveda into Bengali. He was educated in a tol, but learned English and learned about allopathy. He initiated a trend of combining allopathy and Ayurveda, which his student Jamini Bhushan Roy took further. Chandrakishore Sen, a younger contemporary of Gangadhar, opened a small dispensary in Calcutta in 18. There he used to sell medicines at low prices. Within twenty years, CK Sen & Co. became a large-scale pharmaceutical company.
As a result of the Ayurveda movement, some institutes were successfully established where indigenous and western medicine were taught. But the movement failed to revive indigenous medicine or gain official status equal to Western medicine. In addition, the Ayurveda movement was further weakened by internal strife between the proponents of maintaining the purity of traditional Ayurveda and the amalgamation of indigenous and Western medicine, which continued after 1947. The popularity of Ayurvedic medicine in Bangladesh is gradually disappearing.