Glossary
of
Sanskrit and Tibetan Medical Terms
with
English equivalents

EUGENY EUGENOVICH OBERMILLER (1901-1935) wrote in 1935 on the ASHTANGA HRIDAYA SAMHITA:

"This work of VAGBHATA is undoubtedly of very great importance for us, for it is a direct connecting link between India and Tibetan medical literature. It enjoys such a position because there is a complete and accurate translation of it in Tibetan language ... On studying the original and translation together, it would become possible to establish correctly the terminological parallels in both the languages; we would know that such and such Sanskrit technical terms, words and expressions have equivalents in the Tibetan language permanently corresponding to them;... the translations of Sanskrit works into the Tibetan language were made by Tibetan translators with the greatest accuracy and the rules worked out for this were most rigid, aiming at uniformity in translations and terminology."

[OBERMILLER, E. E., " Ways of Studying Tibetan Medical Literature", Tibetan Medicine, Series No. 12, LTWA. Dharamsala 1989. p. 9.]

Ayurveda

    The system of medicine that today is known as Ayurveda (Sk. ayur - life; veda - science) is based on the ancient knowledge brought by the Aryans into the Indus Valley and mingled with the indigenous traditions that were closely related to the Elam, Sumer and Crete civilisations.

    The main source of the Aryan knowledge was the Vedas, said to be revealed by Brahma, the creator, to the Sages around 6000 years before the Christian era. The vedic medical knowledge was later systematically codified in the various traditional schools of Indian medicine, such as the Ayurvedic School of Surgery of Susruta, the schools of Caraka, Atreya Punarvasu, Agnivesha and the Southern Siddha School of Medicine.

    Ayurveda spread along with Buddhism across the Asian continent to Tibet, Mongolia and Siberia, as well as Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Bali, and earlier along the western trade routes to the Arab countries from where its influence reached Greece and the rest of Europe.

    The approach towards health and illness in Ayurveda, as in most Asian medical  cultures, comprises the equilibrium of the five elements Earth, Water, Fire, Wind/Air and Space/Ether in the close inter-relationship between body and mind within the socio-cultural and environmental surroundings.

Sorig Tibetan Medicine

    Sorig (Tib. gso ba - healing; rig pa - science) is the ancient healing art that developed in Tibet over a period of more than 2000 years. After early influences from Central Asia, Sorig was further refined through intensive cultural and scientific exchange with India, China, Persia and other neighbouring countries. The medical philosophy remained closely related to the teachings of the Buddha, whereas the medical practice absorbed influences from different cultures. Between the 7th and 12th centuries AD numerous Sanskrit medical treatises reached Tibet and were gradually translated into Tibetan. Those translations formed the basis of Tibetan medical literature which nevertheless developed its own unique character.

    Many lost original Sanskrit palm leaf manuscripts survived the Islamic conquest in India only on the high plateau of Tibet and are still available to us in the form of translated Tibetan xylographs.

    Because of the accuracy of the word-for-word translations from Sanskrit to Tibetan and the nature of the Tibetan script, that is based on Devanagari, the reconstruction of the lost Sanskrit texts is possible. Since the 12th century AD there has been hardly any dialogue in comparative medical research between Ayurvedic and Sorig scholars and practitioners. Today both traditions are practised separately in various countries attempting to integrate valuable traditional therapeutic methods into modern clinical practice.

Project Review 1998 - 2000

    In 1998, Maxim Woroshilov, Ph.D., Department of Indian Philology, St. Petersburg State University, prepared 5000 Sanskrit and English entries of medical terms extracted from the ancient Ayurvedic treatise Ashtanga Hridaya Samhita by Vagbhata (7th century), during his stay at ITTM in Kalimpong.

    In 1999, the electronic version of the Sanskrit text was made available by Prof. Dr. Ronald Eric Emmerick, Hamburg, Germany. A copy of the German translation of the text by Hilgenberg and Kirfel (Leiden 1942), was sent to ITTM by Dr. Gerhard Mentzel, Zwesten, Germany, in 2000. We especially thank Ms. Sylvester from Berlin for her time and effort to prepare photocopies of the three volumes. An electronic version of the German translation is being prepared.

    The Asia Classics Input Project (ACIP) Centre of the Sera Mey Monastery, South India, provided the electronic version of the Tibetan text. The work is being checked and corrected by Shedup Tenzin, doctoral candidate, Dept. of Buddhist Studies, Delhi University, who is well-versed in the Sanskrit and Tibetan languages.

    ITTM has enlarged the scope of the glossary database by including the entire texts apart from the glossary of medical terms. Sorin Suciu, a Sanskritist from Bucharest, Romania, who has been involved in the project since 1997, has continued his work of preparing the appropriate software and database design. Edward Henning, Vice President, Labs, VNU Business Publication Limited, London, UK, a senior computer professional and a dedicated scholar of Sanskrit and Tibetan languages with years of translation experience aceeded to be the Honorary Advisor of the Project.

    The Mongolian Ambassador to India, H. E. Oidov Nyamdavaa, who visited ITTM in May 2000, inspired the inclusion of the Mongolian version of Ashtanga Hridaya Samhita. The electronic fonts of old and modern Mongolian were kindly provided by Dr. B. Boldsaikhan, Head of the Clinic of Traditional Medicine, Govt. Central Hospital and System Science Research Centre of the Mongolian Technical University, Ulaanbaatar. Efforts are being made to locate a qualified scholar with good knowledge in Tibetan, old Mongolian and English to work on this part of the database during a proposed research visit at ITTM in Kalimpong. Dr. Natsagdorj, Director of the Manba Datsan - Clinic and Training Centre for Traditional Mongolian Medicine, Ulaanbaatar, offered to provide the Mongolian version of the text and send one of his qualified doctors for the project work to India for a period of six months. ITTM is looking forward to raising the required funds for this project, which would include travel and accommodation costs and a modest honorarium.

Present Methodology

The methodology of the glossary has been outlined in a separate project profile that was published in the ITTM Annual Report 1998/99 and also presented at the International Congress of Tibetan Medicine in Washington DC, November 7-9, 1998.
In brief, the project work comprises six phases:

Conclusion

The Glossary of Sanskrit and Tibetan medical terms with their German and English equivalents has been designed to identify, select and arrange the medical terminology of a traditional Ayurvedic text (7th century) and its Tibetan translation (11th century). The medical terminology of this specific historical text will aid research and translations of Tibetan medical texts also of later centuries. The glossary will help in understanding the Indian origin as compared to Chinese, Persian and other influences of neighbouring countries to Tibetan medicine. The database also presents a key to the understanding of Ayurveda and Tibetan medicine to medical students, practising physicians and interested patients and scholars.

Considerable work is ahead to complete this glossary database, and ITTM is eager to invite qualified Sanskrit and Tibetan language scholars with special interest in traditional medicine for a period of six months to one year. ITTM will provide simple food and accommodation at Vijnana Niwas in Kalimpong and a modest monthly stipend.

For details contact