Surgery, Apothecaries and Ritual: A Comparative Study of Therapeutic Practices in Ancient Egypt and India
Paper ID:
IJSDIP_2023_VOLUME 11_ISSUE 4_271-279
Author's Name:
Anjana Victor, Dr. Thallapally Manohar
Volume:
11
Issue:
Issue 4
Year:
2023
Pages:
271-279
Abstract
This study compares ancient Egyptian and Indian therapeutic practices (c. 3000 BCE–500 CE), focusing on surgery, pharmacology, preventive care, and ritual. Drawing on the Edwin Smith Papyrus (Egypt) and the Suśruta Saṁhitā (India), alongside modern scholarship, it highlights Egyptian advances in trauma surgery—such as wound suturing, fracture setting, and antisepsis—within a framework blending pragmatic and magical elements. Indian Ayurvedic texts, especially the Suśruta and Charaka Saṁhitās, reveal sophisticated surgical techniques (e.g., rhinoplasty, cataract removal) and a rich herbal pharmacopeia. Both traditions emphasized preventive measures like hygiene and diet and integrated spiritual practices—Egyptian spells and Vedic mantras—into healing. Despite differing cosmologies, both systems combined empirical observation with ritual and significantly influenced Greco-Roman, Arab, and later medical traditions. The article underscores their parallels, distinctions, and lasting legacies, proposing further interdisciplinary research into early medical history.
Keywords
Ancient Egyptian medicine, Suśruta Saṁhitā; Charaka Saṁhitā, Surgical practice and reconstruction, Pharmacology and apothecary traditions
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