Kenneth G. Zysk

The Science of Respiration and the Doctrine of the Bodily Winds in Ancient India

The following historical and philological study traces the science of respiration and the doctrine of the bodily winds through ancient Indian religious and technical literature. Basic notions about respiration and bodily winds appear in the literature of the vedic samhitas and brahmanas. By the end of the principal upanisads these early ideas begin to be codified into two separate systems. One, emphasizing a physiology of bodily winds, reaches its traditional formulation in the classical medical literature of Ayurveda, the other, focusing on respiration, attains its classical formulation in Yoga. The two unite later, when Yoga integrates medical theory into its science of respiration. Asceticism is the common thread connecting the various stages in the development of respiration

Religious healing in the Veda : with translations and annotations of medical hymns from the Ṛgveda and the Atharvaveda and renderings from the corresponding ritual texts

The book examines the various internal and external diseases that afflicted the Vedic people and the treatments used to cure them. It also encompasses textual annotations to the individual hymns.

The Indian System of Human Marks 2 Vols

In The Indian System of Human Marks , Zysk offers a literary history of the Indian system of knowledge which details divination by means of the marks on the bodies of both men and women. The history covers from earliest times to modern-day and includes the earliest texts and their translations.

The Use of Manuscript Catalogues as Sources of Regional Intellectual History in India’s Early Modern Period

Catalogues of Sanskrit manuscripts have been principal sources of valuable textual information and major tools for students and scholars of Indology. This chapter aims to explore a select number of Sanskrit manuscript-catalogues in an effort to show that they can provide a good deal more information than the basic description and location of a literary artefact. It examines reports and catalogues that provide a manuscripts provenance, from two sources, one from north India and one from south India. The first volume of the catalogue of Mithila manuscripts and two reports of collections of manuscripts in Tamilnadu and parts of modern-day Andhra Pradesh were used for this study. One shows how catalogues of Sanskrit manuscripts can be used to understand better Indias general intellectual history; and the other points specifically to certain trends in intellectual history of a special region or area of India during the early modern period. Keywords:early modern period; Indias general intellectual history; manuscript catalogues; Mithilā; north India; Sanskrit manuscripts; south India

Potency Therapy in Classical Indian Medicine

This paper examines the traditional Indian ideas about impotency, virility, and potency therapy as found principally in the Sanskrit medical treatises of Caraka and Suśruta. Included is a detailed discussion of the potency formulas and what they contain. The analysis of this material leads to six important conclusions: 1. Caraka relies on a brahminic explanation of and justification for potency therapy, which is wanting in Suśruta. 2. The use of symbolism to empower certain medicines seems to reflect a local tradition of folk medicine. 3. Certain animals are used as potency symbols. A similar use of potent animals occurs throughout Sanskrit literature. 4. The mention of meat in the potency of formulas of both treatises indicates that meat-eating was not forbidden at this time in certain contexts. 5. All but one of the potency formulas were to be consumed, and where believed to give general nourishment and bodily strength. Moreover, the consumption of animal semen as an ingredient in certain formulas was forbidden by the twelfth century CE. 6. The only non-consumed potency medicine was a foot balm, which may have been derived from an early tradition of Indian eroticism, known as Kāmaśāstra.

The Origins and Development of Classical Hinduism

The late A.L. Basham was one of the worlds foremost authorities on ancient Indian culture and religion. Modeled on his monumental work The Wonder That Was India, this account of the origins and development of classical Hinduism represents a lifetime of reflection on the subject, and offers an intriguing introduction to one of the richest of all Asian traditions.Synthesizing Bashams great knowledge of the art, architecture, literature, and religion of South Asia, this concise history traces the spiritual life of India from the time of the Indus Culture (around 2700 B.C.E) through the crystallization of classical Hinduism in the first centuries of the common era. It chronicles as well the rise of other mystical and ascetic traditions, such as Buddhism and Jainism, and follows Hinduisms later incarnations in the West, making it an especially comprehensive introduction to the subject.Unlike Christianity or Islam, Hinduism was not inspired by single great prophet but rather evolved organically. The wide range of influences and sources--along with the great number of sacred texts in ancient languages--can make the Hindu system of faith and practice seem almost impenetrable to the uninitiated. With its vivid presentation of Hinduisms sources--from the warrior Aryans to the wandering ascetics--and its clearly written explanations and analyses of the major Hindu texts--among them the Rg-veda, the Brahmanas, Upanishads, and the Mahabharata and Ramayana--The Origins of Classical Hinduism clarifies much of Hinduisms enduring mystique. With an especially helpful bibliography, numerous illustrations of Hindu art never before published, and a lucid, accessible style, this book is must reading for anyone who has ever been intrigued by this fascinating religion.