Abstract

ARNAU NAVARRO, Juan. Divergences around humours in Sanskrit medical compendia. Dynamis [online]. 2013, vol.33, n.2, pp.417-439. ISSN 2340-7948.  https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S0211-95362013000200007.

This article traces the genealogy of divergences around humours in the Indian medical literature of the classical period, using the Sanskrit editions of the medical encyclopaedias of Caraka, Suśruta and Vāgbhaţa as primary sources. The basic thesis is simple: Indian medical traditions were developed within the framework of a theory of the humours, but the ancient sources of the Ayurvedic tradition show that there was never full agreement on the nature and functions of the three basic humours (vata, pitta and kapha). Some considered humours to be physical entities with a specific localisation in the body, while others regarded them as hypothetical entities for the classification of diseases that must be balanced by medical treatment. This ambiguity in their definition, delimitation and application leads to different ways of understanding the human body and its therapies.

Keywords : Ayurveda; Sanskrit Medicine; Humours; Caraka; Suśruta; Vāgbhaţa.

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