ABSTRACT
The advent of Buddhism in India brought considerable change in the practice of Ayurveda. Surgery, the performance of which is invariably associated with pain, was treated as a form of himsa or violence, and therefore, its practice was banned. Some of the Buddhist rulers, like Asoka, established several herb gardens, so that people could obtain drugs conveniently for the treatment of their diseases. After the period of the Tantra and Siddhas, the glories of Hindu medicine rapidly waned and declined. The Buddhist doctrine of “Ahimsa” also exercised a great influence in that direction. Though surgery declined to a great extent during the Buddhistic period, medicine again made rapid progress. The Arabian and Mohammedan medicine prevalent during the reign of the Pathan and Moghul dynasties unfortunately did not make much progress after its introduction into the country and with the fall of the Moghuls it rapidly decayed.
