ABSTRACT
In ancient India, the education of pupils took place primarily in the Gurukula, where they lived in the teacher’s house. Physical fitness was an essential requirement for admission to a Gurukula as one finds references to studious pupils working day and night and, when they ran out of oil for a lamp, burning cow dung to read in its light in a solitary corner. The duration of training and erudite atmosphere in the asrama were such that it was an intellectual power house, which transformed bright seekers of medicine into physician – scholars in the mould of Agnivesa. The British rulers shared Macaulay’s contempt for India’s cultural heritage of which Ayurveda was an important part. Trained in the Gurukula system, Sanskrit scholar, connoisseur of performing arts and a brilliant physician, P S Varier was also open to modernity. What is important for reader is the initiative of P S Varier for the training of Ayurvedic physicians.
