ABSTRACT
Traditional medicine used vegetable, animal, and mineral products in treating patients. Animal products were used in medical therapy in Buddhist India. The practice of surgical procedures in Buddhist India, in so far as we observe in available Buddhist texts, makes it clear that surgery was done and had occupied an important place in the over-all management of patient care. In Buddhist literature diseases are known by several terms including abadha, amaya, vyadhi, roga, and ruja, which are familiar to Ayurvedic physicians. Ayurveda is practiced all over India with regional variations. On the other hand, Ayurvedic ideas like tridosa, pathya, pancakarma, and herbal therapy have travelled not only across India but also beyond to Sri Lanka, Nepal, Tibet, Central Asia, and East Asia. The Chinese pilgrims Fa-Hien, and Hieun-Tsiang spread these ideas in China in the fourth and fifth centuries CE, not to replace traditional Chinese medicine but to widen their cultural horizon.
