Page:A History of Hindu Chemistry Vol 1.djvu/24

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vi

plicity which is the characteristic beauty of the Rigveda, one Rishi says pathetically of himself:

"Behold I am a composer of hymns, my father is a physician, my mother grinds corn on stone. We are all engaged in different occupations[1]" (IX. 112, 3),

"Princes like Divodása, and bards and leaders of the tribe of the Angiras, administered medicines and gloried in effecting cures. A skilled physician is distinctly defined as one who lives in a place abounding with medicinal plants, and who assiduously devotes his time to the acquisition of knowledge[2]."

The earliest literary record of Indian Medicine.Thus not only in the Atharvan but even in the Rik, we can trace the earliest literary record of Indian Medicine.

The "Atharva-veda" deals chiefly with sorcery, witch-craft and demonology. There are deadly imprecations against evil-doers;
  1. R. C. Dutt: "Civilisation in ancient India," p. 65 (Calc. ed.)
  2. Introduction to "Astáñgahridaya" of Vagbhata, by Anna Morsvar Kunte, B. A., M. D., p. 2.