HAṀSASANDEŚAof Sri VedantadesikaAn English Rendering of the Tamil Translation, Notes and Foreword byAyurveda-bhushana, Ayurvedacharya, Desikadarsana-dhurandhara, Vaidyaratnam Pandit M Duraiswami Aiyangar
English translation by Dr. S. Usha. PDF, 42 pages, 370 KB.
An allegorical play, filled with medical and political knowledge, it is a layered text open to multiple interpretations, nuanced and layered, centering around the attack by the king of disease, Consumption on the hero of the play, the Soul of man, and his final deliverance through his faith in God. Pandit Duraiswami wrote a commentary in Sanskrit on this work, drawn to it for its masterful explanation of Ayurveda in political terms that any layman could understand.
Composed in the 6th C., this play describing in 18 cantos the combat between Arjuna and Shiva as a Kirata (mountain-dweller) during the years when the Pandavas were in exile, contains some of the most bewitchingly well-structured linguistic feats, both of construction and expression, unimaginable to any but the most profound scholars, earning for itself the title of the most powerful poem in Sanskrit. What Pandit Duraiswami has done is to write notes in Sanskrit on Mallinatha’s commentary on Kiratarjuniya, wherein he explores not only the beauty of the language, but also the message of the play which portrays all the universe (of gods, demi-gods and man) as one.
Ashtanga Hridayam meaning ‘the heart of the eight branches of Ayurveda’, was composed by the eminent scholar Vagbhatta in the 7th C. and has 7120 verses written in a poetic style for easy recital, thereby presenting a comprehensive account of this esoteric school of medicine and soon became the root source for Ayurvedic philosophy and teachings. Pandit Duraiswami translated this text into Tamil so that Tamil physicians could have a solid foundation of Sanskrit works for their procedures.
Also known as Rug Vinischaya, Madhava Nidhanam was authored by Madhava, a 7th C. Ayurvedic practitioner and is a comprehensive Ayurvedic treatise which names 79 diseases in as many chapters, along with their causes, symptoms and complications and is considered first among the minor triad of Ayurvedic literature. Pandit Duraiswami took great pains to translate this treatise into Tamil reaching out thereby to a much larger audience.
Tantra Sara was the compendium of worship supposedly taught to Lord Brahma by Lord Vishnu and Madwacharya extracted relevant portions of it into this volume, which consists of the (i) chanting of the great Vaishnava mantras (ii) aspects of Aavarana pooja (iii) Kalasha pooja (iv) comprehending the various forms and expressions of Lord Vishnu (v) yagna rituals (vi) meditation (vii) vasthu of temple construction (viii) sculpture and aspects related to the installation of icons. Pandit Duraiswami Aiyangar being a staunch Vaishnavite was obviously attracted to this work and through his Tamil translation, wanted to disseminate this knowledge to the devout Tamilian reader.
In the Presidential Address which was delivered by Pandit Duraiswami Aiyangar in Tamil, at the sixth Dravida Vaidya Conference held at Trichinopoly on May 28, 1934, he lauds the ancient heritage of Ayurveda, its spiritual descent from Danvantari, God of medicine himself, the special feature of the three humours which formed the basis of its diagnostical skill as also the neglect of the branch of surgery in Ayurveda, which was an important aspect of this science and which deserved to be encouraged. He used strong and logical arguments to debunk both the dubious claims of Siddhas, (another branch of indigenous medicine) and the British led Western medical sciences which tried to discredit Ayurveda, all the while drawing from its extensive knowledge. The greatness and glory of Ayurveda comes across clearly as also his pride in being a proponent of this wonderful healing practice.