Article ID: CBB199300900

Acts of Improvement: (2017)

unapi

In Sanskrit medical literature, rasāyana is defined as one of eight subject areas of medicine. The proclaimed aim of rasāyana therapies is to preserve or promote health and well-being, but also to prolong life, to halt degeneration caused by aging, to rejuvenate and to improve cognitive function. The term “rasāyana” describes the therapies that together constitute this branch of medicine; the methodology and regimen of treatment; and the medicinal substances and formulations used in these therapies. In Indian alchemical literature, the Sanskrit term “rasāyana” is predominantly used to describe the final stages of alchemical operations, i.e.  all that is involved in the taking of elixirs for attaining a state of spiritual liberation in a living body. Rasāyana in this sense describes a series of related processes, including the preparation of the elixir; the preparation of the practitioner; the intake of the elixir and finally, the process of transformation the practitioner undergoes after intake of the elixir. In my paper, I present examples of rasāyana sections from a selection of medical and alchemical treatises to explore their connections and divergences. I also discuss how the connections between medical and alchemical rasāyana sections reflect the development of iatrochemistry in alchemical literature.

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Article Dagmar Wujastyk; Suzanne Newcombe; Christèle Barois (2017) Transmutations: Rejuvenation, Longevity, and Immortality Practices in South and Inner Asia:. History of Science in South Asia. unapi

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Authors & Contributors
Wujastyk, Dagmar
Heiduk, Matthias
Barois, Christèle
Cantwell, Cathy
Tonetti, Luca
Cristina Pecchia
Concepts
Medicine, ayurvedic
Medicine
Alchemy
Aging
Sanskrit
Yoga
Time Periods
Medieval
Ancient
19th century
20th century
13th century
Early modern
Places
India
Tibet
Europe
South Asia
South India
Tamil Nadu (India)
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