UTILITY AND IMPORTANCE OF BLOOD AND SHONITAMOKSHANA IN THE VIEW OF CHRONIC DISEASES DESCRIBED IN ANCIENT TEXTS OF MEDICINE
Dr. Prashant L. Rasale* and Dr. Sunil Kumar Pandey
ABSTRACT
Ayurveda speaks about many modes of healing art, even surgery and
para-surgical techniques. In the Koushika sutra of Atharvaveda,
references of bloodletting (Raktamokshana) by leech are available.
Among the para-surgical measures, shonitamokshana or bloodletting
enjoys a pride of place from the dawn of medical history. Earliest
references of bloodletting are found in the basic works of all systems
of medicine. The oldest civilization of the world too used this method
to bestow health on its subjects from time immemorial. Blood is the
life for the human being; this concept is used since ancient era of
medicine so it has such importance that some scientists are taken this
as a one of the essential element of genesis and to cause the disease.
Keywords: Shonita, raktamokshana, blood letting, siravedh, shalyatantra, anushalya.
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