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188 necessary medical and surgical appliances (Bhishmaparva, Ch. 120). Duryodhana, the Chief of the Kurus, when pierced with arrows, was made by his surgeons to sit in a tub filled with medicated water, under which he was freed from the missiles lodged in his flesh (Mahabharat, Ch. 84). Both the conflicting armies had distinguished surgeons on their staff. Veterinary science seems to have been highly cultivated long before that period. Nala, a remote ancestor of the Pandavas, is described as a most accomplished horse-trainer, and as possessing a thorough knowledge of all matters relating to the horse. Nakula, one of the five Pandavas, was an expert in the veterinary science on which he has written several works, his "Ashva-chikitsa" being still extant. The science of treating elephants, bullocks and other domestic animals, was and is still known in India. Some are of opinion that Vagbhata, the celebrated author of "Ashtangahridaya," flourished in the time of the Mahabharata, and that he was the family physician of the Pandavas.

In the time of Buddha ( 543), Indian medicine received the greatest support and stimulus, and surgery was allowed to languish. For Buddha and his followers would not permit