Page:A Short History of Aryan Medical Science.djvu/40

32 him, and with the knowledge of the science they were able to live long in health and happiness.

No history of the earliest writers on Medicine in India would be complete without a mention of and, who are considered by the natives to be the highest authorities in all medical matters. Charaka is said to have been an incarnation of Shesha — the Serpent-god with a thousand heads — who is supposed to be the depositary of all sciences, especially of medicine. It may be parenthetically noted here that the serpent in all ages has received divine honours, and from the remotest antiquity has been held in the greatest veneration as an emblem of wisdom and immortality by the Egyptians, Greeks, and other ancient nations as well as by the Hindoos. "Serpents were sacred to AEsculapius, the Grecian god of the medical art, because they were symbols of renovation, and were believed to have the power of discovering healing herbs" (Dr Smith). The hierophants of Egypt styled themselves the "Sons of the Serpent-god," as the serpent was the emblem of wisdom and eternity. Ophite-worship was prevalent among the Jews 2000 years B.C. The fifth day of the month of Shravana (which falls in the rainy season) is to this day held by