Shalihotra

Shalihotra (c. 2350 BCE?) [ [http://www.iava.o-f.com/historyana.htm G.K. Singh and R.S. Chauhan, "History of Veterinary Anatomy," Indian Association of Veterinary Anatomists.] ] , the son of a Brahmin sage, Hayagosha, is considered the founder of veterinary sciences. He is said to have lived in Sravasti (modern Sahet-Mahet on the borders of Gonda and Bahraich districts in Uttar Pradesh), a place associated with Buddha and Mahavira in the sixth century B.C.E. Others say Shalihotra lived in Salatur, a place near Kandahar.

Shalihotra and the sage Agnivesa may have been pupils of the same teacher; according to tradition, Bharadwaja's Ayurveda, the science of life, was first presented in text form by Agnivesa, in his book the "Agnivesh tantra" and later by Charaka (Charaka Samhita, encyclopedia of the physician Charaka). Others assert the great surgeon Acharya Sushruta (c. 600 B.C.E.?), author of 'Sushruta Samhita' (encyclopedia of the physician Sushruta), may have been Shalihotra's pupil [ [http://www.swaveda.com/elibrary.php?id=52&action=show&type=book "Ayurveda: Medical Practice", "A Concise History of Science," Atma Ram & Sons] ] .

Horses and elephants were vital assets in the never ending warfare of the ancient world. Physicians treating human beings were also trained in the care of animals. Ancient Indian medical treatises like those of Charaka, Sushruta and Harita contain chapters or references about the care of diseased as well as healthy animals.

Shalihotra's principal work was a large treatise on the care and management of horses, the 'Shalihotra Samhita' (encyclopedia of the physician Shalihotra) having some 12,000 shlokas in Sanskrit. It has been translated into Persian, Arabic, Tibetan and English languages. This work described equine and elephant anatomy, physiology, surgery and diseases with their curative and preventive measures. It elaborated on the body structures of different races of horses, and identified the structural details by which one can determine the age of a horse. Two other works, namely Asva-prashnsa and Asva-lakshana sastram are also attributed to Shalihotra.

Some of the later authors have named their veterinary works after Shalihotra and others have based their work on his Samhita. Subsequent generations copied, revised and added to Shalihotra's text -- one of these later texts is shown in the illustration above. Hence the term Shalihotra refers to similar texts in a tradition. In the year 1800 B.C.E. 'Muni Palkapya' wrote 'Hasti Ayurveda' covering all aspects of elephant medicine. This book has four sections and 152 chapters including the anatomy of elephants. During Mahabharat period (1000-900 B.C.E.) Nakul, author of the Ashva-chikitsa, was considered an equine expert while Sahdev was a specialist in cattle management.

See also

* Ayurveda
* History of Medicine
* History of Science
* Horses
* History of the horse in South Asia
* Veterinary Medicine

References

Literature

* Apte, M. S. "Selected articles from Salihotra's Asvasastra." "Indian veterinary journal" 15 (1938): 415-420.
* Froehner, R. "Salihotra." "Veterinärhistorische Mitteilungen" 2, no. 1 (1922): 1-2.