THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Ayurveda experts at the Global Ayurveda Festival highlighted the need for leveraging cutting-edge technologies and facilities for surgeries performed by ayurveda practitioners. They also emphasised on creating a database of case studies by major institutions.
Dr P Hemantha Kumar, head of Shalya Tantra and dean PG studies, NIA, Jaipur, said it is vitally important to innovate and adopt. “While the way of performing surgeries remains the same, it is the technology that has changed,” he said.
Shalya Tantra is the branch of ayurveda which deals with surgical practices. Dr C Sureshkumar, managing partner and chief physician, Triveni Nursing Home, Thiruvananthapuram, made a presentation on various methods in attending orthopaedic problems.
Through a presentation on ‘current surgical practices in ayurveda in Kerala’, Dr C Raghunathan Nair, HoD of Shalya Tantra, Sree Narayana Institute of Ayurveda Studies and Research, Kollam, said various methods of surgical procedures to address proctological problems are available in ayurveda and they have proved their efficacy.
Dr Shiv Ji Gupta, professor, department of Shalya Tantra, department of medical sciences, Banaras Hindu University, noted that ‘Sushruta Samhita’ is one of the oldest treatises dealing with surgery in the world. Sushruta was also perhaps the first surgeon to describe different types of surgical instruments including endoscopes, he said.
Affordable medicinal plants at Global Fest
T’Puram:The Global Ayurveda Festival 2023 has been promoting Ayurveda’s healing potential with various stalls to help the public familiarise themselves with the medicinal plants and buy them at affordable rates, at the Greenfield International Stadium in Kariyavattom. Also, there are stalls with over 50 species of medicinal plants at the botany department on the Kerala University’s Kariyavattom campus. They include nelly, ashwagandha, kurunthotti, keesharnelli, brahmi, chitamrita, turmeric, aloe vera, arya veppu, castor, tulsi, karinochi, atalotakam and dashapushpa. The scientific name, qualities and usage of each medicinal plant has also been displayed. These plants are kept for sale, including those that can be grown as a bonsai -- an East Asian art of growing and training miniature trees in containers. Nagarjuna Ayurveda and Somatheeram Ayurveda Centre also have set up stalls to sell medicinal plants.