A Text Book of Dravyaguna Vijnana (Volume 1)

Ayurveda is redefined as Dravuaguna by Caraka. Raja Narahari the author of Raja Nighantu considered Dravyaguna as the first branch of Ayurveda.It is Prof. P. V. Sharma who had provided the Sanskrit version of definition for Dravyaguna. The author of this text is of the opinion that for Ayurveda, Dravyaguna is like Pharmacology for modern medicine. More precisely, Dravyaguna is a combination of herbal pharmacology, pharmacognosy, phytochemistry and clinical pharmacology. Therefore, there will be enormous pressure on an average student to understand all the intricacies and move on in academics. If we review carefully, several books have been written over this subject in different languages. But, when it comes to Dravyaguna texts in English which is the recommended language by CCIM (along with Sanskrit), we do not come across number of works. The author’s efforts are commendable in presenting all aspects of Dravyaguna by correlating Ayurvedic concepts with the concepts of modern science in a simple and lucid language. The author had taken pain in collecting the information from various texts of Ayurveda and modern science. This book is really useful for Ayurvedic students as well as practitioners to learn about the fundamentals of Dravyaguna. Since the book provides ancient and modern knowledge, it will be helpful for students and practitioners to utilize this book. The Central Council for Indian Medicine should recognize this book as a reference book for the undergraduate student to make them update. The Text Book of Dravyaguna is being presented in two volumes the first one covering the fundamentals while the second one covers the individual herbs etc. The first volume covered all the 18 points of the CCIM syllabus. There are 18 chapters wherein each topic is discussed elaborately. Authors point of view on Dravyaguna is contemporary as well as futuristic. While describing the fundamentals of Dravyaguna, proper care is taken not to make true translation. The most fascinating aspect of the text is where ever it is possible the research activity related to the fundamentals of Dravyaguna has been referred.