A brief descriptive catalogue of Ayurvedic palm leaves manuscripts procured and preserved in the Indian Institute of Medicine.

ABSTRACT

It seems the survey for medical manuscripts has not been done thoroughly so far in India particularly in Andhra Pradesh. Though few Researchers toured many important places and collected a number of manuscripts, but still there are many villages and several families of physicians and scholars possessing many manuscripts, are not covered. One of the aims and objects of the Indian Institute of History of Medicine is to procure and study the rare and uncared medical manuscripts. There are many difficulties in this task as many of the families in possession of the manuscripts are generally not prepared to hand over the ancestry property i.e., manuscripts to any individual or institution due to their sentiments, though they are not able to preserve or make use of same properly. However, efforts were made by the Institute in this direction, visiting several families of hereditary physicians residing in different part of Andhra Pradesh, and procured 12 such valuable palm leaves manuscripts pertaining to Ayurveda and preserved in the Institute. A brief descriptive catalogue of these manuscripts is presented here.