aayurvedaca kaas~miiras~aivaca

[ZYSK at ACFcluster.NYU.EDU]

Mr Borowski expressed his hunch that there might have been some connection
between Ayurveda and Kashmir Shaivism. In the first instance, I woould
like to see more precisely (i.e., textually) the basis for his hunches.
Secondly, I can report briefly on a conversation I recently had with
P.V. Sharma centering around the origins and influences in Ayurveda.
He was of the opinion that two clear influences can be traced in
the Samhitas. This first is Buddhist or Shramanic; and the second
is Tantric. Concerning the second, he pointed to the evolution
of the kalpas from the manipulation over time of vishas or poisons. I 
might add to his comments, the development of a medical physiology
of vital breaths (pranas) in the medical literature derived from
a long tradition using breath in techniques of meditation and speculations
about the micro-macro cosmic significance of breath/air.
K.G. Zysk