[INDOLOGY] dhanvantari

Wed Sep 20 04:36:59 UTC 2017

Nagaraj,

I understand your point precisely about vaidika = veda-aviruddha;-anuroopa;
-anusaari, etc.
However, there seem to be many things, particularly within *Yogaland* that
are signified as 'Vedic' with either or both meanings (ie both vedas'ruta &
veda-anuroopa) - However, this fine distinction is not generally made by
promoters of particular products within yogaland, and many things are
simply conflated to 'vedic' meaning 'it's really old and happened a long
time ago, and therefore it's really pure and amaaazing'. In fact, this
point is capitalised and exploited, as you well know.

For instance, there is a type of 'Vedic Thai Yoga Massage' that claims to
be 5000 years old, and which also claims this date for the Bhāgavatam, and
which explicitly states that Dhanvantari is a Vedic god. Yet, as far as I
was aware, and which Dagmar confirmed in another email, the Ashvins are the
Vedic gods related to healing, and any mention of Dhanvantari does not
appear until the current era. However, this 5000 yo date  asserts an
untenable date for the accepted range of the vedic period, itself; and
suggests that there is an unbroken lineage of Thai Yoga massage that
occurred even before the vedic period. However, there are many people
within yogaland who do not have any appreciation for historicity, and would
prefer for a sense of magic and wonder to reenchant their lives.
Organisational game theory explains that people would rather believe a
falsity *if* it is going to help them feel better. In fact, I have been
told that I simply do not know what I'm a talking about.

While you might not consider these types of enquires 'serious' scholarship,
they are important in the study of the global consumption of yoga-inflected
lifestyles within the multi-trillion dollar wellness industry, which
includes the construction of narratives to also suit socio, political,
economic aspirations of the Indian state through AYUSH and MEA.
Conveniently, this is what my current research project is about.

Thanks again for your help. And to Krishnaprasad for the mantra.

All the best,

Patrick McCartney, PhD
Fellow
School of Culture, History & Language
College of the Asia-Pacific
The Australian National University
Canberra, Australia, 0200

Skype - psdmccartney
Phone + Whatsapp:  +61 414 954 748
Twitter - @psdmccartney

*bodhapūrvam calema* ;-)

academia <https://patrickmccartney.academia.edu/>

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On Wed, Sep 20, 2017 at 1:12 PM, Nagaraj Paturi <nagarajpaturi at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Encyclopaedia of Indian Medicine: Historical perspective
>
> By Saligrama Krishna Ramachandra Rao
>
> available here
> <https://books.google.co.in/books?id=QRvzRGn9QqkC&pg=PA53&lpg=PA53&dq=Dhanvantari+is+mentioned+in&source=bl&ots=qot5hB0nIl&sig=lOdfdTTdPVBLYo2BZKpM6_Uf8DE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi6ieHM5bLWAhWBQo8KHWexAhoQ6AEIVTAH#v=onepage&q=Dhanvantari%20is%20mentioned%20in&f=false> to
> read
>
> has an entry on Dhanvantari at pages 52-54.
>
> As per this, Dhanvantari is not directly mentioned in the Vedas. The
> earliest mention is in Mahabharata Adi 1140.
>
> Sharing a snapshot of the relevant page.
>
> I said in an earlier post on a similar topic,
>
> "The word 'Vedic' is not always used in the sense of ' as in Vedas'. The
> word is quite often used in the sense of 'belonging to the lineage of the
> cultural/textual complex of which the Vedas are (of course, vital)
> part. From the insider's point of view , Vaidika is Veda- aviruddha,
> Veda-anuroopa, Veda-anusaari etc. not necessarily Vedochcharita/Vedas'ruta.
> "
>
> The references provided in the pages 52-54 of this book establish that
> Dhanvantari is  Vedic as per the perspective mentioned above in my words.
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Sep 20, 2017 at 8:41 AM, Nagaraj Paturi <nagarajpaturi at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Do you mean, is Dhanvantari mentioned in the Vedas or mentioned in
>> Sanskrit literature that was composed later to the date of the latest hymn
>> of the Veda?
>>
>> The word 'Vedic' literature can mean different things in different
>> contexts.
>>
>> On Wed, Sep 20, 2017 at 5:52 AM, patrick mccartney via INDOLOGY <
>> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> Could someone please enlighten me as to when Dhanvantari is first
>>> mentioned, specifically whether this is within vedic or post-vedic
>>> literature.
>>>
>>> Thank you.
>>>
>>> All the best,
>>>
>>> Patrick McCartney, PhD
>>> Fellow
>>> School of Culture, History & Language
>>> College of the Asia-Pacific
>>> The Australian National University
>>> Canberra, Australia, 0200
>>>
>>>
>>> Skype - psdmccartney
>>> Phone + Whatsapp:  +61 414 954 748 <0414%20954%20748>
>>> Twitter - @psdmccartney
>>>
>>>
>>> *bodhapūrvam calema* ;-)
>>>
>>> academia <https://patrickmccartney.academia.edu/>
>>>
>>>    -
>>>
>>> Linkedin
>>> <https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=241756978&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile>
>>>
>>> Edanz
>>> <https://www.edanzediting.com/expert/anthropology/patrick-mccartney>
>>>
>>> Modern Yoga Research <http://www.modernyogaresearch.org/events/>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Nagaraj Paturi
>>
>> Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.
>>
>>
>> BoS, MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune, Maharashtra
>>
>> BoS, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Veliyanad, Kerala
>>
>> Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies
>>
>> FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education,
>>
>> (Pune, Maharashtra, INDIA )
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Nagaraj Paturi
>
> Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.
>
>
> BoS, MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune, Maharashtra
>
> BoS, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Veliyanad, Kerala
>
> Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies
>
> FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education,
>
> (Pune, Maharashtra, INDIA )
>
>
>
>

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