Vaidya D. S. Antarkar
Vaidya Antarkar Memorial Volume
Late Vaidya D S Antarkar’s contributions in the field of
research, education and clinical services in Ayurveda have left an
indelible mark. Innumerable patients have benefited from his clinical
skills and wisdom. Antarkarji’s unique practical teachings have given
confidence to several students to initiate independent clinical
practice. His inquisitive mind & in-depth thinking has led to the
fruition of many successful research projects. Antarkarji enjoyed
respect and support from several eminent scientist, educationist and
clinicians due to his quite, cooperative and consistent efforts in
handling any scientific, academic or clinical problem. The students and
colleagues of Vaidya Antarkar have formed ‘Antarkar Memorial Forum’ to
carry forward the mission of Vaidya Antarkar to propagate ‘scientific,
rational and evidence based Ayurveda.
First meeting of
Antarkar Memorial forum was held on 21st Jan.2005 at Bhavan’s SPARC,
Juhu, Mumbai. Many students, friends and colleagues of Vaidya Antarkar
attended the meeting. Several suggestions came forward regarding
activities of the forum. It was unanimously decided to bring out
publication in the memory of Late Vaidya Antarkar. In fact Dr.Ashok
Vaidya had always expressed the value of preserving the clinical notes
of Vaidya Antarkar and a need of compiling his research contribution for
the benefit of generations to follow. In this meeting some of the
colleagues and students also shared their personal experiences they had
with Vaidya Antarkar and felt the need to document his qualities as a
person and a physician. All these views and suggestions helped to decide
the structure of the publication. This publication has got three main
sections. Section I deals with the articles based on Antarkarji’s
clinical notes, section II is the compilation of important published
research papers and section III is about write-ups on personal memories
of Vaidya Antarkar.
Vaidya B.K.Padhyegurjar, Dr.Rama Vaidya,
Dr.S.D.Kamat, Dr.P.S.Tathed, Dr.Narendra Bhatt and I made a joint appeal
regarding this publication and could collect Rs.1lac.15 thousand
through individual contributions. We also received about 45 articles
which are part of this 500 pages publication.
The most
challenging work was to collect and collate records of about Twenty
thousand patients from Antarkarji’s private clinic. Vaidya Nilambari
Rane, Vaidya Vibhavari Konkane and Vaidya Abhijit Redij were appointed
for this work. All the three took keen interest to accomplish the task.
Vaidya Abhijit Redij developed a software programme which enabled to
transform data in paper format into electronic format. Further analysis
and categorization of this data made it possible to write articles on
Vaidya Antarkarj’s clinical notes, which is evident in section I of this
publication. All these contributing authors deserve compliments for the
same.
Section II compiles Twenty five selected scientific
articles which were authored/ co-authored by Vaidya Antarkar. Antarkar
Memorial Forum had organized couple of meetings to discuss about these
scientific papers. The outcome is comments made by experts in the
respective areas of research work. Underneath most of the scientific
papers these comments are sited in a box.For section III we’ve received
thirty three articles from friends, relatives and students .These are
essentially personal write-ups about Antarkarji. Majority of these are
in Marathi however few are also in Hindi and English. These write-ups
truly reflect the high qualities of Antarkarji as a person, a physician
and as a researcher. On behalf of the editorial board, deep sense of
gratitude is expressed towards all these authors.
After having
collected all the articles their compilation, section-wise
categorization, retyping/ scanning of scientific articles , contacting
the authors in case of technical errors and also communicating with
printers and publishers could be ably done only through the assistance
of Dr.Neelambari Rane, Dr.Kavita Redij & Shri. Raj Mishra. Dr.
Jayashree Joshi and Dr. Ashok Amonkar deserve special thanks for their
help in proof-reading the scientific articles.
On behalf of the
editorial board of Antarkar Memorial Forum, special compliments are
expressed towards Prof. Suresh Advani and Shri.Shankaran Kutti for their
kind cooperation. Our thanks are due towards the publisher ‘Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan’ and Printer Shri Samir Parekh of creative page setters,
Mumbai.
This work was possible only because of the strong support
of Smt.Vaidya Kusum Antarkar, Vaidya B K Padhyegurjar, Dr.Rama Vaidya,
Dr.S.D.Kamat, Dr. Prakash Tathed, Vaidya Ramesh Nanal, Dr.Sudhakar
Powar, Dr.Vasundhara Natekar, Dr.Ashlesha Raut and so many others. The
tremendous patience and constant support expressed by all the members of
Antarkar memorial forum and also the well-wishers of this activity that
we could sail through several difficult phases of storms .We are happy
to present this publication of Antarkar Memorial forum especially to the
next generation of Ayurveda
May 1, 2009
Dr.Ashwinikumar Raut
Prof. S. N. Tripathi:
An astute clinician, progressive researcher and a loving teacher
By Dr. Ashwinikumar Anand Raut
Prof. S. N. Tripathi a doyen of clinical Ayurveda, who had
inherited the legacy of Ayurveda through family tradition and was open
for the interface of Ayurveda with modern bio-medicine, was a boon for
the fraternity of Ayurveda. His rather early demise was not only the
loss to his family and students but was a loss to the progressive
Ayurveda. In his long career as a teacher of about three decades several
students got their post graduate and post doctoral training in
Ayurveda. I was one of the fortunate ones to get post graduate
qualification in Kayachikitsa at BHU under his guidance from 1984 to
1987.
Prof. Tripathi was the one who cultivated the
integrative medicine thinking in me. Interestingly it was not just a
theoretical discourse but he also demonstrated it practically. My post
graduate training at BHU consolidated my commitment to Ayurveda and
integrative medicine. My first exposure to clinical research in Ayurveda
was under Prof Tripathi’s guidance and he taught me how to explore
Ayurvedic therapeutics for the emerging new diseases. Behind the astute
clinician, able administrator and committed researcher there was a
hidden caring and protective teacher. I shall share here some of my
personal experiences.
Prof. Tripathi had maintained a
tradition for his students to visit his residence in the wee hours of
morning to have a discourse, discussion and dictation in the selected
subject of dissertation for each student. To my mind this kind of
tradition was a genuine attempt to integrate ‘Gurukul culture’ with that
of ‘University type training’. Final thesis submission would usually
fall in early January and these visits to Sir’s residence would become a
daily routine for those who had to submit their final thesis to the
university. To reach Sir’s residence usually by 5.30 am in winter of
Banaras was an experience in itself. However on reaching his residence
he would always give a warm smiling welcome. Touching Guru’s feet every
time has been a culture of Banaras and one needs to take it in right
spirit and enjoy the blessings one gets in reciprocation from the Guru.
The first thing he would do is to turn the heater towards you to help
you get warmed up and offer a cup of tea made by him. Once the student
is comfortable then would start the discourse on the subject. This
speaks of loving and caring nature of a teacher towards his students.
Community
care, community education and community service was also a part of
Prof. Tripathi’s nature. He often used to take time from his busy
schedule to give lectures on healthcare for the benefit of general
community. I remember how he instructed and guided us to offer clinical
care services with the free provision of medicines made during one
Mahayagnya organized at the banks of the holy Ganga.
Prof.
Tripathi had a very high reputation as an astute clinician in the
society and medical fraternity alike. His outpatient department as well
as inpatient departments always used to be overflowing. On one occasion
when Prof. Tripathi was taking a grand round along-with all of us in his
team a patient’s relative came forward and touched his feet and
started demanding that her patient should be examined by Dr. Raut. This
was an extremely embarrassing situation for me being a junior registrar
in the team! However sir without getting angered told me to go ahead to
see the respective patient and in fact praised me for my dedication in
patient care.
Prof. Tripathi was Dean of the faculty of Ayurveda
when I was clinical registrar for Kayachikitsa ward, S. S. Hospital,
BHU. One day after completing my regular round while leaving the ward I
saw a person of about 45 yrs old was smoking cigarette sitting on the
female patient’s bed. I could not tolerate the scene and scolded that
person for his misbehavior. However instead of correcting his mistake
the person started arguing with me and eventually ventured into
physically attacking me. The word-boy then present swiftly came forward
and protected me from his attack. When this incidence was reported to
Prof. Tripathi he stood by my side. However he enquired “was that person
a husband of the female patient?” The answer was yes! Sir gave me an
important lesson that even if a man makes mistake one should never scold
him in front of his wife or girl friend.There are many such anecdotes
which taught me lessons helpful not only to my academic career but also
useful in social life. It is indeed nice to see that Prof. S.N.
Tripathi’s eldest son Dr. Yaminibhushan Tripathi has carried forward his
academic and research legacy in Ayurveda whereas the youngest son Dr.
Vachaspati Tripathi through ‘Surya pharmaceuticals’ has continued his
legacy of translating scientifically developed Ayurveda for the service
of community.
Prof. Dr Ashok Vaidya
A Festschrift for Dr Ashok B Vaidya
Pursuing Ayurvidya through Reverse Pharmacology and Integrative Ayurveda
About two and a half decade back after having integrated post
graduate training from BHU in Ayurveda and internal medicine I joined
the path of ‘mission for Ayurvidya’ by choice to follow the role models
Vaidya Antarkar and Dr Ashok Vaidya. Being a past student of RA Podar
Ayurved Medical College I had much closer acquaintance with Vaidya
Antarkarji then than Dr Ashok Vaidya to whom I had seen from a distance
when he used to come in Podar for scientific collaborative projects.
Golden
Triangle Approach of integrating Ayurveda, Modern medicine and Modern
sciences proposed in 2004 was preconceived and implemented at Bhavan’s
SPARC almost two decades earlier with several experts from diverse
disciplines under the guiding force of Dr Ashok Vaidya. My first
interaction occurred with Dr.Vaidya in the form of an interview before
my joining Bhavan’s SPARC in 1987. I was more often unjustly praised by
many or ruthlessly criticized by few after going through my MD thesis on
hypertension without questioning me on the specific contents of the
thesis which I was concerned and apprehensive about. However during this
interview the questions posed by Dr Vaidya were precisely pointing to
the contents which I was apprehensive about. These were related to the
proposed interpretation of hypertension in Ayurveda, proposal of
mutravirechaniya therapy as a curative approach to hypertension, and the
question whether hypertensive patients had typical faces as I had also
attached photographs of these patients along-with pre and post treatment
ECG strips. Although all my concerns had not been resolved during this
first interview; my courage of thinking afresh got strengthened due to
the authoritative moral support I received from Dr Vaidya.
My
first presentation at SPARC was on ‘Essential Hypertension – Pathogenic
Mechanisms and their reversal’ in SPARC-AIMD Seminar in July 1988. I
was touched again by the gesture Dr Vaidya displayed during the process
of preparation and the day of my presentation. One month prior to my
presentation Dr Vaidya carried himself a big fat volume on Hypertension
by Genest from his personal library for me to prepare the presentation. I
voraciously went through the entire volume during this one month and I
could give my seminar for almost three hours which gave me great sense
of satisfaction. This seminar was dedicated to Kaviraj Gananath Sen (a
pioneer in conducting first clinical trial of Rowalfia serpentina in
hypertension) on apt suggestion made by Dr Vaidya. This was an excellent
lesson I learnt about expressing reverence to the immediate past
stalwarts of research in Ayurveda. On the day of this presentation it
was raining heavily in Mumbai and many of my colleagues and seniors
expressed telephonically their inability to attend the seminar. However
on enquiring Dr Vaidya suggested that the seminar will take place and we
had seminar on the same day as per the schedule. After three hours of
good interactive seminar Dr Vaidya concluded the seminar and eventually I
learnt he had suffered from heavy bouts of diarrhoea that morning and
had come to attend and chair this seminar by having medicines just to
maintain the commitment. What I imbibe from this incidence is the
‘commitment to the schedule of scientific program’.
My
initial appointment at SPARC was that of a research fellow and I was
involved in the project ‘Yograj Guggulu in Rheumatoid Arthritis’ (RA).
This was a unique phase II clinical study of 6months duration of
refractory cases of RA. Phase I tolerability study of Yograj Guggulu had
earlier been completed at Podar hospital by the same team of
investigators Dr V R Joshi, Dr Anniruddha Joshi besides Dr Vaidya and
Vaidya Antarkarji. Most important outcomes of this study were effective
dose range finding of Yograj Guggulu in Rheumatoid arthritis, its
steroid sparing activity and its long-term usage safety. This study
although never got formally published however gave rise to several other
spinoff studies viz Profile of adverse drug reactions of guggulu
formulations, study of acetylation status in patients of Rheumatoid
Arthritis-relevance of Prakruti, and dietary survey of patients with
arthritis. During all these studies the most important lesson I could
learn from Dr Vaidya was that of ‘Meticulous observation to minute
details’ needed during entire process of research, starting from
protocol preparation, actual conducting the trial, to reporting of the
data.
Dr Vaidya after having retirement as a Medical
Director of South East Asia from Ciba-Guiegy (Novonordisk) would be
physically present throughout the day for entire week at Bhavan’s SPARC
from early 90s onwards. This was predominantly the phase of
consolidating conceptual framework, focusing the areas of work and
nurturing of inter-institutional ties. Bhavan’s SPARC got affiliation to
Mumbai University for MSc and PhD by research in applied biology and
life sciences. The research laboratories got established and accredited,
and more importantly got recognition by Government of India through
Ministries of Health, Science & Technology, and commerce viz. ICMR,
CSIR, CCRAS, DBT, CHEMEXIL, PHARMEXIL through scientific projects.
During this phase we also had pharmaceutical industry sponsored end in
sight research projects. However all through these developments the
focus of the research had continued to remain on medicinal plants,
Ayurvedic formulations and Ayurvedic fundamentals. Incidentally this was
the period significant for me from professional recognition and
personal establishments. I have had several opportunities of delivering
talks to scientific, medical and general communities through invited
talks/seminars/symposia/workshops/panel discussions etc. During most of
my presentations and participations I had privilege of seeking advice
and guidance from Dr Vaidya which always gave me a motivation to aspire
for the excellence. More than couple of times Dr Vaidya deputed me on
his behalf to deliver talks in scientific meetings which really plugged
me in on the path of innovative research. In fact eventually I started
believing in having a patronage from Dr Vaidya for thinking a loud. I
continued to enjoy that euphoric state of mind for a long time.
Dr
Vaidya along with his colleagues from diverse disciplines besides
Vaidya Antarkarji made major contributions of research on Ayurveda and
its formulations viz. Mucuna pruriens in Parkinson’s Disease,
Arogyavardhini and Punarnavadi Kwath in Acute viral hepatitis,
subsequently Arogyavardhini alone in Acute viral hepatitis, further
Picroriza kurroa, (50% ingredient of Arogyavardhini) was also
demonstrated to be hepatoprotective clinically as well as
experimentally. Screening of 30 Ayurvedic plants/formulations for
hypoglycaemic activity, Guggulu (Comiphora wightii) for arthritis,
anti-inflammatory and anti pruritic activity of Manjishtha (Rubia
cordifolia), Turmeric (Curcuma longa) in oral submucus fibrosis ,
Haridra Khanda in ideaopathic urticaria, Saraca indica for menorrhagia,
Panchavalkal in vaginal infections, anti diarrhoeal activity of selected
Ayurvedic plants, Parijat (Nyctanthus arbotristis) for malarial fever,
and many others. Such an extensive involvement of Dr Vaidya in Ayurveda
research with constant engagement for over 3 to 4 decades in clinical
research and drug development eventually gave realization of a ‘novel
approach for drug development from traditional medicine’ which was
termed as ‘Reverse Pharmacology’. Further Dr. Ashok Vaidya crystallized
the definition and identified the main domains
(Experiential-Exploratory-Experimental) of Reverse Pharmacology.
Reverse
Pharmacology as an approach on experiential foundation was explored for
the project ‘Pre-clinical development of Herbal formulation for
inflammatory arthropathy’, mentored by Dr Vaidya and sponsored by Dept.
of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. of India.
This was a trans-disciplinary collaborative project of Bhavan’s SPARC,
Dept of Physics of Saurashtra University and Dept of Pharmacology of
SNDT University which was initiated in 2002 and concluded in 2005 with
several scientific publications, PhD thesis for Pharmacology and MSc
dissertation in Physics. I had a privilege of coordinating this project
and sharing investigator-ship along with Prof Mihir Joshi, Dr Sushma
Mengi and Dr Nancy Pandita. This was an excellent exposition for me in
handling a multidisciplinary networking.
Reverse Pharmacology as a
path of investigation and research was formally adopted at the same
time in 2002 by Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
through a NMITLI (New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership
Initiative) program having Research on Ayurvedic herbal medicine as a
major focus with a mandate of developing competitive Ayurvedic herbal
products for global market. This program had identified about 25 top
institutions across the nation involved in Ayurveda research in selected
areas of Arthritis, Diabetes and Hepatitis. Dr Vaidya’s mentorship and
guiding force has helped all these three projects demonstrate the cost
effective and time efficient path of herbal drug development.
Persuasion
of Ayurvidya through Reverse Pharmacology may be illustrated by
selected few examples viz. Study of Atmagupta (Mucuna prurience) in
Parkinson’s disease (PD) was instigated in early 1970’s based on the
information tallied from different decades such as PD as a dopamine
deficiency syndrome got confirmed in late 1960’s and high L-dopa content
of M pruriens was reported in early 1930’s. The awareness of use of M
pruriens in Ayurvedic clinical practice gave Dr Vaidya an idea of
exploring the said clinical study with Ayurvedic clinician Vd Antarkarji
and a clinical neurologist Dr N H Wadia. This was probably the first
study to demonstrate besides clinical efficacy, a correlation of
activity and plasma levels of L-dopa in patients of PD post oral Mucuna
pruriens. Subsequently several experimental and clinical studies were
undertaken by others which have demonstrated better activity of M
pruriens than L-dopa & carbidopa combination and also activity of
Mucuna in PD beyond Dopa-free extracts. Interestingly Atmagupta became a
monotherapy of choice for PD with many Ayurveda experts’
prescriptions.
Arogyavardhini which is classically indicated
for skin disorders was studied in viral hepatitis based on its clinical
usage practice prevalent in western India. The first of its kind of
double blind placebo controlled study for a classical Ayurvedic
formulation was conducted in late 1970’s with Vd Antarkarji as an
Ayurveda expert and Dr Jayant Doshi as an expert gastroenterologist.
This study demonstrated reduction in disease duration and early recovery
of symptoms. Subsequent studies with Picroriza kurroa, picrosites and
picroliv for their hepatoprotective activity convinced beyond doubt the
scientific fraternity about the precise activity of Ayurvedic
formulations/plants in liver disorders. Ayurvedic hepatoprotective
products are generally accepted as a main hold for the management of
liver disorders.
The study of Yograj Guggulu in Rheumatoid
Arthritis (RA) was based on experience of its usage in RA derived from
the registry of Podar Ayurveda hospital. Interestingly, prior to
undertaking study in RA Yograj Guggulu was also studied in healthy
volunteers for investigating tolerability with higher doses. This
important study revealed effective dose range of Yograj Guggulu in RA
when used as a mono therapy, its steroid sparing activity and also long
term usage safety. Guggulu (Commiphora wightii) in our further studies
has also demonstrated its activity of down regulating pro-inflammatory
cytokines. Anti cytokine therapies are the mainstay of RA management in
conventional modern line of treatment.
Ashoka (Saraka indica)
has been mentioned in Ayurvedic classics for diverse medical
indications especially for menorrhagia/ Dysfunctional uterine bleeding
(DUB). Many Ayurvedic formulations of S indica are available in the
market. However a well organized and a planned clinical study of
‘Ashotone (a proprietary formulation with S indica as a main ingredient)
in menorrhagia’ gave very interesting findings. The study was
undertaken by an expert reproductive endocrinologist Dr Rama Vaidya
& her team who could identify a subset of menorrhagia which was more
responsive to the treatment of S indica such as ovulatory menorrhagia.
Haridra
(Curcuma longa) has been extensively investigated from diverse view
points of investigations globally. Dr Sumati Bhide a basic scientist in
cancer research demonstrated the efficacy of turmeric product in oral
sub mucus fibrosis. Subsequently our team of scientists have continued
to work on this important plant under the guidance of Dr Vaidya. Dr
Jayashree Joshi an expert in Gynaecological research and her colleagues
undertook human pharmacology studies of Turmeric oil and further
undertook clinical and experimental studies in cervical precancerous
conditions. Dr Ashok Amonkar an expert medicinal chemist developed a new
compound ‘Curcumin-Venedium’ which has a great potential application in
diabetes mellitus. Dr Vidita Vaidya a neuroscientist has demonstrated
activity of Turmeric in preventing hypocampal neuronal degenerations
which would have a significant application in neurodegenerative
disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Our team continue to work on this
commonly used household remedy of Indian diet and culture.
In
CSIR-NMITLI arthritis project I had a privilege of being one of the
principal investigators. Amongst the shortlisted Ayurvedic plants for
investigation in degenerative joint disease-osteoarthritis (OA),
Bhallatak (Semecarpus anacardium) was one of the unanimous choices.
However due to its inherent toxic nature it was challenging to
investigate and hence the responsibility was put on me due to my
Ayurvedic background to investigate Bhallatak-based classical Ayurvedic
formulation. AmrutBhallatak a formulation of Semecarpus anacardium and
Tinospora cordifolia has demonstrated prevention of cartilage
degradation in patients of osteoarthritis of knee besides its usefulness
in reducing OA pain, stiffness and functional disability. Interestingly
this so called toxic plant product of Bhallatak was better adhered to
than Glucosamine a popular over the counter natural product when
compared over six months.
In CSIR-NMITLI diabetes project
from shortlisted six plants Mamejava (Enicostema littorae) a plant
popularly used in western India in community practice for type 2
diabetes mellitus was extensively and ideally investigated on Reverse
Pharmacology path under the direct supervision of Dr Vaidya. Most
significant finding of this study was its activity at the level of DNA
protection, prevention of diabetes complications demonstrated through
diverse experimental models besides clinical efficacy in reducing
glycemic and lipemic index. Drug interaction studies of ‘Neesha-Amalaki’
and ‘Metphormin’ was an eye opener.
Parijat (Nyctanthus
arbortristis) a plant well described in Hindu mythology and also
described in Ayurvedic classics of medieval literature & clinical
practice traditions has been taken up by our institution as a major
research project in collaboration with Dr Akhil Vaidya’s lab at Drexel
University, USA. Dr.Chhaya Godse’s PhD work has demonstrated activity of
N.arbortristis to be effective in malaria of Plasmodium vivax &
Plasmodium falciparum in different experimental as well as clinical
models. Its anti-inlfammatory, anti malarial and spleen regressing
activity has a unique potential to become a global drug for malaria.
Further work on isolation of phytoactive constituents from Parijat is
continued.
These are some of the important Ayurvedic
formulations I have personally witnessed being investigated on the
principles of Reverse Pharmacology and have revealed new knowledge which
is practically useful for its clinical applications. Besides this more
than hundreds of Ayurvedic plants/formulations have been demonstrated to
be useful through modern methods of investigations by different
scientific institutions and investigators working in this field. All
these efforts have helped Ayurveda being accepted as an organized
scientific healthcare system by global community.
However
Ayurveda is not merely about pharmacotherapeutics; the perspectives of
holistic management through drug-diet-deeds, domain of preventive
medicine, aspects of clinical diagnostics & prognostics, promotion
of positive health and rejuvenative-reparative medicine are founded on
Ayurvedic fundamental principles and axioms. To comprehend all these
components of this live tradition and to make them acceptable and
applicable for current global healthcare management an ‘integrative
Ayurveda’ approach is desirable. We define integrative Ayurveda as ‘An
active and open-ended interface of Ayurveda with advancing modern
sciences especially biomedical sciences to continuously facilitate the
incorporation of emerging new knowledge into mainstream Ayurveda, while
maintaining fidelity to Ayurveda fundamental principles’.
The
ethos of Integrative Ayurveda is to interpret and understand anything
and everything related to human health in terms of basic concepts of
Ayurveda. In integrative Ayurveda, the foundational platform is
Ayurveda, with bridges to all spheres of advancing knowledge, be they
biomedical, technological or metaphysical. The expertise desired here is
that of ‘Vaidya Scientist’ who comprehends both shastra and science.
The goal is to grasp the ‘Nature of Man’ and his full potential, with R
and D activities revolving around understanding the synergy between
systems biology and systems Ayurveda. The path of integrative Ayurveda
leads to harmony with nature in a symbiotic mode, eventually helping to
maintain health and prevent occurrence of diseases.
The second
half of 1st decade of 21st century was really challenging to our entire
group which works under the leadership of Dr Vaidya. Our earlier
research centre was unceremoniously closed down when we had several
important research projects in our hands. I sincerely believe that we
could sail through this difficult phase only because of Dr Vaidya’s
yogic mind set, extraordinary optimism and strong conviction of being on
the side of ‘Dharma’. Now we have at MRC-KHS an ICMR’s advanced centre
of ‘Reverse Pharmacology’ and an AYUSH centre of excellence in
‘Integrative Ayurveda’ both being supported by Ministry of health, Govt
of India. Ayurveda is a treasure of healthcare knowledge whereas
‘Ayurvidya’ is a pursuit of knowledge to enrich this treasure. Dr Ashok
Vaidya has given us the ‘Sadhan’ of Reverse Pharmacology and Integrative
Ayurveda to aspire the ‘Sadhya’ of Ayurvidya. I feel blessed to be a
‘Sadhak’ on this journey for the pursuit of knowledge which has no
origin neither end; it has to be continued from generations to
generations
.
Dr Ashwinikumar A
Raut