learnt much of the healing art from the Hindoos, so the latter were indebted for their knowledge concerning several foreign drugs to the Greeks.
The rise of Muhammadanism brought about a new era in the history of civilization. The Arabs paid great attention to the cultivation of science and art. Although they did not discover or invent anything new, yet they preserved most of the known sciences of the ancient world- Without them, it is doubtful if the modern world would have been in possession of the philosophical and scientific lore of the Greeks or the Hindoos. Hindoo physicians adorned the court of the rulers of Bagdad. Medical works of the Hindoos such as Charaka, Sushruta, Nidana, &c, were translated into Arabic. The teachings of Hippocrates, Democritus, and other Greek physicians were made known to the world by the countrymen of Muhammad. When India came to be under the Islamic power, Muhammmadan physicians known as Yunani Hakims were patronized by the court. They were versed in the medical lore of the Greeks. They brought with them the teachings and doctrines of the Greek masters of the healing art, and also made known the properties and uses of several drugs of Central Asia. The Hindoo system of medicine, on the rise of the Muhammadan power, came to a stand-still; but the Hindoos were not slow in making use of those drugs which their Muhammadan conquerors had made known to them. Of all the drugs perhaps the most important one imported into India by the Muhammadans was opium. Before the Muhammadan supremacy in India, there is hardly any mention of opium to be met with in Hindoo works of Materia Medica. The principal works of Hindoo Materia Medica composed during the Muhammadan period of Indian history are:—
(1) Raja Nighantu, by Narahari Pandita. Regarding this work, Professor H. H. Wilson writes that "from the frequent occurrence of the Dakhini terms in explanation of his Sanskrit text it is inferred that he was an inhabitant of the south of India." The date of composition of this work has been fixed by the same authority at some time between the 12th and 13th centuries. [Vide H. H. Wilson's Works, Vol. V., p. 237.)
