Publications

In this study, we examine three different conceptions of self within the Caraka Saṃhitā (CS), a classical Sanskrit Āyurveda text, based on three interrelated notions of suffering, well-being, and the nature of the self’s agentic pursuit of remedy. These are—(i) the phenomenal self, (ii) the expansive self, and (iii) the transcendental self. The phenomenal self-in-the-world encompasses its existence across a single lifetime, and as the embodied, agentic self of the ‘sufferer in the here-and-now’, it is the primary subject of the CS. The temporally expansive self is conceived of in relation to the self’s experiences of disease, illness, and well-being as a result of karmic consequence and is therefore expansive (extends beyond the temporal bounds of a single lifetime). It experiences multiple embodied phenomenal subjectivities across an iterative temporal continuum. The ‘transcendental self’, although also temporally expansive, is the unchanging, eternal core of all ‘being’, the seer of all actions, the ‘knowing’ of which is ultimate well-being, and as such, implies the cessation of karmic valence.

In this study, we examine three different conceptions of self within the Caraka Saṃhitā (CS), a classical Sanskrit Āyurveda text, based on three interrelated notions of suffering, well-being, and the nature of the self’s agentic pursuit of remedy. These are—(i) the phenomenal self, (ii) the expansive self, and (iii) the transcendental self. The phenomenal self-in-the-world encompasses its existence across a single lifetime, and as the embodied, agentic self of the ‘sufferer in the here-and-now’, it is the primary subject of the CS. The temporally expansive self is conceived of in relation to the self’s experiences of disease, illness, and well-being as a result of karmic consequence and is therefore expansive (extends beyond the temporal bounds of a single lifetime). It experiences multiple embodied phenomenal subjectivities across an iterative temporal continuum. The ‘transcendental self’, although also temporally expansive, is the unchanging, eternal core of all ‘being’, the seer of all actions, the ‘knowing’ of which is ultimate well-being, and as such, implies the cessation of karmic valence.

This study examines how ecological systems contribute to notions of well-being in two Indic healing traditions– Āyurveda and the Māvilan healing traditions. We focus on the ecological place (or eco-place) as a living and dynamic space within which cultures of knowledge emerge, and healing identities become constructed, fostering multiple somatic, psychological, social, and spiritual correspondences between its human and other-than-human members, and through which a variety of well-being experiences emerge. Three lenses are used for this purpose (i) a narrative ecology of healing, (ii) agentic herbs and co-creative healing, and (iii) healing of natural ecological systems. For the first, the concept of narrative ecology is examined, alongside how healing knowledge emerges in both Āyurveda and the Māvilan healing traditions from human and other-than-human understandings of the world; for the second, we examine how, despite significantly differing engagements with forest ecosystems, the notion of plant-agency can recast healing as a co-creative process in both traditions. For the third, we explore ideas regarding other-than-human illness and therapeutics in Āyurveda and the Māvilan healing traditions.

The role of ecology in shaping notions of well-being in indigenous healing traditions is often overlooked in contemporary well-being discourse. This study examines how ecological systems contribute to notions of well-being in two Indic healing traditions– Āyurveda and the Māvilan healing traditions. We focus on the ecological place (or eco-place) as a living and dynamic space within which cultures of knowledge emerge, and healing identities become constructed, fostering multiple somatic, psychological, social, and spiritual correspondences between its human and other-than-human members, and through which a variety of well-being experiences emerge. Three lenses are used for this purpose (i) a narrative ecology of healing, (ii) agentic herbs and co-creative healing, and (iii) healing of natural ecological systems. For the first, the concept of narrative ecology is examined, alongside how healing knowledge emerges in both Āyurveda and the Māvilan healing traditions from human and other-than-human understandings of the world; for the second, we examine how, despite significantly differing engagements with forest ecosystems, the notion of plant-agency can recast healing as a co-creative process in both traditions. For the third, we explore ideas regarding other-than-human illness and therapeutics in Āyurveda and the Māvilan healing traditions.

The legacy of Wootz steel and its influence on Damascus steel swords endure as testaments to ancient South India's metallurgical expertise. Archaeological findings and historical records substantiate the region's pivotal role in steel making. Here, the author attempted to elucidate its technological advancements as well as its historical cultural relevance