Rainy seasons, wetlands, body fluids

"Regenzeiten, Feuchtgebiete, Körpersäfte" analyses the role of water in early Indian medicine on the basis of its source texts, most of which were written in the first millennium of our time. In three large sections, Angermeier discusses the medical relevance of the environment and climate, the role of water in the human body and its dietary and medical use. Within these three sections, topics as diverse as hydrology, seasons, anatomy and physiology, doctrines of the elements and therapeutic practice are treated, providing multi-layered insights into the intellectual history of early Ayurveda. It becomes clear that early Ayurveda does not only consider water in the strict medical sense, but also deals in detail with climatic and ecological conditions which are important for a healthy and long life. As a result, this book contains relevant aspects for all fields related to water in the Indian subcontinent, from geography to meteorology. In addition, presentations such as those of the seasons in the context of medicine or the question of the relationship between health and water pollution are of interest to a wider audience. Other sections of the book clearly show that Ayurveda, contrary to the often conveyed image, is not a static health doctrine defined from the beginning, but was still in a state of flux and underwent dynamic developments, especially in its early phase. For example, the presentation of the metabolism, in which the bodily constituents are created, differs from work to work. It becomes visible how concepts are developed, discussed, expanded, discarded and re-adapted. In addtion, the complex situation of water as an elemental component of various classification systems shows that there was not yet a completed, uniform doctrine of elements, but that these concepts and their application in medicine were still in development. The book contains numerous tables and graphics that concisely depict various topics and help the reader to quickly grasp complex relationships. Detailed indexes support the search for specific information that is not directly apparent from the table of contents.