Books of Pandit Duraiswami Aiyangar

Astanga Hridaya of Acharya Vaghbhata

Ashtanga Hridayam meaning ‘the heart of the eight branches of Ayurveda’, was composed by the eminent scholar Vagbhatta in the 7th C. and has 7120 verses written in a poetic style for easy recital, thereby presenting a comprehensive account of this esoteric school of medicine and soon became the root source for Ayurvedic philosophy and teachings. Pandit Duraiswami translated this text into Tamil so that Tamil physicians could have a solid foundation of Sanskrit works for their procedures.

This is a basic text book on Ayurveda, on Symptoms, Disease and Ailments written in sutras – short verses. The Tamil translation has a commentary on each verse.

Astanga Hridaya of Acharya Vaghbhata, Volume 1, in Tamil. Ayurveda Bhushana Pandit M Duraiswami Aiyangar. The Vaidya Kalanidhi Office, Madras, 1918. 440 pages.

Astanga Hridaya of Acharya Vaghbhata

Astanga Hridaya of Acharya Vaghbhata, Revised 2nd Edition, Volume 1, in Tamil. Ayurveda Bhushan Pandit M Duraiswami Aiyangar. The Vaidya Kalanidhi Office, Madras, 1931. 568 pages.

Astanga Hridaya of Acharya Vaghbhata

Astanga Hridaya of Acharya Vaghbhata, Revised 2nd Edition, Volume 2, in Tamil. Ayurveda Bhushan Pandit M Duraiswami Aiyangar. The Vaidya Kalanidhi Office, Madras, 1935. 594 pages.

Madhava Nidhana

Also known as Rug Vinischaya, Madhava Nidhanam was authored by Madhava, a 7th C. Ayurvedic practitioner and is a comprehensive Ayurvedic treatise which names 79 diseases in as many chapters, along with their causes, symptoms and complications and is considered first among the minor triad of Ayurvedic literature. Pandit Duraiswami took great pains to translate this treatise into Tamil reaching out thereby to a much larger audience.

A treatise on pathogenesis of diseases.

Madhava Nidhana, in Tamil. Vidyaratna Pandit M Duraiswami Aiyangar. The Vaidya Kalanidhi Office, Vepery, Madras, 1936. 290 pages.

Pillaip Pini Vakatam

Pillaip Pini Vakatam: a collection of notes on certain ailments and recipes of children. Critically edited with introduction and notes by Ayurvedabhushana, Ayurvedacharya, Vidyaratnam Pandit M. Duraiswami Aiyangar. Government Oriental Manuscript Library, Madras, 1952. 123 pages. In Tamil.

Rasaratna Samuchchaya of Acharya Vaghbhata

The text contains detailed descriptions of various complex metallurgical processes, as well as descriptions of how to set up and equip a laboratory (ch. 10) and other topics concerning Indian alchemy. It is a work that synthesises the writings and opinions of several earlier authors and presents a coherent account of medieval Indian alchemy.

Rasaratna Samuchchaya of Acharya Vaghbhata, in Tamil. Ayurveda Bhushan Pandit M Duraiswami Aiyangar. The Vaidya Kalanidhi Office, Vepery, Madras, 1931. 180 pages.

Sarngadhara Samhita

This is a very important practitioner’s handbook for Ayurveda.

Sarngadhara Samhita, in Tamil. Vidyaratna Pandit M Duraiswami Aiyangar. The Vaidya Kalanidhi Office, Vepery, Madras, 1927. 432 pages.

Jīvānandanam of Ānandarāya Makhin

An allegorical play, filled with medical and political knowledge, it is a layered text open to multiple interpretations, nuanced and layered, centering around the attack by the king of disease, Consumption on the hero of the play, the Soul of man, and his final deliverance through his faith in God. Pandit Duraiswami wrote a commentary in Sanskrit on this work, drawn to it for its masterful explanation of Ayurveda in political terms that any layman could understand.

Translated into Malayalam by Dr PVK Anand, and currently Dr Anthony Cerulli is working on translating it into English.

Jīvānandanam of Ānandarāya Makhin: a drama embodying teachings of Āyurveda. Ed. by M. Duraiswami Aiyangar, with his own commentary, ‘Nandinī’. 1947. 562 pages.

Hamsa Sandesham

HAṀSASANDEŚAof Sri VedantadesikaAn English Rendering of the Tamil Translation, Notes and Foreword byAyurveda-bhushana, Ayurvedacharya, Desikadarsana-dhurandhara, Vaidyaratnam Pandit M Duraiswami Aiyangar

English translation by Dr. S. Usha.

Śrī Pāñcarātrarakṣā of Śrī Vedānta Deśika

This was chosen as one of the 100 important Oriental books for reprint. It is a book on Vedanta Philosophy.

Śrī Pāñcarātrarakṣā of Śrī Vedānta Deśika. Edited by M. Duraiswami Aiyangar and T. Venugopalacharya, with an introduction in English by G. Srinivasa Murthi. The Adyar Library and Research Centre, Chennai. First published in 1940 and reprinted in 1996. 281 pages.

Hamsa Sandesham of Sri Vedanta Desikan

When Rama is pining for Sita, who has been abducted by Ravana to Sri Lanka, he tells a swan to go tell Sita how much he longs for her. He directs the swan to Sri Lanka by describing to her the temples that she will see on the way.

Hamsa Sandesham of Sri Vedanta Desikan. Translated into Tamil by Vaidyaratna Pandit M Duraiswami Aiyangar, Ayurveda Bhushan, Ayurvedacharya, Desika Darsana Duranthara. 1941. 117 pages.

Tantra Sara Sangraha (with commentary)

Tantra Sara was the compendium of worship supposedly taught to Lord Brahma by Lord Vishnu and Madwacharya extracted relevant portions of it into this volume, which consists of the (i) chanting of the great Vaishnava mantras (ii) aspects of Aavarana pooja (iii) Kalasha pooja (iv) comprehending the various forms and expressions of Lord Vishnu (v) yagna rituals (vi) meditation (vii) vasthu of temple construction (viii) sculpture and aspects related to the installation of icons. Pandit Duraiswami Aiyangar being a staunch Vaishnavite was obviously attracted to this work and through his Tamil translation, wanted to disseminate this knowledge to the devout Tamilian reader.

Tantra Sara Sangraha (with commentary): a treatise teaching formulae and rites for the attainment of health and happiness and even of super-human power. By Narayana of Sivapuram. Edited critically with introduction in English and Sanskrit by Vaidyaratna Pandit M. Duraiswami Aiyangar, Ayurveda Bhushana, Ayurvedacharya. Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, no. 16. Madras, 1950. 567 pages. Full text on the Internet Archive.

Kirat Arjuniya Gadya Sangraha (of Bharavi)

Composed in the 6th C., this play describing in 18 cantos the combat between Arjuna and Shiva as a Kirata (mountain-dweller) during the years when the Pandavas were in exile, contains some of the most bewitchingly well-structured linguistic feats, both of construction and expression, unimaginable to any but the most profound scholars, earning for itself the title of the most powerful poem in Sanskrit. What Pandit Duraiswami has done is to write notes in Sanskrit on Mallinatha’s commentary on Kiratarjuniya, wherein he explores not only the beauty of the language, but also the message of the play which portrays all the universe (of gods, demi-gods and man) as one.

Kirat Arjuniya is a Sanskrit kavya by Bhāravi, written in the 6th century or earlier. It is an epic poem in eighteen cantos describing the combat between Arjuna and lord Shiva at Indrakeeladri hills in present-day Vijayawada in the guise of a kirāta or mountain-dwelling hunter. It is one of the larger three of the six Sanskrit mahakavyas, or great epics. It is noted among Sanskrit critics both for its gravity or depth of meaning, and for its forceful and sometimes playful expression. This includes a canto set aside for demonstrating linguistic feats, similar to constrained writing. Later works of epic poetry followed the model of the Kirātārjunīya.

Kirat Arjuniya Gadya Sangraha (of Bharavi). Translated by Ayurveda Bhushan Pandit M. Duraiswamy Aiyangar, with commentary Tika Ghantapatha. 1926. 42 pages.

Kātampari

This title is also spelled Kadambari (notice the variant spelling of his name). Available at the UC Berkeley library, in its rare books collection, not to be loaned. More about Banabhatta’s Kadambari on Wikipedia.

Kātampari by Em Turaisvāmi Aiyaṅkār. 1st edition published in 1911, in Tamil. Revised and published again in 1949.

Mēkasantēcam

Meghasandesa, a translation of Kalidasa’s work. This title is also spelled Megasandesham (notice the variant spelling of his name).

Mēkasantēcam [Kalidasa]. Mē. Turaisvāmi Aiyaṅkar. 1913. Read on Google Books.