Bull.lnd.lnst.Hist.Med. Vol. XXVII. 1997. pp. 127 to 131

TODARAMALLA

A. NARAYANA *

ABSTRACTTodaramalla was a famous physician, scholar, statesman, Finance and Revenue

Minister in the court of Akbar. One of the oldest commentary namely 'Manojna' was :written by him on Ashtanga Hridaya. He was patriot of Ayurveda and author of 23series of works in the form of encyclopedia called 'Todarananda'. Ayurvedasaukhyam is one among the Todarananda. The biography of Todaramalla has beenpresented here.

Todaramalla was a famous physi-cian, scholar statesman, Finance andRevenue minister in the court ofMoghulEmperor, Akbar the Great, who ruledIndia during the 16th century A.D.'

The orthography of the nameTodaramalla varies widely. Maharajadhi-raja Todaramalla is one among the com-mentators of Ashtanga Hridaya accord-ing to the colophon of the preserved partsofhisAyurvedic work, entitled "AyurvedaSaukhyam, which is one among the 23different subjects in the form ofencylopaedia entitled Todarananda. 2,4

One of the oldest commentary namely'Manojna'waswritten byhim onAshtangaHridaya. This has not come into the limelight in the history of Ayurveda. AshtangaHridaya has as many as 37 commentar-ies, the largest number for any earlymedical classic the earliest extant amongthem is also the most illuming and mostoften printed, 'Sarvanga Sundara' byArunadatta (about 1200 AD). Somecommentaries still in manuscripts arenow available in several libraries in Indiaand outside.

According to Ma-aw-Sirul Umara(Memoriesof Nobles) compiled by Nawab

Shamsamuddowla, Todaramallawasoneof the Khatries of Lahore, a learned,wise statesman and a brave commander.He was trained and patronized by theEmperorAkbar. He joined as clerk infinance department, elevated to a rank of4000 and became a Amir (Noble).' Aftermany successful campaigns against therebels, he was promoted as the Vazir orDewan of the Emperor in Hijri 990 (1582A.D.). With reference to AkbarNama, hebrought many reforms in the financialand political state of the country andmade rules and regulations for wise gov-ernment. His advice to Hindus to learnPersian language had made many en-emies from his co-religionists and oneperson made an unsuccessful attempt onhis life in 1587. Due to old age andsickness, he tendered his resignation in1589 from the Akbar's service, which wasaccepted unwillingly by Akbar. AgainAkbar requested him to return and takecharge of the problems of the people.Todaramalla reluctantly accepted therequest of his master and returned to theAkbar's court and resumed his duties.Abul Fazal has mentioned that in straightforwardness, in fulfilling his duties in han-

* Research Officer (Ay) Indian Institute of History of Medicine OMC Building Putlibowli,Hyderabad (India).

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dling the forces, and in bravery, he had noequal. In grasping and solving the prob-lems of India, he was the only one ca-pable man of his time.

In his mission to revive and revitaliseHindu culture both in the religious andsecular fields, he took the help of severaleminent Sanskrit scholars of Varanasiand composed encyclopaedic works on23 different subjects by collecting mate-rial from the texts which were available inthose days and added knowledge andexperiences of the experts to his giganticwork known as Todarananda. It includesan extensive medical work known as"Ayurveda Saukhyam" which deals withthe diseases and their treatment.Parentage and place of birth:

Todaramalla was popularly knownas Raja Todararnalla, hailed from Oudhin Uttar Pradesh," India. According toBlochmann, who translated 'Ain-I-Akbari'of Abul Fazal, he was bom at Lahore. Hebelongs to Kshatriya by community andTandana by clan. The clan Tandana isused by the people of Kshatriya andKayastha community of Punjab and UttarPradesh. His family back ground andancestors qenealoqy- from Bala were asfollows:

BalaAttaliOamodaraAssuOvaraka OasaOvija MaliaBhagavati OasaTodaramalla

Todaramalla'sfatherBhagavati Oasadied when he was very young.His Associates:

Imprint on the title page given at theend 'of each chapter of Ayurveda

Todaramalla - Narayana

Saukhyam, shows this medical work byTodararnalla. There were 23 series ofworks to his credit. Itappears to be verydifficult for him to study all these subjectsin depth and to find time for their compi-lation because he was extremely busy inwars and administrative matters in thecourt of Akbar. However, a number ofexpert scholars of Banaras, viz. PanditNarayana Bhatta etc. (Most of scholarsnames were not mentioned). The versesof Bhava Prakash, Madhava'sDravyaguna are found in the AyurvedaSaukhyam, Bhava Mishra happened tobe in 16th century A.D. It appears BhavaMishra might be contemporary or associ-atedwith Todararnalta. Abul Fazal men-tions that four Hindu physicians.Mahadev, Bhimnath, Narain and Siwajiand three Hindu surgeons Chundersen,Bhairam and Bairjiu (he is said to beGujarati having skill in surgery and in theuse of COllyriums) were at Akbar's court.His Date:

Historians say that Todararnalla'speriod may be between 1520-1589 A.D.,Since the exact date of birth is not known.According to Ain-l-Akbari, he joined theservice of Akbar the great in 1573. Hedied on 10th November, 1589 A.D. (11thday of A.H. 998)3Religion and Philosophy:

Though he was an employee andclose confident of a muslim emperor, hewas staunch and orthodox Hindu' andwell versed in all ancient Hindu cultureand science. According to invocations inthe beginning of each Harsha (Chapter) of'Ayurveda Saukhyam' etc. works repletewith references to the adoration of LordKrishna. Once when he accompaningAkbar, he left the idols of Krishna at homedue to the hurry for departure to Punjaband as he transacted for several days,

Bull.lnd.lnst.Hist.Med. Vol. XXVII. 1997

without food and water inspite of strongpersuation by his employer the Em~erorAkbar. He left his fasting when the Idolswere brought back to him.Works:

There were 23 series of works to hiscredit. These are all collectively in theform of encyclopaedia called'Todarananda.' It means the work whichdelights 'Todaramalla.' All these worksdevided into several chapters called'Harshas'1. Sarga Saukhyam ( The work on the

creation of the universe.)2. Avatara Saukhyam (The work on

the ten incarnations of Vishnu.)3. Kalaganana Saukhyam (The work

on the calculation of the time.)4. Kalanirnaya Saukhyam (The worJo

on the fixation of suitable time anddate for the performance of various .religious rites.)

5. Desha Saukhyam (The work-en thedetermination of suitable places forthe construction of the houses,temples etc.)

6. Samskara Saukhyam (The workdealing with various rites for the twiceborn).

7. Achara Saukhyam (The work dealingwith daily conduct,)

8. Shuddhi Saukhyam (The work dealingwith purity and impurity as a resultof the birth or death of a person inthe family.)

9. Shraddha Saukhyam (The workdealing with the annual or periodicalofferings to the dead pitrus.)

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10. Varasakritya Saukhyam (The workdealing with observances duringthe year.)

11. Vrata Saukhyam (The work dealingwith various religious vows.)

12. Prathishtha Saukhyam (The workdealing with the rituals for the ins-tallation of the images and idols ofthe Gods.)

13. Devapuja Saukhyam (The workdealing with rituals to be perfor-med for the daily worship of deities.)

14. Dana Saukhyam (The workdealing with charity.)

15. Shanthi Karma Saukhyam (The workdealing with pacification of deities

and performance of rituals to bring outprosperity.)16. Yatra Saukhyam (The work dealingwith pilgrimage to holy places.)17. Vivahasaukhyam ( The work deal-ing with the rituals to be performed inmarriage.)18. vyavahara Saukhyam (The work

dealing with the legal procedures.19. Rajaniti Saukhyam (The work deal-ing with the politics and administration.)20. Prayashchitta Saukhyarn (Theworkdealing with the rituals to be performedfor the expiation of sinful deeds.)21. Karmavipaka Saukhyam (The workdealing with the fruits of good and badwork to be experienced in the next life.)22. Ayurveda Saukhyam (The work deal-ing with the science of life.)23. Agama Saukhyam (The work dealingwith mantra shastra.)

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Todarananda is primarily composedby com pilling material on different topicsfrom various authentic sources, most ofthese source books are not availablenow. In Ayurveda Saukhyam, extantworks like Charaka, Sushruta, Vagbhata,and extinct works like Vriddha Harita etc.are profusely quoted. This classic con-tains 97 chapters dealing with all aspectsof Ayurveda including fundamental prin-ciples. materia medica, latro-chemistry,examination of diseases, hygiene andpublic health and treatment of diseases.In this work several important and signifi-cant, quite new and interesting topicshave been discussed, which areNadipariksha, Mutrapariksha, distinction

Todaramalla - Narayana

between Dipana and Pachana etc. Theseare not available in Charaka, Bhela,Harita, Kashyapa, Sushruta, AshtangaSamgrahah and Ashtanga H rid aya. Ref-erence to Nadipariksha is available onlyin more recentworks like Yogaratnakaraand Mutrapariksha is available only inYogaratnakara, Basavarajiyam,Chikistasara Samgr'aha (Vangasena).Mutrapariksha will be seen in 6th chapterof Ayurveda Saukhyam3 that the sys-temic urine examination includingtailabindupariksha was available even inancient classics like Charpati, Gopuraand Harishchandra Samhitas. Unfortu-nately, these ancient classical works areno more extant.

REFERENCES1. Bhagwan Dash

2. Kunte, A.N.

3. Majumdar, R.C.

4. Ramachander Rao, S.K.

1984 Basic-principles of Ayurveda, ConceptPublication Company, New Delhi, -P.7, 9,8, 495.

1939 Ashtanga Hridaya ofVagbhata, NirnayaSagar Press, Bombay. P.7 (introduc-tion).

1974 The Mughal Empire, Bharatiya Vidya-Bhavan, Bombay p.128, 167.

1985 Encyclopaedia oflndjan Medicine, popu-lar prakashan, Bombay - 34. P.100.

Bull. Ind. Inst. Hist. Med. Vol. XXVII. 1997 131

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