Om-gnosis Episode 15: Indian Alchemy and Ayurveda with Dagmar Wujastyk |

Описание: In Episode 15, Om-gnosis host Keith E. Cantú talks with Dagmar Wujastyk, Associate Professor at the University of Alberta and a leading scholar in Sanskrit philology, the history of medicine, and Indian alchemy (Rasa Śāstra). In this exploration of the sciences of life, longevity, and transmutation in South Asian history, Dagmar shares her journey from Sanskrit philology to classical Indian medicine and fieldwork with traditional physicians (Ashtavaidyans) in Kerala, who still practice based on texts over 1,000 years old. She discusses the complex doctor-patient relationships in classical Ayurveda centered on the “Four Pillars of Treatment.” She also distinguishes between medical rejuvenation therapies and alchemical pursuits of immortality and deification, providing a unique look into an ancient alchemical laboratory. Dagmar further talks about her recent book, Indian Alchemy: Sources and Contexts, and her upcoming research interests in iatrochemistry, historical pigments, and the science of cooking.

DAGMAR WUJASTYK, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of History, Classics, and Religion at the University of Alberta, Canada. She is an Indologist trained in Sanskrit and Pali philology, specializing in the history and literature of classical Indian medicine (Ayurveda), alchemy and iatrochemistry (rasaśāstra), and yoga. From 2015-2020, she was Principal Investigator of the ERC Starting Grant project “Medicine, Immortality, Moksha: Entangled Histories of Yoga, Ayurveda and Alchemy in South Asia” (AyurYog). Wujastyk is also the co-convener of the online working group “Science in Early South Asia,” hosted by the Consortium for the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine. She is the author of Well-mannered Medicine (Oxford University Press, 2012) and editor of several volumes on Indian medical and alchemical themes.

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