How many of the following statements regarding medicine and related practices in medieval India is/are correct?
- 1Indian medicine of the Graeco-Arabic tradition (Tibbi-Yunani) was almost identical in its practice with contemporary Persian medicine.
- 2Harvey's discovery of the circulation of blood was explained to a scholarly noble by European traveller Francois Bernier.
- 3The practice of smallpox inoculation was described in contemporary Yunani Ayurvedic texts.
Select the correct answer.
- A1
- B2
- C3
- DNone
Explanation
Statement 1 is correct: Tibb-i-Yunani, the Graeco-Arabic medical tradition brought to India by Persian and Arab scholars, was in practice almost identical to contemporary Persian medicine. Statement 2 is correct: the French traveller-physician Francois Bernier, at the Mughal court, explained William Harvey's discovery of the circulation of blood to the scholarly noble Danishmand Khan, as recorded in Bernier's "Travels in the Mughal Empire". Statement 3 is incorrect: the practice of smallpox inoculation (variolation) is not described in contemporary Yunani or Ayurvedic texts in the manner claimed. With two statements correct, the answer is (B). (Cross-checked with Testbook's and Unacademy's CDS-I 2024 analyses.)