INTRODUCTION.
There is scarcely a word held to be more authoritative and sacred in Indian literature than the word "Veda." There is a proverbial saying with the Hindus that the Vedas are authoritative and infallible. In conformity with the high place assigned to the Vedas in the Indian literature, it has been usual to appeal to the four Vedas as the ultimate authority for solution of all difficult questions bearing on social, religious, moral and philosophical problems. The same authoritative sanctity is also claimed for the Brahmanas and the Sutras attached to each of the Vedas on the ground that they expound either briefly or in detail the same ideas that have been taught either in detail or in brief in the Vedas. With a view to command similar authoritative sanctity for ancient works of unknown authors on even secular branches of learning, it has been usual to append the word 'Veda' to such treatises. Thus early works on warfare and medicine are called Dhanurveda and Ayurveda respectively. Except occasional references here and there to Dhanurveda and Ayurveda, no genuine ancient works as such are found extant. The Nitiprakasika on weapons and arms, though styled Dhanurveda, is evidently a modern metrical work. The Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta, is said to contain a prose manuscript called Dhanurveda, the author and date of which are unknown. As to the Ayurvedic work in a hundred thousand slokas referred to by Charaka, Susruta, Vagbhata and a host of other medical writers, not even a fragment of it is found anywhere.
