A critical review of antiquity, authorship and contents of Haramekhala: A medieval work on humanities

Ayurvedic science of life is one of the great contributions of India to the systems of health science. Apart from classical medical works, much information related to this Indian system is found elsewhere in other branches of science, such as Philosophy, Joutishya, Natya, Kavya, etc. Still much Ayurvedic information is clubbed in other compilations meant for general purpose. However, it is unfortunate that not all such works came into lime light; and still remain in the dark for many reasons. Haramekhala written by Mahuka is one such work, which contains Ayurvedic information along with various other themes, such as cosmetics. The author Mahuka lived in Dharanivaraha rajya of central India during Chapa Dynasty in 9(th)–10(th) century A.D. Haramekhala also known as Prayogamala comprises of five Paricchedas written in Prakrita language, later added by translations in Sanskrit called Chaya and foot notes in Sanskrit called Tika. The detail about this book is described in this article.