Itty Achudan

Itty Achudan
Born1640
Cherthala, Venad (modern-day Kerala, India)
Died
Cochin, Kingdom of Cochin (modern-day Kerala, India)
Occupation(s)Ayurvedic physician, Botanical expert, incumbent "Kollat Vaidyan" during the period 1670–1700

Itty Achudan (forename also spelt as Itty Achuden in English, and Itti Achudem in Latin), was an Indian Herbalist, Botanist and Physician. He belonged to an Ezhava family[1][2][3][4][5] in Kerala who practised pre-Ayurvedic systems of traditional medicine. The Kollatt family are natives of Kadakkarappally, a coastal village, north-west of Cherthala town, in Kerala, South India. Itty Achudan was the most remarkable Indian figure associated with Hortus Malabaricus, the botanical treatise on the medicinal properties of flora in Malabar (present day Kerala), in the 17th-century. It was compiled by the Dutch Governor of Malabar, Hendrik van Rheede, and Itty Achudan was Van Rheede's key informant who disclosed the pre-Ayurvedic traditional knowledge about the plants of Malabar to him. Hortus Malabaricus was published posthumously in Amsterdam between 1678 and 1693. The preface to Hortus Malabaricus includes a mentioning about Itty Achudan and a testimony revealing his contribution in his own hand writing.[6] Itty Achudan was introduced to Van Rheede by Veera Kerala Varma, the then ruler of the erstwhile state of Kochi.

  1. ^ Cerulli, Anthony (15 March 2022). The Practice of Texts: Education and Healing in South India. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-38355-5.
  2. ^ Menon, A. Sreedhara (12 July 2010). Legacy of Kerala. D C Books. ISBN 978-81-264-3798-6.
  3. ^ Jacobs, Nancy J. (1 January 2016). Birders of Africa: History of a Network. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-20961-7.
  4. ^ Gangadharan, G. G. (7 June 2021). Ayurveda: The True Way to Restore Your Health and Happiness. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. ISBN 978-93-90914-70-8.
  5. ^ Dorfman, Eric (25 August 2011). Intangible Natural Heritage: New Perspectives on Natural Objects. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-48165-9.
  6. ^ [1] On the English edition of Van Rheede's Hortus Malabaricus by K. S. Manila' (2003) - H. Y. Mohan Ram, Current Science, Vol. 89, No. 10, 25 November 2005 at Retrieved on 7 June 2021.