![]() The work itself summarizes medical care in health and in disease by offering etiology, symptomatology and treatments. Regardless, Charaka Samhita remains one of the most crucial (and highly studied) authoritative contributions to Ayurvedic medicine today. It is possible that a group of scholars - maybe even followers of a man named Charaka - collaborated to complete this comprehensive work. ![]() Who exactly the author is, or if, in fact, Charaka represents the work of a "school of thought," is unknown. ![]() Commentators such as Vijnana Bhiksu, Sivadasa, and Bhavamisra (the author of the Bhavaprakasha), subscribe to the opinion that Charaka and author of Mahabhasya on Vyakarana Patanjali, are one and the same person. (1, 2) Speculation still revolves around his existence as a singular person, or its existence as a collaborative effort. (1)Ĭharaka is believed to have flourished anywhere between the 2nd and 6th century BCE. The Agnivesa Samhita is said to have been on the verge of perishing, or maybe just falling into disuse, at the moment that Charaka took on the great task of redaction. (2) In this lineage, Agnivesa transcribed the teachings of Atreya Punarvasu and turned them into a text that would later be made available to the world thanks to Charaka. Many consider Charaka to be a redactor restoring, rewriting, and filling in the gaps of the Agnivesa Samhita (46,000 verses), which is no longer in existence. ![]() Classical Period (450 BCE - 400 CE) Introduction to Charaka Samhita
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