The Charaka Samhita Sutra is an ancient Indian Ayurvedic text on internal medicine written by Charaka. It is believed to be the oldest of the three ancient treatises of Ayurveda. It is central to the modern-day practice of Ayurvedic medicine; and, along with the Sushruta Samhita it is now identified worldwide as an important early source of medical understanding and practice, independent of ancient Greece. [1]
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Dharma · Artha · Moksha · Karma · Samsara |
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Vedas |
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The text, written in Sanskrit, is the work of at least several authors and may represent the work of a school of thought. The term ‘Charaka’ (Caraka) is said to apply to ‘wandering scholars’ or ‘wandering physicians’; and ‘Samhita’ means ‘collected' or 'compendium’. The original source of this text is identified as the Agnivesha Tantra (a treatise by Agnivesha), based on the teachings of Punarvasu Atreya and Charaka is said to have redacted this work (Agniveshakrite tantre Charaka pratisamskrite). Later, another scholar, Dridhabala extended it further (Aprapte Dridhabala sampurite). The work as extant dates to the Maurya period (roughly 3rd century BCE).
The extant text has ashtanga sthana (eight sections), totaling 120 chapters. These 8 sections are Sutra sthana (30 chapters), Nidana sthana (8 chapters), Vimana sthana (8 chapters), Sarira sthana (8 chapters), Indriya sthana (12 chapters), Chikitsa sthana (30 chapters), Kalpa sthana (12 chapters) and Siddhi sthana (12 chapters). 17 chapters of Chikitsa sthana and complete Kalpa sthana and Siddhi sthana were added later by Dridhabala (9th century). The text starts with Sutra sthana which deals with fundamentals and basic principles of Ayurveda practice. Unique scientific contributions credited to the Charaka Samhita include:
The most celebrated commentary on this text is the Charakatatparyatika or the Ayurveda Dipika written by Chakrapanidatta (1066). Other notable commentaries are Bhattara Harishchandra's Charakanyasa (c.6th century), Jaijjatas Nirantarapadavyakhya (c.875), Shivadasa Sena's Charakatattvapradipika (c.1460). Among the more recent commentaries are Narasimha Kaviraja's Charakatattvaprakasha and Gangadhara Kaviratna's Jalpakalpataru (1879).
"The Charaka (Vol I, Section xv) states these men should be, 'of good behavior, distinguished for purity, possessed of cleverness and skill, imbued with kindness, skilled in every service a patient may require, competent to cook food, skilled in bathing and washing the patient, rubbing and massaging the limbs, lifting and assisting him to walk about, well skilled in making and cleansing of beds, readying the patient and skillful in waiting upon one that is ailing and never unwilling to do anything that may be ordered.'" [3]
