Indian Knowledge

The present form of Sushruta Samhita is believed to have been the work of several people. K. Ramachandra Rao, a Sanskrit scholar, in his Encyclopedia of Indian Medicine (1985), suggested that the author of the original text was ‘elder Sushruta’ or ‘Vruddha Sushruta‘. The text, states Rao, was redacted centuries later ‘by another Sushruta, then by Nagarjuna, and thereafter chapters were added as a supplement. The original text is believed to have 5 books and 120 chapters, which over time grew into 6 books and 186 chapters. The text in its current form contains details of around 1120 medical conditions, 700 medicinal plants, 400 surgeries and 121 surgical instruments!