Ayurveda Samhita
Ayurveda, as all of us know, is the most ancient medical science, serving mankind by providing a comprehensive, natural and holistic cure for many diseases of the body and mind, while also offering the best foundations for the prevention of disease.
It took considerable effort on the part of ancient Ayurvedic scholars to formulate, script, edit, write and develop this science without the benefit of any modern-day sophistication.
Ayurved Samhita Classify Into Two Types:
Brihat Trayi
There are three main treatises considered the most authentic and standard references for Ayurveda. These three treatises, occupying the foremost position for their authority and authentication in compiling and presenting Ayurveda in its finest form, are called the ‘Brihat Trayees’, the ‘Elite Three of Ayurveda’, or the ‘Greater Trio of Ayurveda’: Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita and Ashtanga Sangraha. These are known as the ‘Brihat Trayis’ (Brihat Trayees), meaning three great treatises, or the ‘greatest trio’, of Ayurveda.
1. Charaka Samhita
The Charaka Samhita is believed to have arisen around 400–200 BCE. It is regarded as one of the oldest and most important ancient authoritative writings on Ayurveda. It is not known for certain who this person was, or whether the work represents that of a single author or a school of thought — it may have come from a group of scholars or followers of a man known as Charaka, or from an original composition by a single person of that name. This work is sometimes considered a redaction of an older, more voluminous work, the Agnivesha Samhita (46,000 verses), which is no longer extant. Dridhabala, who lived around 400 AD, is believed to have filled in many verses of missing text — perhaps up to 20% — in the Chikitsasthana and elsewhere, which had disappeared over time.
The language of Charaka is Sanskrit, and its style is poetry, with meter and melody — poetry being known to serve as a memory aid. Charaka, for example, contains over 8,400 metrical verses, which are often committed to memory in their entirety by present-day medical students of Ayurveda.
It presents most of the theoretical framework of Ayurveda and concentrates on the branch known as kayachikitsa (internal medicine) — largely the theory of the internal fire, or digestion, which in modern terms would be called internal medicine. Charaka never discusses the sub-types of pitta and kapha, but does list and describe the five sub-types of vata.
Seen from a broader perspective, this work represents a certain value of consciousness distinct from other works, giving greater discussion to the notion that life is fundamentally a field of intelligence and pure knowledge — a field that is self-aware, being both the Knower and the object of perception, which for Charaka is part of what the physician must treat.
2. Sushruta Samhita
The Sushruta Samhita presents the field of Ayurvedic surgery (shalya). This branch of medicine arose partly from the demands of dealing with the effects of war. This work, too, is said to be a redaction of oral material passed down verbally across generations, and is thought to have arisen around the same period as the Charaka Samhita, slightly before or after it according to different authorities. Its style is both prose and poetry, with poetry forming the larger portion.
The Sushruta Samhita, while dealing with the practice and theory of surgery, is also an important source of Ayurvedic aphorisms — for example, the most comprehensive and frequently quoted definition of health comes from Sushruta. This work is unique in discussing blood as a fourth doshic principle, and is the first to enumerate and discuss the pitta sub-doshas and the marmas. With its emphasis on pitta, surgery and blood, this work best represents the transformational value of life.
3. Ashtanga Hridayam and Ashtanga Sangraha
Ashtanga Sangraha and Ashtanga Hridayam are both attributed to a person named Vagbhata — there are two works by a person, or persons, of this name. The Ashtanga Sangraha is nearly 40% greater in size (by verse count) and is primarily poetry with prose, while the Hridayam (about 7,800 verses) is written in prose and appears to follow a slightly different organisation of material. Both works have been dated to around the same period, thought to be after the Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita (400 CE).
Its exposition is relatively straightforward and, like Charaka, deals primarily with kayachikitsa. In this work, the kapha sub-doshas are listed and described for the first time, completing the framework of vata, pitta and kapha with their five sub-types each. Its emphasis on the physiology of the body and on the therapeutic use of metals and minerals means this treatise represents the gross, material value of life more than its counterparts. While Charaka devotes entire chapters to the Self, these works merely mention that the body is the home of the Self, without further elaboration.
Laghu Trayi
Laghu Trayi means the ‘Lesser Trio’, or ‘Lesser Triad’, of Ayurveda. It comprises three treatises covering Ayurvedic basics and the description of diseases, formulations and treatments in a simplified way. They are essentially compilations drawn from the ancient treatises — especially the Greater Trio, or Brihat Trayees, namely Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita and Vagbhata Samhita (Ashtanga Sangraha / Ashtanga Hridaya). Material related to Ayurveda from the ancient treatises has been simplified and presented in a different way and chronology in the Laghu Trayees, though care has been taken not to compromise the quality of the content or alter its core basics.
The Laghu Trayees are said to be next best to the Brihat Trayis among the elite references for studying and practising Ayurveda comprehensively.
1. Sharngadhara Samhita
The Sharngadhara Samhita is a concise exposition of Ayurvedic principles. Its author, Sharngadhara, offered the work as a digested version of Ayurvedic knowledge, deliberately omitting much detail since the works of the Greater Three were already widely known. This treatise is thought to have originated in the 15th century AD. The Sharngadhara Samhita is prized for its enumeration and description of numerous pharmacological formulations used in panchakarma, and contains the first textual elaboration of diagnosis by means of the pulse. Its subject matter, again, is the field of kayachikitsa.
2. Bhava Prakasha
Bhava Prakasha is the most recent of the classical texts, written in the 16th century. It is a well-organised and compact re-presentation of the earlier classics, comprising about 10,268 verses of varying meters. It deals generally with kayachikitsa and includes a large section titled Nighantu, which describes the characteristics of many foods, plants and minerals — many of its sutras being direct quotations from earlier writers.
3. Madhava Nidanam
Madhava Nidanam deals with the classification of diseases in Ayurveda. Its taxonomy differs slightly at times from those given by Charaka, Sushruta and Vagbhata, while for the most part its verses appear to be direct quotations from them. This work is dated to around 700 AD and is prized for covering a wide range of diseases across the fields of bala (children’s and women’s disorders), shalya, damstra (toxicology), shalakya (ear, nose and throat) and kayachikitsa. While the treatise gives a detailed description of disease etiology, prodroma, and cardinal signs and symptoms, it does not offer explanation or suggestions for chikitsa (treatment).