Acharya Sushruta (आचार्य सुश्रुतः)

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Everyone around the world who practices surgery remembers the pioneering contributions of Acharya Sushruta for introducing surgical methods of treatment approach and establishing the fundamentals of surgery, now referring to him as the “Father of Surgery”. Acharya Sushruta laid down the roadmap of various surgeries in his work now known as “Sushruta Samhita” which is one of the largest and oldest written treatises on surgery, anatomy, and various other procedures which is also called Shalya Tantra(techniques of surgery). Sushruta Samhita is also a part of “bhrihat trayee” which literally means three great trios. The other treatises are, “Charaka Samhita” and “Ashtanga Sangraha/Hriday.

Time period and history

Ayurvedic knowledge is the oldest Indian traditional system of medicine that antedates other systems of medicine by not less than four centuries. Acharya Sushruta was the disciple of “Deivodasa” who was the King of Kashi. (Kashi is considered one of the oldest cities, known to humans since 1500 BCE, which is now known as Varanasi) he hailed from the Dhanwantari () school of thought. Medicine was taught in ancient India through Guru- Shishya parampara which is a method of imparting knowledge from a guru or teacher to his shishya or student/disciple in the form of shruti (verbal verses) which is solely in Sanskrit.

According to some references mentioned in Ramayana, Acharya Sushruta was the son of Sage Vishwamitra (he was the Guru of Lord Rama and Lakshmana).  

Even though many aspects of Sushruta Samhita are well-researched these days, there is not much written about Acharya Sushruta, who wrote the treatise. Son of Sage Vishwamitra, Acharya Sushruta practiced in the northern city of India, Kashi (now Varanasi) by the banks of river Ganga around 1000-1500 BCE. This interacts with the period of Acharya Charaka, drawing a loose conclusion that these two Acharyas could be contemporaries.

According to certain historians, Sushruta is the term used to denote “renowned”, thus the birth name could be different.

According to “panini” in the 7^th cent BCE, refers the meaning of the word “Sushruta” is a person who is skilled in surgery.

According to certain historians, Deviodasa is also considered as an incarnation of Lord Dhanwantari.

Sushruta Samhita

Originally written by Acharya Sushruta, this treatise was later redacted by Acharya Nagarjuna.

The original treatise consists of 120 chapters which are divided into 5 sections or “sthana”,

Sthana / Section	Number
Sutrasthana	46
Shareerasthana	10
Nidanasthana	16
Chikitsasthana	40
KalpaSthana	08
Uttara tantra	66

Dissection

Embryology

Anatomy

Ophthalmology