Question

Who was the writer of Charaka Samhita?
A)Jeevaka
B)Charak
C)Kanad
D)All of the above

Answer 1

Hint: Sanskrit text on Ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine) is known as The Charaka Saṃhitā. It is one of the two foundational Hindu texts of this field that have survived from ancient India, along with the Suśruta-saṃhitā.

Complete answer:
Charak was the writer of Charaka Samhita. The pre-2nd century CE text consists of eight books and one hundred and twenty chapters. Theories on the human body, etiology, symptomatology, and therapeutics for a wide range of diseases are described in it. Sections on the importance of diet, hygiene, prevention, medical education, the teamwork of a physician, nurse, and patient necessary for recovery to healthcare are also mentioned in Charaka Samhita.

The content of the book was first taught by Atreya, and then subsequently codified by Agniveśa, revised by Charaka, and the manuscripts that survive into the modern era are based on one completed by Dridhabala as stated in the Charaka Samhita. One-third of the book was written all by himself because this portion of the book had been lost and that he also re-wrote the last part of the book he stated in the Charaka Samhita.
Based on textual analysis, and the literal meaning of the Sanskrit word charak, Chattopadhyay speculated that charak does not refer to one person but multiple people.[16] Vishwakarma and Goswami state that the text exists in many versions and entire chapters are missing in some versions.

Charaka Samhita’s composition dates are uncertain. Dated to the 6th century CE, is the Dṛḍhbala revision and completion, the source of current texts. Charak is a term for a wanderer, sannyasi (ascetic), and sometimes used in the context of the ancient tradition of wandering physicians who brought their medical expertise and magico-religious rites from village to village, in Sanskrit.
The medical tradition of wandering physicians is traceable to the Atharvaveda, particularly the Caranavaidya shakha – one of the nine known shakha of Atharvaveda-based Vedic schools, Surendranath Dasgupta stated.

Hence, the correct answer is option (B)

Note: Chapters relating to medicine, surgery, and magico-religious rites are contained in The Atharvaveda. This Atharvaveda layer of text was likely compiled contemporaneously with Samaveda and Yajurveda, or about 1200 BCE - 1000 BCE. The Atreya-Caraka school and its texts may have emerged from this older tradition, and he cites a series of Atharva Veda hymns to show that almost all organs and nomenclature found in Charaka Samhita is also found in the Vedic hymns Dasgupta and other scholars stated.