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posed several medical treatises, each reflecting the spirit and progress of its age[1]. At the time of the Charaka itself there existed at least six standard works by Agnivesa, Bhela, Játukarna, Parásara, Hárita, and Kshárapáni, respectively. Charaka simply based his work on that of Agnivesa[2], which he completely recast and remodelled. Later on, Dridhavala added the last forty-one chapters[3]. The other five works seem to have perished[4]. Vágbhata,
- ↑ We are at present engaged in examining the Bráhmanas, the Upanishadas and Buddhistic literature with a view to glean information on these points and hope to announce the results in the second volume.
- ↑ Charaka himself naïvely assigns his reasons for giving preference to the treatise of Agnivesa in the words:—"of the six (authors) Agnivesa was the most "sharp of intellect" (sútra Ch. I 2.)
- ↑ विस्तारयति लेशोक्तं सङ्क्षिपत्यतिविस्तरम्।
संस्कर्त्ता कुरुते तन्त्रं पुराणञ्च पुनर्नवम्॥ Siddhi. Ch. XII. 28.
Also Chikitsita. Ch. XXX. 112; ed. D. N. Sen and U. N. Sen. - ↑ Cf. "We know how often in India the appearance of a convenient abstract has led to the neglect and subsequent loss of all earlier works on the subject."—Intro. to Stein's Rájatarñginí, p. 25. In Burnell's Tanjore catalogue Pt. I. pp. 63-65, a full analysis is given of Bhelasamhita, from which it would appear that this work is still extant, though in a mutilated form. Dr. Burnell
