Charaka-Samhita

What it is

The first English translation of the Charaka Samhita, the oldest surviving comprehensive treatise of Ayurveda, issued in parts beginning in 1890. It covers the principles of health, diet, the qualities of foods and drugs, and the care of disease.

Whose knowledge it records

The classical Ayurvedic tradition itself, taught by the sage Punarvasu Atreya, set down by his pupil Agnivesha and redacted by Charaka. Translated by Avinash Chandra Kaviratna, an Ayurvedic physician (kaviraj) of Calcutta, with his own explanatory notes; the later parts were issued by his son, Pareshnath Sarma.

Passages transcribed

• Sutrasthanam, ch. 25: the foremost of all things (from the list on p. 279) (p. 279)
• Sutrasthanam, ch. 27: Maricha (black pepper) (p. 381)
• Sutrasthanam, ch. 5: what to keep in the mouth (one verse and its footnotes) (p. 61)
• Sutrasthanam, Lesson XXVII: fruits and their qualities (the list on p. 357) (p. 357)