Susruta: The Great Surgeon of Yore
by D.P. Agrawal
Ayurveda, the ancient Indian medicine system is better recognised now by the West. It is less known that great strides were made in the field of surgery too. Rhinoplasty, inoculation against small pox etc were practiced in India even as late as the 18th Century AD, as shown by Dharampal. Indian surgery has great potentialities for research. The Indian technique of rhinoplasty has earned many laurels outside the country. Similarly, plastic surgery as a whole, management of injuries, and some simple measures as substitutes of surgical manipulations have of late been brought to light. Susruta was a great surgeon of ancient India, though there is considerable controversy about his age. Surgical science was called Salya-tantra (Salya – broken parts of an arrow and such other sharp weapons; tantra – manoeuvre). The broken parts of the arrows or similar pointed weapons of the enemy were regarded as the commonest and most dangerous of foreign objects causing wounds and requiring surgical treatment. Thus a primitive sort of surgery was as old as warfare itself.
Susruta is stated to be the son of Visvamitra in the the Susrutasamhita. The The exact identity of this Visvamitra is not known clearly. Sustruta was sent to study Ayurveda with special emphasis on Salya (surgery) under Divodasa Kasi Raja Dhanvantari of the Upanishadic age. Since the text contains a reference to Krishna the identity and chronology of his father Visvamitra becomes confused.
Date of Susruta
Though there is general agreement about the great antiquity of Susruta, there is considerable controversy about his exact age.
Lietard and Max Neuburger were of the opinion that Susrutra must have lived as late as the 1st century A.D. to 10th century A.D. The discovery of the Bower manuscript which contains reference to Susruta and which has been ascribed to the 4th century A.D. led Macdonell to place Susruta not later than the 4th century A.D. But Hessler and Mukhopadhyaya believed that Susruta should have lived at about 1000 B.C.
Nagarjuna's Upayahrdaya refers to Susruta and this takes him definitely to a period before Nagarujna who is believed to have lived about 2000 years ago. Further, Susruta has been mentioned both in Mahabhasya of Patanjali and the Varttika of Katyayana. It seems that the descendants of Susruta were earlier than Panini, the great grammarian. Although the grammatical works do not mention Susruta to be the promulgator ofSalyatantra, all the grammarians quote him as the famous teacher and originator of a specialised branch of learning, and the followers were known after him as Sausrutas. No other teacher in the name of Susruta is known except the medical writer who was the propagator of Salyantantra. Hence, Susruta is believed to be older than Panini, though there are others who push his antiquity back to 3000BC, which does not seem tenable. Hoernle places Susruta at about 600 B.C. as Susruta counts only 300 bones in the body and on this ground, Hoernle believes him to be posterior to Atreya and Yajnavalkya and thus takes him to 600 B.C.
Susruta and his fellow-students started their education under Divodasa Dhanvantari. Divodasa explains to them briefly the nature of the purusa (person) who is afflicted with disease and who is to be treated: the nature of disease which causes pain and its eradication; the types of food, the dravyas and the time-factor. He also asks his students to consult as many other disciplines as necessary in order to attain sound knowledge in one's own subject. Amongst the illustrious students of Divodasa were Aupadhanava, Aurabhra, Susruta and Paushkalavata who wrote treatises on Salyatantra (surgery) which became the sources of the later works on this subject.
Read More: http://www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/t_es/t_es_agraw_susruta.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushruta_Samhita
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