Charaka

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charaka Monument on the Yogpeeth University campus

Charaka ( Sanskrit , m., चरक , Caraka , [ ʧʌɽʌkʌ ]) was an Indian doctor . He is said to have been the author of the Charaka Samhita , the centerpiece of traditional Ayurveda literature .

Life

The life dates of Charakas cannot be determined with certainty. As a Chinese translation of the Tripitaka can be seen from the year 427 n. Chr., A physician named Charaka was the personal physician of the Kushan -Königs Kanishka , who lived in the 1st to 2nd century. Chr.. But since Charaka could have been a common name for physicians at certain times, it is not clear whether this Charaka was also the author of the Charaka Samhita . The Charaka Samhita, together with the Sushruta Samhita, is the oldest surviving medical work in India .

According to the Charaka tradition, there are said to have been six schools of medicine, which are said to have been founded by students of the doctor Punarvasu Atreya. Each of these students (Agnivesha, Bhela, Jatukarna, Parashara, Harita, and Ksharapani) is said to have written a Samhita (text), of which the Agnivesha Samhita with 46,000 verses, but which no longer exists, is said to have been the best. The Charaka Samhita is said to be based on the Agnivesha Samhita. Dridhabala, who lived around AD 400, is said to have rewritten some verses of the text (up to a fifth in the Chikitsasthana) that were lost over time.

Charaka's works were translated into Arabic as early as the 8th century . The name Charakas also appears in many Latin translations of Arabic medicine books.

Ayurveda is divided into eight parts in Charaka's system:

  1. Sūtra-sthāna , General Principles
  2. Nidāna-sthāna , pathology
  3. Vimāna-sthāna , diagnostics
  4. Śarīra-sthāna , Physiology and Anatomy
  5. Indriya-sthāna , prognosis
  6. Cikitsā-sthāna , therapy
  7. Kalpa-sthāna , pharmacy
  8. Siddhi-sthāna , treatment

The center of the medical school was Benares on the Ganges . The anatomy knows 62 limbs, 360 bones, 15 organs and numerous blood vessels.

literature

  • G. [errit] Jan Meulenbeld: A History of Indian Medical Literature. 3 volumes, Egbert Forsten. Groningen 1999-2002.
  • Srikanta Sena: Ayurveda textbook; Compendium of the Ayurveda classic Charaka-Samhita. 2 volumes, 2nd edition 2005, Vasati Verlag, ISBN 978-3-937238-00-5

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Charaka
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Caraka (transliteration)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Indian doctor and author
DATE OF BIRTH between 8th century BC BC and 7th century
DATE OF DEATH between 8th century BC BC and 7th century