The Sushruta Samhita Vol. 1 (English translation)

Identity of Sushruta and Divodása:—One can only safely assert that Sushruta belonged to the lineage of Vishvámitra. The Mahábháratam (1) represents him as a son of that royal sage. This matches the description given of him in the current version of the Samhitá. The Garuda Puránam (2) places Divodása as fourth in descent from Dhanvantari, the first teacher of medical science on earth, while the Sushruta Samhitá describes the two as the same person. However, this apparent inconsistency in the Samhitá can be explained if we consider that in some parts of India, the custom still exists of adding the name of one’s father or a famous ancestor to one’s own name for better identification. It is therefore not surprising that Divodása (the teacher of Sushruta), who was a firm believer in the doctrine of psychic transmigration, should represent himself as an incarnation of Dhanvantari and adopt his name and title in the usual way. Beyond this scant genealogy, we possess no trustworthy information regarding the life and personality of Sushruta, the father of Indian Surgery.

Age of the Sushruta Samhitá:—We have no means of determining what the Samhitá was like as originally written by Sushruta, as the current version is only a recension, or rather a

(1) यामायनीच गागीर्य जानन्तिः सयुतस्था ।
विश्वामित्रामजाः सर्वे मुनयो ब्रह्मवादिनः ॥

(2) विश्वामित्रार्द्ध वरात्त मचकन्दाद्यः मताः ।
चाययो मह्यतन्ताटमेना र्जत्रमश्वैी ॥
वनवडेः फलवतङ्गात्त सर्वांवशाचमन्द्रपः ।
काश्यकाम्यतममताः सहांवानाह्वयं: ॥
यत्रामत्दाचधीकाः।सुन काश्याईर्वतमासथा ।
देवी धनलगिस्कापात केतुमांयवदातजः ।
भौनखयः केतुमती दिग्दशामलदामजः ॥