18 Interesting Facts About Maharishi Charak and Charak Samhita
Charak is called the father of the medical world. By reading the biography of Maharishi Charak, it is known how modern the ancient scientific methods of India and the methods of medicine related to it. There are no definite facts about the date of birth of Maha Rishi Charak, but it is believed that he was born 2300-2400 years ago. To understand Charak Samhita and his Ayurveda, it is necessary that, first of all, we understand his thoughts. Charaka says a physician or doctor can only treat a patient successfully once he fully understands the patient’s body and organs. Before treating, a physician or doctor must have a good knowledge of physiology and other organs. Do you think you know everything there is to know about Maharishi Charak? Think again! Check out these 18 interesting facts about Maharishi Charak and Charak Samhita you may have never heard.
FACT#1. Charak is famous as a Maharishi and Ayurveda scholar. He was the royal physician of the Kushan kingdom.
FACT#2. The word Charaka means “the one who walks.” He was so interested in public service that he used to roam around these places and treat the general public. And used to propagate medical science. That’s why people started knowing him by the name of “Charak”.
FACT#3. The Charak Samhita, composed by him, is a famous Ayurveda book. There is mention of curative and prophylactic medicines, and there is a description of the ashes of metals like gold, silver, iron, mercury, etc., and their use. Acharya Charak gave a new form to Acharya Agnivesh’s Agnivesh Tantra by adding some places and chapters which we know today as Charak Samhita.
FACT#4. Charaksamhita is famous in Ayurveda. Its preachers are Atriputra Punarvasu, the author Agnivesh, and the counterculture Charak.
FACT#5. Some words of Pali literature are found in Charaksamhita, such as Avakranti, Jantaka (Jantaka – Vinayapitaka), Bhangodana, Khuddaka, and Bhutdhatri (for sleep). This places the preaching period of the Charaka Samhita after the Upanishads and before the Buddha. Its counter-sanskar took place around 78 AD at the time of Kanishka.
FACT#7. Two thousand years ago, in India, there was a self-renowned doctor, Charak. Who wrote a book named “Charak Samhita” on physiology, diagnosis, and embryology in Ayurveda medicine. This book is still given a lot of respect in the medical world.
FACT#8. Charak was a disciple of Vaishampayan. His book Charak Samhita appears to be from the same region as there is more description of the northwestern region of India. He was probably born in Nagvansh.
FACT#9. Charak used to say- “The doctor who does not understand the body of the sick with the lamp of his knowledge and understanding, how can he cure the disease.” That’s why those reasons should be studied which affect the patient, and then it should be treated. It is more important to avoid the disease than to cure it.
FACT#10. Charak was the first physician who gave the concept of digestion, metabolism (process related to food digestion), and body immunity. According to him, doshas arise due to pitta, Kapha, and Vayu in the body. These defects arise when the blood, flesh, and marrow react to the food eaten.
FACT#11. Charak has also clarified that food eaten in equal quantity produces different defects in different bodies. That is, one body is different from another. He used to say that disease arises when all three body doshas become unbalanced. He made many medicines for their balance.
FACT#12. Talking about Charak Samhita is a huge book written in the Sanskrit language, which has eight parts. There are 120 chapters in this book. It is said that its composition can be fixed after the Upanishads and before the Buddha. It was composed around 78 AD at the time of Kanishka. In the Chinese translation of Tripitaka, Charaka is mentioned as the physician of Kanishka.
FACT#13. In “Charak Samhita,” which is considered the best work of Ayurveda, apart from India, the food and lifestyle of Yavana, Shaka, Chinese, etc. castes are also mentioned. This book has also been translated into various languages. The famous Arabian historian and scholar Al-Biruni also said, “A book of Hindus is famous by the name of Charak, which can be considered the best book of medicine.”
FACT#14. In Charak Samhita, Charak has told that the health and illness of a human being are not predetermined; rather, we determine it by our way of life. It is easy to get good health if a man tries and keeps his lifestyle correct and restrained. On the contrary, if the way of life is chaotic and uncontrollable, disease in the body is inevitable.
FACT#15. It is known in the Vedas that Charak was educated in Takshashila. In ancient literature, Charak has been described as the incarnation of Sheshnag. The book Charak Samhita written by him is considered a unique book of Vaidya’s. Scholars believe that Charak was the royal physician of Kushan. Some people consider them even before the Buddhist period.
FACT#16. There is also an opinion that Charak is not a person but the name of the branch of Krishna Yajurveda. Someone from the same branch must have done the compilation of Charak Samhita. At that time, there was a large group of Vaidyas who probably together compiled and composed the Charaka Samhita. The remedies for diseases have been mentioned in the Charak Code, and it also mentions philosophy and economics in many places. Maharishi Charak collected and compiled the major texts of Ayurveda and its knowledge. Charak traveled far and wide, held meetings with doctors, gathered ideas, and created principles, making him capable of studying and writing.
FACT#17. The eight chapters of Charaka Samhita are as follows.
1. Sutrasthan – This part describes the science of medicine, diet, special diseases, and treatment of physical and mental diseases. 2. Nidanasthan – In the Ayurveda method, finding out the cause of diseases is called Nidan. In this section, information about major diseases and their treatment has been provided. 3. Airport – This chapter shows the relationship between food and the body, and information about healthy food is given. 4. Anatomy – In this section, the structure of the human body has been introduced in detail. The process of birth and development of a child in the womb has also been explained in this. 5. Indriyasthan – This section focuses on the nature of diseases and their remedies. 6. Hospital – Some important diseases are described in this chapter. Information has also been provided on how to identify those diseases and the important treatment methods. 7-8- It has small chapters in which simple diseases have been told
FACT#18. Different types of diseases, their diagnosis, microscopic worms, and physical division are found in Charak Samhita. In this way, it can be said that the applications of all the physiology existing in that period are described. In ancient times, the students who studied Ayurveda had to take an oath in the name of Charak. Acharya Charak has told about nine holes of the body (two eyes, two ears, nose, mouth, anus, and urinary tract). Information about 900 veins, 400 muscles, 200 arteries, 200 bone marrow, 107 touch points, and 29956 veins is found in their body division.
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