Agnivesha

Agnivesha
Born	Ancient India
Occupation	Physician, Scholar
Known for	Authoring the Agnivesha Samhita

Agnivesha was an ancient Indian physician and scholar, renowned for his contributions to Ayurveda, the traditional system of medicine in India. He is best known for authoring the Agnivesha Samhita, a foundational text in Ayurvedic literature, which later became the basis for the Charaka Samhita.

Biography

The exact details of Agnivesha's life, including his birth and death, remain largely unknown. He is believed to have lived around the 8th century BCE. Agnivesha was a disciple of Punarvasu Atreya, a prominent teacher of Ayurveda, and was one of the six students who composed treatises based on Atreya's teachings.

Agnivesha Samhita

The Agnivesha Samhita is considered one of the earliest and most comprehensive texts on Ayurveda. It was originally composed in Sanskrit and covered a wide range of topics related to medicine, including diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases. The text is structured in the form of a dialogue between Agnivesha and his teacher, Atreya.

Content

The Agnivesha Samhita is divided into several sections, each dealing with different aspects of medicine:

• Sutra Sthana - General principles of Ayurveda
• Nidana Sthana - Diagnosis of diseases
• Vimana Sthana - Specific measurements and standards
• Sharira Sthana - Anatomy and physiology
• Chikitsa Sthana - Therapeutics and treatment
• Kalpa Sthana - Pharmaceutics and formulations
• Siddhi Sthana - Successful treatment outcomes

Influence and Legacy

The Agnivesha Samhita was later redacted and expanded by Charaka, another eminent physician, resulting in the Charaka Samhita, which is one of the principal texts of Ayurveda still studied today. Agnivesha's work laid the foundation for the development of Ayurvedic medicine and influenced subsequent generations of physicians and scholars.

See Also

• Ayurveda
• Charaka Samhita
• Sushruta Samhita
• Punarvasu Atreya

References

• Sharma, P. V. (1992). History of Medicine in India. Indian National Science Academy.
• Dash, V. B. (1980). Fundamentals of Ayurvedic Medicine. Concept Publishing Company.

External Links

• Ayurveda.com
• National Health Portal of India