Sarngadhara Samhita Of Sarngadharacarya

"Nobody, on this earth is immortal. Therefore death is inevitable. But one has to (make efforts to) avoid diseases." This statement shows the concern of Sarngadhara towards the ailing humanity which is why he came out with a very useful work like this. As per the colophon given at the end of each chapter, Sarngadhara is considered to be the son of Sri Damodara. Other details, like, his time and place are not given anywhere in the book. Not getting into confusion with Sarngadhara, the author of Sarngadhara Paddhati; Sarngadhara of Sarngadhara Trisati and Sarngadeva of Sangitaratnakara, one should identify the author of the present work as separate individual who can be placed around 13th century, A.D. Sarngadharasamhita is regarded as one of the Laghutrrayi, the second line triad of Ayurvedic literature, the other two being Madhavanidana of Madhavakara and Bhavaprakasa of Bhavamisra. Madhavanidana deals only with diagnosis part of the diseases while Bhavaprakasa is a compilation of all aspects of Ayurveda with more stress on description of herbs. Brhattrayi, the first line triad - Carakasamhita, Susrutasamhita and Vagbhatasamhita are considered as main source of Ayurvedic knowledge. The fact that Caraka and Susruta are the foremost information-sources chronologically and qualitatively for learning of Ayurveda, is universally accepted. All the further works reflect the aphorisms of these two legendary treatises. Sarngadharasamhita, though followed the same path, is famous among the Ayurvedic physicians by virtue of its practical usefulness. The main features of Sarngadharasamhita are - Nadipariksa - the pulse-examination is given with full details for the first time which is an added advantage for proper diagnosis. The pharmacological terms are explained along with examples. The principles and practice of pharmaceutics are allotted one complete section - 12 chapters with details given in no other text in Ayurveda, making this book a unique ready reference for s