hi guys and welcome to another edition of the teachers of India series today on
the series we're going to be talking about one of the great pioneers of the
ancient Indian medical tradition acharya chanak acharya charak systematized and
codified many aspects of ancient indian medical traditions his work is
considered to be one of the most authoritative writings on Ayurveda
Charak's special area of interest was the physicians role in the medical system
now acharya charak was believed to be the resident of modern-day kapurthala in
india acharya chanak is believed to have lived around 800 BC but some historians
point his life and his birth to be even older. CHarak's work also represented the
concepts of the older school of acharya Punarvasu atreya one of the disciples of
acharya atreya agnivesh, composed the medical treatise called agnivesh
samhita. Charak's work is a refined and improved version of the Agnivesh
samhita. Charak's work is known as a charak Samhita and contained eight
thousand four hundred verses the Charak Samhita was later reworked
and adapted by the Kashmiri scholar Dridhbala
in around 400 AD the Charak Samhita consists of 120 chapters divided into
eight sections the eight chapters deal with the following themes Sutrasthana or
general principles Nidanasthana or cause of disease Vimanasthana or
Diagnostics Sharirasthana or anatomy and embryology indriyasthana or prognosis
Chikitsasthanan or therapeutics Kalpasthana or pharmaceutics Siddhisthana or
successful treatment some of the topics that were covered in the Charaka
Samhita are shareer or Anatomy Vritti or physiology hetu or
etiology or study of causes Vyadhi or pathology karma or therapeutics kartri
or role of the physician Karana or medicines and appliances and vidhi or
rules for diet and medicine acharya charak focused on all important
aspects of a physicians craft and he also espoused prevention rather than
cure he focused on Kayachikitsa or curing
the body in a non-invasive manner he believed strongly in analysis and
reasoning he also believed in debate and discussion over these topics in fact
Charak Samhita is composed in the form of the record of
a conference wherein scholars take of various topics for discussion this
clearly points out that Charaka laid great stress on experimentation and repeated
verification he believed that medical knowledge should be fine-tuned and
authenticated by a community of medical practitioners. Now, remember one of the
amazing things about how detailed his work is and how he emphasized on peer
reviewing and on fine-tuning and authenticating his work the amazing
thing about all of these things as this was happening back in 800 BC. Charaka
believed that many diseases can be cured by restoring the balance of the body
elements and the digestive system he was of the opinion that maladies can be
remedied by altering the chemical process in the cell the basic goal of
medical science according to him should be to achieve health and longevity and
to ensure physical and spiritual well-being. Charaka believed that a
medical practitioner must carefully find out the main cause of a person's illness
therefore he lays strong emphasis on the diagnosis of a disease he personally
prescribed a detailed account of various stages of symptoms and suggested means
for their effective management in his view a doctor must be adept at knowing
the causes and pathogenesis of a disease it is possible to check the
disease at a very early stage if the right diagnosis is made. Charaka also
considered child care to be an important area of a doctor's concern he devotes a
considerable space in the Charaka Samhita to prenatal care postnatal care
and treatment of mothers he believes that a child needs to be looked after
right from the time of her conception he taught that the health and mental state
of a mother have direct bearing on the health of a child
therefore he recommends proper diet and nutrition for mothers during pregnancy
Charaka was able to trace the growth of the human fetus in very accurate detail
in fact he discusses various issues related to obstetrics and
care through Charaka's work we come to know that the ancient Indian society had
created exclusive hospitals for treatment of infants and children it was
referred to as Kumaragar. Charaka believed that the basic building block
of the human body is the cell our bodies are made up of countless cells these
cells are composed of five fundamental elements earth water fire air and space
similarly other objects of our universe are also made up of these same elements
hence proper selection of food and natural drugs helped restore the
required deficiency in the human body and he was able to identify the enzymes
that help in the process of metabolism and in the growth of a human being it is
quite remarkable to know that Charaka was fully aware of the function of the heart
as a key organ of the human body he was also aware of the system of blood
circulation he taught that various nutrients required for the survival of a
human body are supplied through the medium of blood, blood also acts as a
medium for the removal of waste products of our body. Charaka always looked at the
incidence of a disease in a human body in a holistic manner he believed that
disease is not only caused by external factors and pathogens also believed that
they afflict us also due to our own behavior and mental attitudes he stated
that illness is also caused by psychological factors and unwholesome
lifestyles therefore Charaka as a physician tried to address both the
physical as well as the psychological aspects of an illness the Charaka Samhita
describes 149 diseases 341 plant products 177 animal products and 64
minerals used in the treatment of diseases. Charaka devised methods for
prevention of aging and strengthening of virility a long and healthy life
according to Charaka was a product of proper diet disciplined life moderation
and good behavior therefore Acharya Charaka set the fundamentals of
medicine on a firm footing he delineated the principal methods of a physicians
craft he grounded medical sciences in experimentation and rationality
he believed that growth of science can be achieved through debate discussion
and discourse with other and learned persons he advocates holding of periodic
technical conferences of experts and Charaka's legacy survives even today
his works not only spurred medical research in India were also contributed
greatly to the growth of medical knowledge in the world okay guys thank
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