The Charaka Samhita, an early Ayurvedic text…

The Charaka Samhita, an early Ayurvedic text on internal medicine, is believed to be the oldest of the three ancient treatises of Ayurveda.

Along with the Sushruta Samhita, it is identified as an important source of medical and life understanding and practice in antiquity.

The work as extant dates to the Maurya period (third to second century BCE).

The text, written in Sanskrit, is the work of several authors and may represent the work of a school of thought.

Charaka, the first great Hindu physician known, practices about 260 BCE.

Buddhists also claim that Charaka was Buddhist.

The term Caraka is a label said to apply to ‘wandering scholars’ or ‘wandering physicians.’

According to Charaka's translations, health and disease are not predetermined and life may be prolonged by human effort and attention to lifestyle.

As per Indian heritage and the science of the Ayurvedic system, prevention of all types of diseases has a more prominent place than treatment, including restructuring of one’s life style to align with the course of nature and the four seasons, which will guarantee complete wellness.

Charaka is the first physician to present the concept of digestion, metabolism and immunity.

According to his translations of the Vedas, a body functions because it contains three dosha or principles, namely movement (vata), transformation (pitta) and lubrication and stability (kapha).

The doshas are also sometimes called humors, namely, wind, bile, and phlegm.