Description
The Susruta Samhita expounded by Kasiraja Divodasa Dhanvantari compiled by Susruta supplemented by Nagarjun and retouched by Candrata is a representative work of Ancient Indian Surgery Though it was basically dealt with surgery but later on the other branches of Ayurveda were added to it The beginning of the every chapter of the Susruta Samhita itself reveals that its orginal teacher was Dhanvantari but the text of first chapter of Sutrasthana explicity mentions the name of original teacher as Kasiraja Divodasa Dhanvantari This reference also discloses names of several students including Susruta It seems that the real name of the teacher was Divodasa and he was king of Kasi He bore the title of Dhanvantari due to being a surgeon and a great grand son of Dhanvantari Our Divodasa is not identical with that mentioned in the Rgveda First Mandala and Kathaka Samhita 718 Even Dhanvantari is also not referred to in the Vedic literature We hear the name of Dhanvantari in the Dharma Sutra of Gautama 119 and Baudhayana 2512 where the oblation is offered to Dhanvantari as one of the gods It is the Mahabharata the great epic that mentions the geniology and personality first of all followed by the Puranas The Susruta Samhita itself is silent on this point.