Ayurveda (Sanskrit: आयुर्वेद; ayurvedic medicine is a Hindu system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. The Suśruta Saṃhitā and the Charaka Saṃhitā, encyclopedias of medicine compiled from various sources from the mid-first millennium BCE to about 500 C.are among the foundational works of Ayurveda. Over the following centuries, ayurvedic practitioners developed a number of medicinal preparations and surgical procedures for the treatment of various ailments.
Shalya Tantra’ a book of surgical procedures prescribed by Sushruta and later re-cast as ‘Sushruta Samhita’ is an unparalleled work of the medical science of ancient India, popular as Ayurveda. The author of this Sanskrit text of amazing surgical procedures of accuracy and curative efficacy is known as Sushruta. Parts of this great work had been revised or reworked during later periods. And therefore, experts consider this samhita as the collective contribution of a chain of medical practitioners of ancient India. There is no wonder that this classic work has become an essential part of the culture of India.
The Sushruta Samhita contains 184 chapters and description of 1120 illnesses, 700 medicinal plants, a detailed study on Anatomy, 64 preparations from mineral sources and 57 preparations based on animal sources.
He describes eight different operations for surgery, like cutting, opening, scratching, piercing, inserting etc, and finally stitching up. He was both a practitioner and a teacher of surgery. His contribution to the ancient cultural heritage of India invaluable.