The Classical Doctrine of Indian Medicine: Its Origins and its Greek Parallels c6.46

c6.46

*The Tradition of the Text of the Suśruta-saṃhitā.*—The personage of Suśruta not being historical², the Suśruta-saṃhitā shows itself to be, not as the personal work of a certain Suśruta, but as the anonymously edited manual of a school which had selected a Suśruta for patron. We know, by the very tradition of this school, that this manual has reached us after having been retouched at least once. The commentator Dalhaṇa (XI-XII century A.D.) affirms in effect that Nāgārjuna has been the "reconstructor" (*pratisamskartṛ*) of the *Suśruta-samhitā*.¹ Cordier has put forward the hypothesis that he has also completed the earlier text by adding thereto the last section which now forms part of the *Samhitā* and which is known as *Uttara-tantra*, "Last section (of the book)".