Studies in the Medicine of Ancient India, Part I: Osteology, or the Bones of the Human Body c6.s1.t8.8

c6.s1.t8.8

5. Of great importance is the remark of Chakrapāṇidatta on No. 28, the complex bone of nose, cheeks, and brows. For, first, it shows that he must have read Charaka’s text as given in Jīvānanda’s recension, and that, accordingly, Gaṅgādhar’s recension is not genuine. For the latter breaks up the complex into three parts, and makes each part to consist of two bones. Its procedure, therefore, results in producing a total of six bones, where the genuine recension has only a single bone, and where even the rival text, which Chakrapāṇidatta mentions, has no more than three bones. Secondly it renders it very probable, that when speaking of this rival text, Chakrapāṇidatta was referring to the Medical Version as traditionally presented in the Compendium of Bheḍa. For that Version (§§ 12, 13) makes No. 28 to consist of three bones, and consequently works out a wrong total (362).