A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c20.s2.35

v1.c20.s2.35

An argument often adduced in support of the thesis of Agniveśa’s anteriority to Pāṇini is the occurrence of his name in the Gaṇapāṭha, in combination with the fact that the city of Takṣaśilā, known to Pāṇini,272 is nowhere mentioned in the Carakasaṃhitā.273 This argument strains the evidence in identifying an unspecified Agniveśa with the pupil of Ātreya and in supposing that the presence or absence of geographical names in the Carakasaṃhitā reflects the period of composition of the Agniveśatantra. The authors employing this type of reasoning often compare the relationship between the Agniveśatantra and the Carakasaṃhitā with that between Pāṇini’s Aṣṭādhyāyī and the Mahābhāṣya,274 a comparison that obviously falls short.