A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c23.s2.37

v1.c23.s2.37

As is obvious from the foregoing, it is rather generally assumed that we owe the main part of the *Suśrutasaṃhitā* or an earlier version of it to a historical person called Suśruta. This assumption, however, is not based on uncontrovertible evidence and may be illusory. The text of the *Suśrutasaṃhitā* does not warrant that the one who composed it was a Suśruta. The structure of the treatise shows without ambiguity that the author, who created a coherent whole out of earlier material, attributed the teachings incorporated in his work to Kāśirāja Divodāsa Dhanvantari, a mythic personality. 186 Suśruta himself too is, as the son of Viśvāmitra, embedded in legendary tales. Both figures may have been selected to give authority to the treatise. Another reason for the choice of the name Suśruta may have been that it means ‘the famous one’ or ‘who listened (to his teacher) in the right way’. 187