A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c25.3

v1.c25.3

The descent of āyurveda from the world of the gods to earth is more elaborately described than in the Hṛdaya. The line of transmission in the divine realm is identical, but the Samgraha relates that Indra gives the āyurveda, characterized as an upaveda of the Atharvaveda, to a group of sages consisting of Punarvasu, Dhanvantari, Bharadvāja, Nimi, Kāśyapa, Kaśyapa, and (Ā)lambāyana. On the basis of Indra's teachings, each of these seven sages wrote a treatise on the eightfold āyurveda, dealing with kāya, bāla, graha, ūrdhvāṅga, śalya, damṣṭrā, jarā, and vṛṣa⁵ (1.4–10). Thereupon, they passed their knowledge on to a group of pupils: Agniveśa, Hārīta, Bheḍa, Māṇḍavya, Suśruta, Karāla, and others, who, in their turn, composed a medical treatise (1.11–13ab).⁶