A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c51.s6.t2: The author
A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c51.s6.t2
- Language
- English
The author
v3.c51.s6.t2.1
The author, who was a Hindu,⁴¹¹ as shown by the maṅgalas (1.1–2), addressed to Śiva and Rāma, calls himself Soma (2.1), Somadeva, and Devasūnu (14.199). He was a son of a mantrin called Nārāyaṇa⁴¹² and was of mahāvīravaṃśa (2.1).⁴¹³ Somadeva himself (15.66) and the colophons add that he was an important person (pati, varapati, puravarapati)⁴¹⁴ at Śrīkaravālabhairavapura(vara).⁴¹⁵ V. Śukla⁴¹⁶ suggested that this may be the name of a village donated to Somadeva by the king whom he served as a minister; Siddhinandana Miśra⁴¹⁷ regards it as the name of a city (śreṣṭhanagarī) or the capital (rājadhānī) of some small kingdom. V. Śukla expressed as his opinion that Somadeva may have been a vaiśya, as indicated by the name of the vaṃśa to which he belonged. The same author brought forward that he may have been born in Rājasthān and that he settled in Gujarāt or Kāṭhiāvāṛ later in life.⁴¹⁸
v3.c51.s6.t2.2
Somadeva was a person of wide learning; he states himself that he was an expert in śastra and śāstra, Nyāya, Sāṃkhya and Vedānta (nayanaguṇavidhi, satpramāṇa, sāṃkhya, śānta), rasaśāstra and medicine (vaidyavidyā) (2.1).
v3.c51.s6.t2.3
A work called Rasendraparibhāṣā is attributed to Somadeva by G. Hāldār, who also
v3.c51.s6.t2.4
asserts that Somadeva revised Vāgbhaṭa's Rasaratnasamuccaya, and that he collaborated with his teacher Acyuta in writing a joint work, the Raseśvarasiddhānta.⁴¹⁹
Cites (1)
- Rasendracūḍāmaṇi — Somadeva (alchemist), Sanskrit