A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v1.c9.s1.15

v1.c9.s1.15

We confess we are by no means convinced of M. Lévi's theory. If we are to go by name alone, we can claim a still higher antiquity for our author. The appellation of Charaka occurs in Vedic literature as a patronymic; in short, Pánini felt it necessary to compose a special sūtra for deriving the “Charakás” *i.e.* the followers of Charaka.¹ Then again, Patañjali, who is now generally admitted to have lived in the second century B. C., is known to have written a commentary on the medical work of Charaka, thus further proving the antiquity of our author;² and both Chakrapáni and Bhoja agree in alluding to him as the redactor of Charaka.³ Indeed, in such matters we would do well to set store by native traditions. It would be beside our purpose, however, to enter into any lengthy discussion on the grounds on which we are inclined to place Charaka in the pre-Buddhistic era, but we shall summarise below the salient points.