Hindu Medicine c7.159

c7.159

In this respect, medical tradition at Caraka’s period somehow resembles the sacred tradition of Vedic theology, where the compilations (saṃhitā) of sacerdotal lore now extant gradually took shape by merging material formerly the possession of individual Brahmin families with the appurtenance of separate rituals dealing with one divine power or another. Compilation in both cases marks the comparatively advanced form which characterizes the final stage of a creative period: the rich inheritance from preceding generations is carefully gathered, sifted and brought into a definite, comprehensive form. There is a movement toward systematization; but in both cases, as elsewhere in Indian tradition, it is checked by the faithful respect felt for the time-hallowed achievements of the forefathers.