Suśruta Saṃhitā

The Suśruta Saṃhitā is the foundational Ayurvedic text on surgery and surgical procedures, attributed to the physician Suśruta. It describes over 300 surgical procedures and 120 surgical instruments.

Content

The text covers anatomy, operative techniques for conditions such as cataracts, kidney stones, and cesarean sections, along with post-operative care and the ethical duties of a surgeon.

Significance

It is among the earliest known systematic surgical manuals and influenced medical practice across the ancient world, with concepts transmitted through Arabic and later European translations.

Verification

Manuscript tradition well-attested; the oldest surviving manuscript is MS Kathmandu KL 699, a palm-leaf manuscript preserved at the Kaiser Library, Nepal, dated to 878 CE. Date of composition remains debated among scholars.

• Audited against Wikipedia (September 2026).