who was sushruta ?

Answer 1

Susruta is stated to be the son of Visvamitra in the the Susrutasamhita. The The exact identity of this Visvamitra is not known clearly. Sustruta was sent to study Ayurveda with special emphasis on Salya (surgery) under Divodasa Kasi Raja Dhanvantari of the Upanishadic age. Since the text contains a reference to Krishna the identity and chronology of his father Visvamitra becomes confused.

Susruta ordains that anyone who wants to attain surgical skill should study anatomy by practical observation of the various structures composing the body. The study of anatomy is dealt with in the Sarirasthana of the Susrutasamhita. He proposed first to deal with embryology and then anatomy of human body which is an extension of the embryo. He further deals with obstetrics and embryology together. After this, the Samhita describes the sequential development of the structures of the foetus. For this study of anatomy, Susruta advocates dissection of dead body.

Susruta describes eight types of surgical procedures: Excision (chedana) is a procedure whereby a part or whole of the limb is cut off from the parent. Incision (bhedana) is made to achieve effective drainage or exposure of underlying structures to let the content out. Scraping (lekhana) or scooping is carried out to remove a growth or flesh of an ulcer, tartar of teeth, etc. the veins, hydrocele and ascitic fluid in the abdomen are drained by puncturing with special instrument (vyadhana). The sinuses and cavities with foreign bodies are probed (esana) for establishing their size, site, number, shape, position, situation, etc. Sravana (blood-letting) is to be carried out in skin diseases, vidradhis, localised swelling, etc. in case of accidental injuries and in intentional incisions, the lips of the wound are apposed and united by stitching (svana).

Susruta was well aware of the urinary stones, their varieties; the anatomy of urinary bladder along with its relations is well recorded in the chapter on urinary stones. Varieties of stones, their signs and symptoms, the method of extraction and operative complication are given in detail. Apart from the above, surgery of intestinal obstruction (baddha-gudodara), perforated intestines (chidrodara), accidental injuries to abdomen (assaya-bhinna) in which protrusion of omentum occurs are also described along with their management.

Answer 2

a breif in its nut shell.

Ayurveda, the ancient Indian medicine system is better recognised now by the West. It is less known that great strides were made in the field of surgery too. Rhinoplasty, inoculation against small pox etc were practiced in India even as late as the 18th Century AD, as shown by Dharampal. Indian surgery has great potentialities for research. The Indian technique of rhinoplasty has earned many laurels outside the country. Similarly, plastic surgery as a whole, management of injuries, and some simple measures as substitutes of surgical manipulations have of late been brought to light. Susruta was a great surgeon of ancient India, though there is considerable controversy about his age. Surgical science was called Salya-tantra (Salya – broken parts of an arrow and such other sharp weapons; tantra – manoeuvre). The broken parts of the arrows or similar pointed weapons of the enemy were regarded as the commonest and most dangerous of foreign objects causing wounds and requiring surgical treatment. Thus a primitive sort of surgery was as old as warfare itself.

Answer 3

Sushruta Father Of Surgery

Answer 4

Susruta gives us a historical window into a school of professionalized surgical practice almost two millennia ago, and which was in its day, almost certainly the most advanced school of surgery in the world. Many details in the description could only have been written by a practising surgeon and it is certain that elaborate surgical techniques were a reality in Susruta's circle.

The first translation of Susruta Samhita were ordered by the Caliph Mansur (A.D.753 -774) who had embassies come from his province of Sind to Baghdad along with Hindu scholars bringing books. The Caliph Harun (A.D.786-808) appointed Hindu physicians to Baghdad hospitals and ordered further translations into Arabic of books on medicine, pharmacology, toxicology, astronomy and other subjects. Alberuni who was a member of the court of Mahmud of Ghazni (A.D.997-1030) mentions the current translation of Caraka although complaining of its incorrectness. The centres of Indian learning in his times were Banaras and Kashmir, both inaccessible to the invading armies of Mahmud. The first European translation of Susruta Samhita was published by Hessler in Latin in the early 19th century. The first complete English translation was done by Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna in three volumes in 1907 at Calcutta. New sources have been discovered in Tibetan versions, Tamil sources and Mongol versions of Tibetan translations. Indian medicine has played in Asia, the same role as Greek medicine in the West, for it spread to Indo-China, Tibet, Central Asia, and as far as Japan.

Answer 5

Sushruta (also spelt Susruta or Sushrutha) (c. 6th century BC) was a surgeon who lived in ancient India and is the author of the book Sushruta Samhita, in which he describes over 120 surgical instruments, 300 surgical procedures and classifies human surgery in 8 categories. He lived and taught and practiced his art on the banks of the Ganges in the area that corresponds to the present day city of Varanasi in North India.

In the Sushruta school, the first person to expound Āyurvedic knowledge was Dhanvantari who then taught it to Divodasa who, in turn, taught it to Sushruta, Aupadhenava, Aurabhra, Paushakalāvata, Gopurarakshita, and Bhoja.

Because of his seminal and numerous contributions to the science and art of surgery he is also known by the title "Father of Surgery." Much of what is known about this inventive surgeon is contained in a series of volumes he authored, which are collectively known as the Susrutha Samhita. The "Samhita" has some writings that date as late as the 1st century, and some scholars believe that there were contributions and additions to his teachings from generations of his students and disciples. Susrutha is also the father of Plastic Surgery and Cosmetic Surgery since his technique of forehead flap rhinoplasty (repairing the disfigured nose with a flap of skin from the forehead),that he used to reconstruct noses that were amputated as a punishment for crimes, is practiced almost unchanged in technique to this day. The Susrutha Samhita contains the first known description of several operations, including the uniting of bowel, the removal of the prostate gland, the removal of cataract lenses and the draining of abscesses. Susrutha was also the first surgeon to advocate the practice of operations on inanimate objects such as watermelons, clay plots and reeds; thus predating the modern practice of the surgical workshop by half a millenium.

You could get more information from the link below...

Answer 6

Sushruta (also spelt Susruta or Sushrutha) (c. 6th century BC) was a surgeon who lived in ancient India and is the author of the book Sushruta Samhita, in which he describes over 120 surgical instruments, 300 surgical procedures and classifies human surgery in 8 categories. He lived and taught and practiced his art on the banks of the Ganges in the area that corresponds to the present day city of Varanasi in North India.

In the Sushruta school, the first person to expound Āyurvedic knowledge was Dhanvantari who then taught it to Divodasa who, in turn, taught it to Sushruta, Aupadhenava, Aurabhra, Paushakalāvata, Gopurarakshita, and Bhoja.

Because of his seminal and numerous contributions to the science and art of surgery he is also known by the title "Father of Surgery." Much of what is known about this inventive surgeon is contained in a series of volumes he authored, which are collectively known as the Susrutha Samhita. The "Samhita" has some writings that date as late as the 1st century, and some scholars believe that there were contributions and additions to his teachings from generations of his students and disciples. Susrutha is also the father of Plastic Surgery and Cosmetic Surgery since his technique of forehead flap rhinoplasty (repairing the disfigured nose with a flap of skin from the forehead),that he used to reconstruct noses that were amputated as a punishment for crimes, is practiced almost unchanged in technique to this day. The Susrutha Samhita contains the first known description of several operations, including the uniting of bowel, the removal of the prostate gland, the removal of cataract lenses and the draining of abscesses. Susrutha was also the first surgeon to advocate the practice of operations on inanimate objects such as watermelons, clay plots and reeds; thus predating the modern practice of the surgical workshop by half a millenium.

Answer 7

I am not sure but this is what my father used to tell me. HE used to tell me that this custom is not a part of Hinduisam but has been taken from Islamic practise. Similarly he used to say abitu mangala sutra. I write this to give a view on some commen house hold thinking.

Answer 8

Sushruta, one of the earliest surgeons of the recorded history (600 B.C.) is believed to be the first individual to describe plastic surgery. Sushruta who lived nearly 150 years before Hippocrates vividly described the basic principles of plastic surgery in his famous ancient treatise ‘Sushruta Samhita’ in 600 B.C. ‘Sushruta Samhita'(Sushruta’s compendium) which is one of the oldest treatise dealing with surgery in the world indicates that he was probably the first surgeon to perform plastic surgical operations. This paper presents a historical window into various contributions of Sushruta to plastic surgery and allied fields which were described in ‘Sushruta Samhita’ more than 2500 years ago.

The exact period of Sushruta is unclear but most scholars put him him between 600 to 1000 BC. Sushruta lived, taught and practiced his art in the area that corresponds presently to the city of Varanasi (Kashi, Benares) in northern part of India. Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges is one of the holiest places in India and is also the home of Buddhism (Buddhism emerged from Hinduism) and Ayurveda, one of the oldest medical disciplines. The followers of Sushruta were called as Saushrutas. The new student was expected to study for at least 6 years. Before starting his training he had to take a solemn oath, which can be compared to that of Hippocrates. He taught the surgical skills to his students on various experimental modules, for instance, incision on vegetables (like watermelon, gourd, cucumber etc.), probing on worm eaten wood, preceding present day workshops by more than 2600 years.

This master literature remained preserved for many centuries exclusively in the Sanskrit language which prevented the dissemination of the knowledge to the west and other parts of the world. Later the original text was lost and the present extant one is believed to be a revision by the Buddhist scholar Vasubandhu (circa AD 360-350). Both the Sushruta and the Charaka Samhita were translated into Arabic during in the 8th century. The translator of the Sushruta Samhita was one Ibn Abillsaibial. The work was known as Kitab Shah Shun al-Hindi in Arabic, or alternatively as Kitab i-Susurud. The 9th-century Persian physician Rhazes was familiar with the this translated text. The translation of ‘Sushruta Samhita’ was ordered by the Caliph Mansur (A.D.753 -774). One of the most important documents in connection with ancient Indian medicine is the Bower Manuscript, a birch-bark medical treatise discovered in Kuchar (in Eastern Turkistan), dated around AD 450 and is housed in the Oxford University library. The first European translation of ‘Sushruta Samhita’ was published by Hessler in Latin and into German by Muller in the early 19th century. The first complete English translation was done by Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna in three volumes in 1907 at Calcutta.

Answer 9

he was an ancient indian physician

Answer 10

ancient surgeon!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushruta