Page:A History of Hindu Chemistry Vol 1.djvu/39

 several medical treatises, each reflecting the spirit and progress of its age. At the time of the Charaka itself there existed at least six standard works by Agnivesa, Bhela, Játukarna, Parásara, Hárita, and Kshárapáni, respectively. Charaka simply based his work on that of Agnivesa, which he completely recast and remodelled. Later on, Dridhavala added the last forty-one chapters. The other five works seem to have perishedCf. "We know how often in India the appearance of a convenient abstract has led to the neglect and subsequent loss of all earlier works on the subject."—Intro. to Stein's Rájatarñginí, p. 25. In Burnell's Tanjore catalogue Pt. I. pp. 63-65, a full analysis is given of Bhelasamhita, from which it would appear that this work is still extant, though in a mutilated form. Dr. Burnell. Vágbhata,