Page:Sushruta Samhita Vol 1.djvu/22

vi Vartikas of(i) Katyayana (4 Century B. C.) and we have no hesitation in saying that the original Sarnhita was written at least two centuries before the birth of Buddha. We are equally ready to admit, on the other hand, that the final recension of the Samhita by Nagarjuna, at least the form in which we have it, was made about the second Century B. C.

Two Nagarjunas:—Several scholars, on the authority of Dallana (the celebrated commentator of the Sushruta Samhita) endeavour to establish the identity of Nagarjuna (the redactor of this Samhita) with his namesake, the celebrated alchemist of the tenth Century (2). But their contentions fall to the ground when we know that many verses of the Sushruta Samhita occur in the works of Bagbhat (Ashtangahridayam) and Madhava (Nidanam), which are two of the works which were translated by the order of the Kaliph (3) in the eighth century. The internal evidences of the book do not supply us with any authentic material to compose anything like a biography of this father of Hindu Surgery.

Internal Evidence:—The line in the Samhita, which has formed the veritable bone of contention amongst scholars of all shades of opinion as throwing a light upon the probable date of its composition, occurs ni the Sharira—Sthanam, in connection with the development of the foetal body and reads as "Subhuti Gautama said that it is the trunk that first developed."

Conflicting testimonies and the uncertain indication of materials at our disposal:—It is a matter of historic

(l) K;5lyayana'si V^rlikas lo Panini's Grammar.

(2) "' Chakra Dutta — Rash^yandhikara.

(3) P. C. Roy— Hindu Chcmislry p. X'1II. (1902),