Atreya

For other uses, see Aatreya (disambiguation).

Atreya or Atreyas (आत्रेय) Rishi, or Atreya Punarvasu, was a descendant of Atri, one of the great Hindu sages (rishis) whose accomplishments are detailed in the Puranas. Sage Atreya was a renowned scholar of Ayurveda, and a school of early Ayurveda was founded based on his teachings.

Some historians of Ayurveda date Atreya to 6th century BCE, and theorize that he was the personal physician of the Gandhara king Nagnajita. The Buddhist text Mulasarvastivada-Vinayavastu describes him as the teacher of Jivaka, the personal physician of the Buddha, and connects him to Takshashila in Gandhara.[1]

The oldest portions of the Bhela Samhita and the Charaka Samhita represent a consolidation of Atreya's teachings.[1] The Bhela Samhita is in form of a dialogue between Atreya and his pupil Bhela.[2] The original contents of Charaka Samhita are credited to Atreya, which were in turn codified and edited by Agnivesha and Charaka. According to Surendranath Dasgupta, The old Ayurveda of Atreya-Charaka school probably has its root in the now extinct Caranavaidya branch of Atharvaveda.[3]

  1. ^ a b Madhav M. Deshpande (1988). "Pāṇini and the Northwestern dialect". In Mohammad Ali Jazayery; Werner Winter (eds.). Languages and Cultures: Studies in Honor of Edgar C. Polomé. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 116. ISBN 9783110102048.
  2. ^ G. Jan Meulenbeld (2000). A History of Indian Medical Literature. Vol. IIA. Groningen: Egbert Forsten. p. 14. ISBN 9069801248.
  3. ^ Surendranath Dasgupta (1922). A History of Indian philosophy. Vol. 1. p. 284.