Sarngadhara Samhita: A Treatise on Ayurveda

The Samhita is designed to serve as a practitioner’s hand book as the author himself states. Written in simple and easy language the book consists of 32 chapters with 2600 verses in all; the first section with 7 chapters and 585 verses, the second with 12 chapter and 1261 verses and the third section with 13 chapters and 682 verses. Ancient treatises of Ayurveda have been broadly classified into two groups viz. the Brihat trayee (greater triad) and the Laghu trayee (lesser triad); Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita and Ashtanga Sangraha are the Brihat trayee while Madhya Nidana, Sharngadhara Samhita and Bhavaprakasha are the Laghu trayee. Brihat trayee are great in respect of their authors, antiquity and originality. Laghu trayee are the works of later authors and are, more or less, compilations without much originality. But in view of their containing the quintessence of the Brihat trayee in easy diction, the Laghu trayee are also being studied by students and practioners of Ayurveda since long in our country. Shrngadhara Samhita, the second of this category is a very popular treatise.