Charaka

Charaka (Sanskrit Caraka) was one of the principal contributors to the ancient art and
science of Ayurveda, a system of medicine and lifestyle developed in Ancient India. He is
famous for authoring the medical treatise the Charaka Samhita. Charaka has been
identified as a native of Kashmir.[1][2][3][4] He is well known as the "father of medicine".[5]

Charaka and the Ayurveda

The term Charaka is a label said to apply to "wandering scholars" or "wandering
physicians". According to Charaka's translations, health and disease are not
predetermined and life may be prolonged by human effort and attention to lifestyle. As
per Indian heritage and Ayurvedic system, prevention of all types of diseases have a more
prominent place than treatment, including restructuring of lifestyle to align with the
course of nature and four seasons, which will guarantee complete wellness.
Charaka seems to have been an early proponent of "prevention is better than cure"
doctrine. The following statement is attributed to Acharya Charaka:
A physician who fails to enter the body of a patient with the lamp of knowledge and
understanding can never treat diseases. He should first study all the factors, including
environment, which influence a patient's disease, and then prescribe treatment. It is more
important to prevent the occurrence of disease than to seek a cure.
Charaka contributions to the fields of physiology, etiology and embryology have been
recognised.
Charaka is generally considered as the first physician to present the concept of digestion,
metabolism and immunity.[citation needed] A body functions because it contains three dosha or
principles, namely movement (vata), transformation (pitta) and lubrication and stability
(kapha). The doshas correspond to the Western classification of humors, bile, phlegm and
wind. These doshas are produced when dhatus (blood, flesh and marrow) act upon the
food eaten. For the same quantity of food eaten, one body, however, produces dosha in an
amount different from another body. That is why one body is different from another.
Further, he stressed, illness is caused when the balance among the three doshas in a
human body are disturbed. To restore the balance he prescribed medicinal drugs.
Although he was aware of germs in the body, he did not give them any importance. [citation
needed]

Charaka studied the anatomy of the human body and various organs. He gave 360 as the
total number of bones, including teeth, present in the human body. He wrongly believed
that the heart had one cavity, but he was right when he considered it to be a controlling
centre. He claimed that the heart was connected to the entire body through 13 main
channels. Apart from these channels, there were countless other ones of varying sizes
1

which supplied not only nutrients to various tissues but also provided passage to waste
products. He also claimed that any obstruction in the main channels led to a disease or
deformity in the body.
Agnivesa, under the guidance of the ancient physician Atreya, had written an
encyclopedic treatise in the 8th century B.C. However, it was only when Charaka revised
this treatise that it gained popularity and came to be known as Charaka Samhita. For two
millennia it remained a standard work on the subject and was translated into many
foreign languages, including Arabic and Latin.

Contributions
He is the author of the Charaka Samhita, which has survived in the Bower Manuscript
dated to around 4th century. However, the manuscript is believed to be an edition by
Dr d
h
abala, the original work by Charaka is a few centuries older. The Charaka Samhita
is one of the two foundational text of Ayurveda, the other being the Sushruta Samhita.
The Charaka Samhita contains 120 adhyayas (chapters) divided into eight parts.

Influences
According to the Charaka tradition, there existed six schools of medicine, founded by the
disciples of the sage Punarvasu treya. Each of his disciples, Agnivesha, Bhela,
Jatkarna, Parshara, Hrta, and Kshrapni, composed a Samhit. Of these, the one
composed by Agnivesha was considered the best. The Agnivesha Samhit was later
revised by Charaka and it came to be known as Charaka Samhit. The Charaka Samhit
was revised by Dridhbala.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Sutra Sthana
Nidan Sthana
Viman Sthana
Sharir Sthana
Indriya Sthana
Chikitsa Sthana
Kalpa Sthana
Siddhi Sthana

There were 8 main chapters in this book. There had been 120 sub chapters of which they
all in total had 12,000 shlokas and description of 2,000 medicines. There were cures for
diseases related to almost every body part of human body and all medicines had natural
elements without any chemicals to cure the diseases.

Aristotle

Aristotle (/rsttl/;[1] Greek: [aristotls], Aristotls; 384 322 BC)[2]

was a Greek philosopher and scientist born in the Macedonian city of Stagira, Chalkidice,
on the northern periphery of Classical Greece. His father, Nicomachus, died when
Aristotle was a child, whereafter Proxenus of Atarneus became his guardian.[3] At
eighteen, he joined Plato's Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of thirtyseven (c. 347 BC). His writings cover many subjects including physics, biology,
zoology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theater, music, rhetoric, linguistics,
politics and government and constitute the first comprehensive system of Western
philosophy. Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip of
Macedon, tutored Alexander the Great starting from 343 BC.[4] According to the
Encyclopdia Britannica, "Aristotle was the first genuine scientist in history ... [and]
every scientist is in his debt."[5]
Teaching Alexander the Great gave Aristotle many opportunities and an abundance of
supplies. He established a library in the Lyceum which aided in the production of many
of his hundreds of books. The fact that Aristotle was a pupil of Plato contributed to his
former views of Platonism, but, following Plato's death, Aristotle immersed himself in
empirical studies and shifted from Platonism to empiricism.[6] He believed all peoples'
concepts and all of their knowledge was ultimately based on perception. Aristotle's views
on natural sciences represent the groundwork underlying many of his works.
Aristotle's views on physical science profoundly shaped medieval scholarship. Their
influence extended into the Renaissance and were not replaced systematically until the
Enlightenment and theories such as classical mechanics. Some of Aristotle's zoological
observations, such as on the hectocotyl (reproductive) arm of the octopus, were not
confirmed or refuted until the 19th century. His works contain the earliest known formal
study of logic, which was incorporated in the late 19th century into modern formal logic.
In metaphysics, Aristotelianism profoundly influenced Judeo-Islamic philosophical and
theological thought during the Middle Ages and continues to influence Christian
theology, especially the scholastic tradition of the Catholic Church. Aristotle was well
known among medieval Muslim intellectuals and revered as "The First Teacher" (Arabic:
) .His ethics, though always influential, gained renewed interest with the
modern advent of virtue ethics. All aspects of Aristotle's philosophy continue to be the
object of active academic study today. Though Aristotle wrote many elegant treatises and
dialogues Cicero described his literary style as "a river of gold" [7] it is thought that
only around a third of his original output has survived.[8]
The sum of his work's influence often ranks him among the world's top personalities of
all time with the greatest influence, along with his teacher Plato, and his pupil Alexander
the Great.[9][10]
Aristotle, whose name means "the best purpose",[11] was born in 384 BC in Stagira,
Chalcidice, about 55 km (34 miles) east of modern-day Thessaloniki.[12] His father Plato
had died.[14]

Parashara
Parashara (IAST: Parara) was a maharishi and the author of many ancient Indian
texts. He is accredited the author of the first Purana, the Vishnu Purana, before his son
Vyasa wrote it in its present form. He was the grandson of Vashistha, the son of akti
Mahars i, and the father of Vyasa. There are several texts which give reference to
Parashara as an author/speaker. Modern scholars believe that there were many individuals
who used this name throughout time whereas others assert that the same Parashara taught
these various texts and the time of writing them varied. The actual sage himself never
wrote the texts, he was known as a traveling teacher, and the various texts attributed to
him are given in reference to Parashara being the speaker to his student [citation needed]. He is
the third member of the Rs i Parampar of theAdvaita Guru Parampar.
One of the famous temple is located in PARSON near Badhkal lake faridabad dist.faridabad haryana near delhi. It is at very beautiful location in between the aravali
mountains.

Genealogy
According to the Vedas, Brahma created Vashistha, who, with Arundhati, had a son
named akti Mahars i who sired Parashara. With Satyavati, Parashara fathered Vyasa.
Vysa sired Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura through his deceased brother's wives. Vysa
also sired Shuka through his wife, Jbli's daughter Pinjal. Thus Parashara was the
great-grandfather of both the warring parties of the Mahbhrata, the Kauravas and the
Pandavas.
Parashara is used as a gotra for the ancestors and their off springs thereon.

Life
Parashara was raised by his grandfather Vashistha because he lost his father at an early
age. His father, akti Muni, was on a journey and came across an angry Rakshasa
(demon) who had once been a king but was turned into a demon feeding on human flesh
as a curse from Vivamitra. The demon devoured Parasharas father. In the Vis n u Purn ,a
Parashara speaks about his anger from this:[1]
"I had heard that my father had been devoured by a Rks asas employed by Vivamitra:
violent anger seized me, and I commenced a sacrifice for the destruction of the Rks asas:
hundreds of them were reduced to ashes by the rite, when, as they were about to be
entirely exterminated, my grandfather Vashistha said to me: Enough, my child; let thy
wrath be appeased: the Rks asas are not culpable: thy father's death was the work of
destiny. Anger is the passion of fools; it becometh not a wise man. By whom, it may be
asked, is any one killed? Every man reaps the consequences of his own acts. Anger, my
son, is the destruction of all that man obtains by arduous exertions, of fame, and of

Carl Linnaeus

The Swedish naturalist (student of natural history) Carl Linnaeus established the binomial
(two-name) system of describing living things and gave the first organization to ecology
(the relationships between living things and their environments).

Early years and education

Carl Linnaeus was born on May 23, 1707, in Rshult, Sweden, the eldest of Nils and
Christina Linnaeus's five children. Two years after his birth his father became the
minister at Stenbrohult, Sweden. It was there that his father, who was a lover of flowers,
introduced botany (the study of plants) to Carl at a young age. And at the age of five Carl
had his own garden, which he later said, "inflamed my soul with an unquenchable love of
plants." Carl was more interested in plants than in his studies while in grammar school.
His mother hoped he would become a minister, but he showed no interest in that career.
Johan Rothman, a master at the high school, encouraged Carl's interests in science and
suggested that he study medicine. Nils Linnaeus agreed, and Rothman tutored Carl for a
year.
In 1727 Linnaeus entered the University of Lund. The science and medical instruction
was very weak there, and after a year he transferred to Uppsala University, where things
were not much better. Fortunately he attracted the interest of Olof Celsius, a religion
professor who was interested in the plants of Sweden. Celsius gave Linnaeus free room
and board and encouraged his study. The most important development in botany at the
time was the study of the sexuality of plants. Linnaeus wrote an essay on the subject,
which Celsius showed to one of the professors of medicine, Olof Rudbeck. Rudbeck was
so impressed with Linnaeus that he appointed him lecturer in botany and tutor of his sons.

Linnaeus's travels
From 1732 to 1735 Linnaeus traveled throughout Sweden on behalf of the government to
study the country's natural resources. Linnaeus then went to Holland to obtain a medical
degree. In 1735, after a week at the University of Harderwijk, Linnaeus took the
examinations, defended his thesis (a written statement containing original research and
supporting a specific idea) on the cause of intermittent (not continuous) fever, and
received his degree. He spent most of the next three years in Holland but also traveled in
Germany, France, and England. He had many of his scientific papers published with the
support of other naturalists and the wealthy banker George Clifford. Linnaeus concluded
that in three years he had "written more, discovered more, and made a greater
.
reform in botany than anybody before had done in an entire lifetime."
Linnaeus returned to practice medicine in Stockholm, Sweden, and he was very
successful. In 1739 he married Sara Lisa Moraea, with whom he would have six children.
Linnaeus became professor of botany at Uppsala University in 1741. He taught botany,
zoology (the study of animals), natural history, and other subjects, and he was very