Why is charaka called the ‘the father of medicine’?

Acharya Charak

Charaka was born around 300 BC. He is belived to have benn a wandering Buddhist monk and physician, and was one of the principal contributors to the ancient art and science of ayurveda. He wrote a famous treatise called ‘Charaka Samhita’, which is used as a referance book even today. Charaka was the first physician to present the concept of digestion, metabolism, immunity, and the fundamental of genetics. He studied the anatomy of the human body and various organs, and calculated 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 contolling center.

            Charaka never just treated diseases. He would first study all the factors, including enveronment, which influence a patient’s disease, and only then, prescribe a course of treatment. To this day, charaka is called the father of medicine, and is famed for his power to illuminate the reason for illness with the lamp of knownledge and understanding.