Question

Narrate the story of Sushruta in your own words.

Answer 1

Sushruta was an ancient Indian physician known as the main author of the Sushruta Samhita, a text on medicine and surgery. He is known as the "Founding Father of Surgery." His teacher, Shalihotra, was the founder of veterinary medicine (around 2350 BCE). A treatise entitled "Asvayurveda Siddhanta” (the complete Ayurvedic system for horses) is attributed to Shalihotra. Nakula, one of the Pandavas, has written “Asva Chikitsita."

As a great medical practitioner, Sushruta identified by watching his teacher, who was operating on an animal, that a surgeon must have an eagle’s eye for keen observation of the problem, a motherly touch for taking care of the patient, and a lion’s heart to make the patient recover soon. Later, by watching his mentor do the operation, he identified what a surgeon must know to balance science and compassion.