Charak Samhita

Structured across eight sthanas (sections) covering diagnosis, anatomy, pharmacology, and treatment, the Samhita organizes disease not just by symptom but by the patient's individual constitution, the doshas of vata, pitta, and kapha, a framework still taught as Ayurveda's diagnostic starting point.

Alongside the Sushruta Samhita, it forms one of the Brihat Trayi, the 'great three' classical Ayurvedic compendiums, and remains in active clinical reference in Ayurvedic colleges across India today, not merely studied as history. Its author, Charaka, is covered separately in this site's Rishi Parampara chapter.