The Charaka Saṃhitā or Compendium of Charaka (Sanskrit चरक संहिता IAST: caraka-saṃhitā) is a Sanskrit text on Ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine).[1][2] Along with the Suśruta-saṃhitā, it is one of the two foundational Hindu texts of this field that have survived from ancient India.[3][4][5]
The pre-2nd century CE text consists of eight books and one hundred twenty chapters.[6][7] It describes ancient theories on human body, etiology, symptomology and therapeutics for a wide range of diseases.[8] The Charaka Samhita also includes sections on the importance of diet, hygiene, prevention, medical education, the teamwork of a physician, nurse and patient necessary for recovery to health.
Diet and health
Innumerable diseases, bodily and mental, have for their root Tamas (stupefaction, darkness). Through fault of the understanding, one indulges in the five injurious objects, suppresses the urgings of nature and accomplishes acts that are highly rash. The man of Ignorance then becomes united with conditions for disease. The man of Knowledge, however, purified by knowledge avoids those conditions. One should never take any food, acting only from a desire for it or guided by ignorance. Only food that is beneficial should be eaten, after proper examination. Verily, the body is the result of food.
Caraka Samhita,
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