Sushruta

One of the earliest surgeons of the

recorded history (600 B.C.) is believed to be
the first individual to describe plastic
surgery. Sushruta who lived nearly 150 years
before Hippocrates vividly described the
basic principles of plastic surgery in his
famous ancient treatise 'Sushruta Samhita'
1,2 in 600 B.C. 'Sushruta Samhita'(Sushruta's
compendium) which is one of the oldest
treatise dealing with surgery in the world indicates that he was probably the first
surgeon to perform plastic surgical operations. This paper presents a historical
window into various contributions of Sushruta to plastic surgery and allied fields
which were described in 'Sushruta Samhita' more than 2500 millennia ago.

Although many people consider Plastic Surgery as a relatively new specialty,

the origin of the plastic surgery had his roots more than 4000 years old in India,
back to the Indus River Civilization. The mythico-religious shlokas (hymns)
associated with this civilization were compiled in Sanskrit language between 3000
and 1000 B.C. in the form of Vedas, the oldest sacred books of the Hindu religion.
This era is referred to as the Vedic period (5000 years B.C) in Indian history during
which the the four Vedas, namely the Rigveda, the Samaveda, the Yajurveda, and
the Atharvaveda were compiled. All the four Vedas are in the form of shlokas
(hymns), verses, incantations and rites in Sanskrit language. ‘Sushruta Samhita' is
believed to be a part of Atharvaveda.

‘Sushruta Samhita'(Sushruta's compendium), which describes the ancient

tradition of surgery in Indian medicine is considered as one of the most brilliant
gems in Indian medical literature. This treatise contains detailed descriptions of
teachings and practice of the great ancient surgeon Sushruta (which has
considerable surgical knowledge of relevance even today.
 Aryabhatta (476-550)

Indian mathematicians
excelled for thousands of years, and
eventually even developed advanced
techniques like Taylor series before
Europeans did, but they are denied
credit because of Western
ascendancy. Among the Hindu
mathematicians, Aryabhatta (called
Arjehir by Arabs) may be most
famous.

While Europe was in its early

"Dark Age," Aryabhatta advanced
arithmetic, algebra, elementary
analysis, and especially trigonometry, using the decimal system. Aryabhatta is
sometimes called the "Father of Algebra" instead of al-Khowârizmi (who himself
cites the work of Aryabhatta). His most famous accomplishment in mathematics
was the Aryabhatta Algorithm (connected to continued fractions) for solving
Diophantine equations. Aryabhatta made several important discoveries in
astronomy; for example, his estimate of the Earth's circumference was more
accurate than any achieved in ancient Greece. He was among the ancient scholars
who realized the Earth rotated daily on an axis; claims that he also espoused
heliocentric orbits are controversial, but may be confirmed by the writings of al-
Biruni. Aryabhatta is said to have introduced the constant e. He used π ≈ 3.1416;
it is unclear whether he discovered this independently or borrowed it from Liu Hui
of China. Among theorems first discovered by Aryabhatta is the famous identity
Σ (k3) = (Σ k)2
 Dhanvantari
Dhanvantari is an Avatar of Vishnu from the Hindu
tradition. He appears in the Vedas and Puranas as the
physician of the gods (devas), and the god of Ayurvedic
medicine. It is common practice in Hinduism for
worshipers to pray to Dhanvantari seeking his blessings
for sound health for themselves and/or others, especially
on Dhanteras

Sri Dhanvantari is the god (17th incarnation of Lord

Vishnu) of health care. As such, persons have taken the
name "Dhanvantari" in connection with their attempts at
medical interventions. One such Dhanvantari was an
early Indian medical practitioner and one of the world’s
first surgeons. Based on Vedic traditions, he is regarded as the source of
Ayurveda. He perfected many herbal based cures and natural remedies and was
credited with the discovery of the antiseptic properties of turmeric and the
preservative properties of salt which he incorporated in his cures.

Being a very skilled surgeon according to the standards of his time, he is

widely believed to be the pioneer of modern medical practices like plastic surgery.
All his surgeries were performed without anesthetic, however in spite of his crude
methods he was reported to have had a very high success rate. As a result of the
brilliance and achievements he displayed in the field of medicine he was chosen
as one of the Nine Gems in early Indian ruler Vikramaditya’s court.

According to traditions, he taught surgery methods and procedures to

Susrutha, the Father of Ayurvedic Surgery. Dhanvantari is depicted as Vishnu with
four hands, holding medical herbs in one hand and a pot containing rejuvenating
nectar called amrita in another. The Puranas state that Dhanavantari emerged
from the 'Ocean of Milk' and appeared with the pot of nectar during the story of
the Samudra or Sagar manthan whilst the ocean was being churned by the devas
and asuras, using the Mandara mountain and the serpent Vasuki.
 Varahamihira
He was also called Varaha or Mihir, 505–587 CE
was an Indian astronomer, mathematician, and
astrologer who lived in Ujjain. He was born in Avanti
region, roughly corresponding to modern day Malwa,
to Adityadasa, who was himself an astronomer.
According to one of his own works, he was educated at
Kapitthaka.[1] He is considered to be one of the nine
jewels (Navaratnas) of the court of legendary ruler
Yashodharman Vikramaditya of Malwa.
Varahamihir's main work is the book
Pañcasiddhāntikā (or Pancha-Siddhantika, "[Treatise] on the Five [Astronomical]
Canons) dated ca. 575 CE gives us information about older Indian texts which are
now lost. The work is a treatise on mathematical astronomy and it summarises
five earlier astronomical treatises, namely the Surya Siddhanta, Romaka
Siddhanta, Paulisa Siddhanta, Vasishtha Siddhanta and Paitamaha Siddhantas. It is
a compendium of Vedanga Jyotisha as well as Hellenistic astronomy (including
Greek, Egyptian and Roman elements).[2] He was the first one to mention in his
work Pancha Siddhantika that the ayanamsa, or the shifting of the equinox is
50.32 seconds.
The 11th century Iranian scholar Alberuni also described the details of "The
Five Astronomical Canons":
"They [the Indians] have 5 Siddhāntas:
Sūrya-Siddhānta, ie. the Siddhānta of the Sun, composed by Lāṭadeva,
Vasishtha-siddhānta, so called from one of the stars of the Great Bear,
composed by Vishnucandra,
Pulisa-siddhānta, so called from Paulisa, the Greek, from the city of Saintra,
which is supposed to be Alexandria, composed by Pulisa.
Romaka-siddhānta, so called from the Rūm, ie. the subjects of the Roman
Empire, composed by Śrīsheṇa.