Vāgbhaṭa (वाग्भट) is one of the most influential writers, Scientist, Doctor and advisor of ayurveda. Several works are associated with his name as author, principally the Ashtāṅgasaṅgraha (अष्टाङ्गसंग्रह) and the Ashtāngahridayasaṃhitā (अष्टाङ्गहृदयसंहिता).

Born: 600 AD, Sindh, Pakistan
Died: 650 AD
Books: Vāgbhaṭa’s Aṣṭāṅga Saṃgraha: Sūtrasthāna,

Sushruta, “Father of Surgery” and “Father of Plastic Surgery”, Charaka, a medical genius, and Vāgbhaṭa are considered to be “The Trinity” of Ayurvedic knowledge, with Vāgbhaṭa coming after the other two. According to some scholars, Vāgbhaṭa lived in Sindh around the sixth century. Not much is known about him personally, except that he was most likely to have been a vedic, as he makes a reference to Lord Shiva in his writings, and his sons, grandsons, and disciples were all vedic. It is also believed that he was taught Ayurvedic medicine by his father, Simhagupta and a veda monk, named Avalokita.

The best current research, however, argues in detail that these two works cannot be the product of a single author. Indeed, the whole question of the relationship of these two works, and their authorship, is very difficult and still far from solution. Both works make frequent reference to the earlier classical works, the Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita.Vāgbhaṭa is said, in the closing verses of the Ashtānga sangraha to have been the son of Simhagupta and pupil of Avalokita. He was a Buddhist, as is shown by his explicit praise for the Buddha by name at the start of the Ashtāngasangraha, and his praise of the Buddha under the title “Unprecedented Teacher” in the opening verse of the Ashtānga hridayasamhitā. His work contains syncretic elements.
Vāgbhaṭa was a disciple of Charaka. Both of his books were originally written in Sanskrit with 7000 sutras. According to Vāgbhaṭa, 85% of diseases can be cured without a doctor; only 15% of diseases require a doctor.
The Aṣṭāṅgahṛdayasaṃhitā (Ah, “Heart of Medicine”) is written in poetic language. The Aṣṭāṅgasaṅgraha (As, “Compendium of Medicine”) is a longer and less concise work, containing many parallel passages and extensive passages in prose. The Ah is written in 7120 easily understood Sanskrit verses that present a coherent account of Ayurvedic knowledge. Ashtanga in Sanskrit means ‘eight components’ and refers to the eight sections of Ayurveda: internal medicine, surgery, gynaecology and paediatrics, rejuvenation therapy, aphrodisiac therapy, toxicology, and psychiatry or spiritual healing, and ENT (ear, nose and throat). There are sections on longevity, personal hygiene, the causes of illness, the influence of season and time on the human organism, types and classifications of medicine, the significance of the sense of taste, pregnancy and possible complications during birth, Prakriti, individual constitutions and various aids for establishing a prognosis. There is also detailed information on Five-actions therapies (Skt. pañcakarma) including therapeutically induced vomiting, the use of laxatives, enemas, complications that might occur during such therapies and the necessary medications.

The Aṣṭāṅgahṛdayasaṃhitā is perhaps Ayurveda’s greatest classic, and copies of the work in manuscript libraries across India and the world outnumber any other medical work. The Ah is the central work of authority for ayurvedic practitioners in Kerala. The Aṣṭāṅgasaṅgraha, by contrast, is poorly represented in the manuscript record, with only a few, fragmentary manuscripts having survived to the twenty-first century. Evidently it was not widely read in pre-modern times. However, the As has come to new prominence since the twentieth century through being made part of the curriculum for ayurvedic college education in India.
The Ah has been translated into many languages, including Tibetan, Arabic, Persian and several modern Indian and European languages
Vagbhata Books
Vagbhata Astanga Samgraha: Saurashtra
Astanga Hrdayam of Vagbhata
Astanga Hrdaya of Vagbhata: Sutra
Vagbhata’s Astanga Samgraha: Uttara stana
Rasaratnasamuccya: Translation and comments
Astangahrdayam of Vagbhata: Text with English
Astanga Hrdaya of Vagbhata:
Vagbhata’s Astangahrdayasamhita: The first English translation
Vagbhata’sVāgbhaṭa Astangahrdayasamhita: Kalpasthana