What are the classical Ayurvedic texts and who wrote them?

The three great texts

The Brihat Trayi means the Greater Trio. These three works are the foundation of Ayurveda.

The Charaka Samhita covers medicine, diagnosis, and the working of the body. The tradition links it to a teacher named Charaka, though the text itself is thought to have been composed and reworked over time, with an earlier figure named Agnivesha also connected to it.

The Sushruta Samhita is the great text on surgery and anatomy. It is linked to a teacher named Sushruta and is known for describing surgical tools and procedures in remarkable detail.

The Ashtanga Hridayam, meaning the Heart of the Eight Branches, was composed by Vagbhata. It brings together the ideas of the earlier two texts in a more compact form and is widely studied across different Ayurvedic traditions.

The three later texts

The Laghu Trayi means the Lesser Trio. These texts came later and built on the earlier foundations.

The Madhava Nidana focuses on the diagnosis of disease. The Sharangadhara Samhita covers formulations, dosage, and pharmacy. The Bhavaprakasha deals with diet, herbs, and general health. Each is linked to an author by the same name as the text, though exact dates and historical details remain debated among scholars.

What we know about their origins

The exact dates of these texts are not settled. Most were composed, added to, and revised over long periods. The names attached to them, like Charaka or Sushruta, are traditional attributions. In some cases the person named may have been a compiler or a key teacher rather than a single original author. This kind of layered authorship was common in ancient Indian learning.

How they are used today

All six texts are still studied in Ayurvedic colleges. The Brihat Trayi are the core curriculum. The Charaka Samhita and Ashtanga Hridayam are especially widely read. Practitioners and students around the world return to these works, and many have been translated into English and other languages.