Rishi Atrey, is well-known for his vision and conceptual clarity and his expertise in the correlation between disease and medication. As a result, he is considered to be the best therapist in history.
Image Source: Hindi Gita Press Mahabharata
Rishi Atrey was a prominent Hindu guru whose achievements are mentioned in the Purans. He was a descendant of Rishi Atri. Six early Ayurvedic schools were established in honour of this great Ayurvedic scholar Rishi Atrey, whose teachings provided the basis for the other five schools. He is recognised as the author of the Bhel Samhita, which dates to the sixth century BCE.
Early life of Rishi Atrey
The Mahabharat makes reference to King Nagnajeet of the Gandhar Kingdom, who is thought to have had Rishi Atrey as his personal physician. He has also served many other kings and his work as a great physician is appreciated throughout dreaded diseases during that time. Apart from being a great physician, he also had interest in astrology and other fields of knowledge. The term ‘Satyanetra’, which means ‘truth speaker’ or ‘seer of real truth’, was used to describe Rishi Atrey. As a result of his frequent attendance at King’s Assembly meetings, where he provided his own analytical perspective and worked to bring social issues to light, Rishi Atrey is referred to in the Charak Samhita as ‘Bhagvan Atrey’.
Rishi Atrey’s contribution to Ayurved
The greatest medical text, Charak Samhita, claims to be the culmination of Rishi Atrey’s ideology. He is highly cherished by Agnivesh and the other disciples, who are deeply attached to him. After being taken from Indra and taught to the honourable constellation of sages by Bharadwaj, he is the first methodical instructor of the knowledge of medicine. Thus, Atrey belonged to the top echelon of sages, being knowledgeable in all the disciplines, mature in spiritual understanding, and a teacher in particular of the field of medical science. Despite being knowledgeable about all eight disciplines of the scientific knowledge of Life, he focused solely on medicine in this treatise and directed his students to other masters and treatises when they needed to use surgery or other specialised treatments.
With Rishi Atrey, the era of practical or scientific medicine officially began. Though the Vedic literature contains the idea of the three controlling factors of the body and the universe, medicine owes Atrey the credit for fully developing the Tridosha concept in a consistent manner and on the basis of a rationale of primordial mixtures and physico-chemical transmutations. With the introduction of the theory of taste, its effects on physiological and metabolic processes, and its use in therapeutics, as well as the concepts of the Ras, Gun, Vipak, and Prabhav of drugs, medicine moves from an empirical to a scientific stage that is based on and supported by biophysical and biochemical principles.
Rishi Atrey is regarded by people from far and wide
The reverence with which his pupils approach him while he is seated among sages and academics, often the knowledgeable leaders of neighbouring states or foreign scholars, and the conclusion his discussions acquire in the conversations among these sages and scholars, as well as the moving scene of such gatherings from the Himalayas in the North, to the eastern section like Kailash and the southern plains of Kampilya, are undeniable signs of his fame. The greatest instructor of the Science of Life among mankind is Atrey, who stands out for his beautiful reason, depth and universality of wisdom, as well as his vision and conceptual clarity and, most importantly, his expertise in the correlation between disease and medication. As a result, he is the best therapist in history and has gained the enduring title of being the father of medicine. As long as the science of life is taught and applied in the light and spirit of his ideas and fundamental theory, Atrey will remain an eternal name in Indian medicine.
