Chakrapani Datta () () was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

scholar and practitioner of

Ayurveda Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...

medicine. In his lifetime, Datta was renowned for his significant contributions to the Ayurveda system of medicine, primarily through his academic commentaries on the primary texts on the field. He is considered to have had a notable impact on

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n medicine through his work.

Life

Chakrapani Datta was believed to have been born in the latter half of the 11th century in the village of

Mayureswar Mayureswar is a village and gram panchayat in Mayureswar II CD Block in Rampurhat subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. Name The name ''Mayūreswar'' is derived from Sanskrit ''Mayū ...

, located in what is now

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. He was a

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

and belonged to a noble

Vaidya Vaidya (Sanskrit: ), or vaid is a Sanskrit word meaning "doctor, physician". Today it is used to refer to traditional practitioners of Ayurveda, an indigenous Indian system of alternative medicine. Senior practitioners or teachers were called ''Va ...

family, with his father having served as a kitchen superintendent for the

Pala emperor The Pāla Empire was the empire ruled by the Pala dynasty, ("protector" in Sanskrit) a medieval Indian dynasty which ruled the kingdom of Gauda. The empire was founded with the election of Gopāla by the chiefs of Gauda in late eighth centu ...

, Nayapala. His elder brother Bhanu is described as having been an ''Antaranga'' (learned physician). A Pala courtier, Naradatta, acted as Datta's spiritual teacher. Datta began to gain prominence at a young age through his commentaries on the primary

texts: the ''

Charaka Samhita The ''Charaka Samhita'' () is a Sanskrit text on Ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine). Along with the '' Sushruta Samhita'', it is one of the two foundational texts of this field that have survived from ancient India. It is one of the three w ...

'' and the ''

Sushruta Samhita The ''Sushruta Samhita'' (, ) is an ancient Sanskrit text on medicine and one of the most important such treatises on this subject to survive from the ancient world. The ''Compendium of Sushruta, Suśruta'' is one of the foundational texts of ...

''. Among his most celebrated works are ''Chikitsasamgraha'' (Collection of medical practices and procedures), ''Dravyaguna'' (Properties of plants), and ''Sarvasarsamgraha'' (Collection of the essence of things). These discussed therapeutic, surgical and physiological treatments to disease and have led to him being regarded as an authority in Ayurveda medicine. His being the first to incorporate metallic recipes among his creed is also considered notable, with historian Durga Prasad Mazumder arguing that it "introduced a new era in medical science". Datta's accomplishments earned him the exalted titles of ''Charaka Cheturanana'', ''Sushruta Sahasranayana'' and ''

Mahamahopadhyaya Mahamahopadhyaya (Sanskrit: महामहोपाध्याय) is an honorific title given to prestigious scholars by the Government of India. Prior to 1947, the title was bestowed by the British Raj, and before them, by the kings of ancien ...

''. His contributions to

Sanskrit grammar The grammar of the Sanskrit language has a complex verbal system, rich nominal declension, and extensive use of compound nouns. It was studied and codified by Sanskrit grammarians from the later Vedic period (roughly 8th century BCE), culminatin ...

and

Nyaya Nyāya (Sanskrit: न्यायः, IAST: nyāyaḥ), literally meaning "justice", "rules", "method" or "judgment", is one of the six orthodox (Āstika) schools of Hindu philosophy. Nyāya's most significant contributions to Indian philosophy ...

philosophy are also considered to be noteworthy. They are most prominently shown through his compilation of the ''Shabdachandrika'' dictionary and annotations on Gauatama's ''

Nyāya Sūtras The ''Nyāya Sūtras'' is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text composed by , and the foundational text of the Nyaya school of Hindu philosophy. The date when the text was composed, and the biography of its author is unknown, but variously estim ...

'' respectively. Through his work, Datta amassed a significant fortune, allowing his descendants to become prominent

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

s, a role they continued in into the 20th century.

References

{{reflist Bengali writers Ayurvedacharyas 11th-century Indian people 11th-century physicians Indian medical doctors People from the Pala Empire