Charaka-samhita, also spelled Caraka-samhita or Caraka-saṃhitā, comprehensive text on ancient Indian medicine credited to Charaka, who was a practitioner of the traditional system of Indian medicine known as Ayurveda. Charaka is thought to have flourished sometime between the 2nd century BCE and the 2nd century CE.
The Charaka Samhita states that the content of the book was first taught by Atreya, and then subsequently codified by Agniveśa, revised by Charaka, and the manuscripts that survive into the modern era are based on one edited by Dridhabala.
Dridhabala stated in the Charaka Samhita that he had to write one third of the book all by himself because this portion of the book had been lost, and that he also re-wrote the last part of the book.
Based on textual analysis, and the literal meaning of the Sanskrit word charak, Chattopadhyay speculated that charak does not refer to one person but multiple people.
Vishwakarma and Goswami state that the text exists in many versions and entire chapters are missing in some versions.