Charak Samhita is divided into how many chapters and sections?
- (a)80 chapters and 7 sections
- (b)60 chapters and 8 sections
- (c)120 chapters and 8 sections
- (d)100 chapters and 5 sections
Correct — C, 120 chapters and 8 sections. The Charaka Samhita, the foundational Ayurvedic treatise on internal medicine (kayachikitsa), is organised into 8 sections called sthanas, which together contain 120 chapters (adhyayas). The eight sthanas are Sutra (30 chapters), Nidana (8), Vimana (8), Sharira (8), Indriya (12), Chikitsa (30), Kalpa (12) and Siddhi (12) — 30+8+8+8+12+30+12+12 = 120. So the pairing '120 chapters and 8 sections' is exact.
- (a)80 chapters and 7 sections — Both counts are wrong — the text has 8 sthanas, not 7, and 120 chapters, not 80.
- (b)60 chapters and 8 sections — The number of sections (8) is right, but the chapter total is 120, not 60.
- (d)100 chapters and 5 sections — Both figures are wrong — neither the section count (8, not 5) nor the chapter count (120, not 100) matches.
The Charaka Samhita is one of the two great classical texts of Ayurveda (the other being the Sushruta Samhita, focused on surgery). Attributed to the physician Charaka and based on the older Agnivesha tantra, it deals chiefly with internal medicine, diagnosis, pathology, physiology, ethics and therapeutics. Its structure — 8 sthanas totalling 120 chapters — is a favourite factual hook in prelims.
This is a pure static-fact recall question, so precision on the numbers is everything. The safest anchor is the section count: the Charaka Samhita has 8 sthanas — which eliminates options with 7 or 5 sections. Among the two options left with 8 sections, the chapter total 120 (not 60) picks out option (c).
- Charaka Samhita — the classical Ayurvedic text on internal medicine (kayachikitsa), based on the Agnivesha Samhita.
- Structure: 8 sthanas (sections) containing 120 chapters (adhyayas) in total.
- The eight sthanas: Sutra, Nidana, Vimana, Sharira, Indriya, Chikitsa, Kalpa, Siddhi.
- Companion text is the Sushruta Samhita (the 'Father of Surgery'); together they anchor classical Ayurveda.
- Guessing 100 or 60 chapters — the total is 120.
- Confusing Charaka (internal medicine) with Sushruta (surgery).
- Forgetting the number of sthanas is 8 (not 7 or 5).
UPPSC/UPSC test ancient science through author-to-field match-lists and single-fact recall (like this chapter/section count) — memorise who wrote what and one signature detail per text.
Match List I with List II: I. Visakhadatta II. Varahamihira III. Charaka IV. Brahmagupta ; A) Medicine B) Drama C) Astronomy D) Mathematics
- (a) I-A, II-C, III-D, IV-B
- (b) I-B, II-A, III-C, IV-D
- (c) I-B, II-C, III-A, IV-D
- (d) I-C, II-B, III-A, IV-B
Answer(c) I-B, II-C, III-A, IV-D — Visakhadatta/Drama, Varahamihira/Astronomy, Charaka/Medicine, Brahmagupta/Mathematics.
Same figure — Charaka is matched to Medicine, the field of the Charaka Samhita that this question quantifies.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Charaka Samhita deals principally with which branch of Ayurveda?
- (a)Surgery (Shalya)
- (b)Internal medicine (Kayachikitsa)
- (c)Toxicology (Agada)
- (d)Paediatrics (Kaumarabhritya)
Answer(b) Internal medicine (Kayachikitsa) — surgery is the domain of the Sushruta Samhita.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Charaka Samhita is regarded as a redaction of which earlier work?
- (a)Sushruta Samhita
- (b)Agnivesha Samhita (Agnivesha tantra)
- (c)Ashtanga Hridaya
- (d)Bhela Samhita
Answer(b) Agnivesha Samhita — Charaka revised the older Agnivesha tantra.