Atreya Punarvasu: The Rishi with whom Ayurveda come in treatise form
The Rishi (sage) Atreya is mentioned as Atreya Punarvasu, Krishnatreya and Chandrabhagi (because of her mother's name i.e. Chandrabhaga). He is the descendant of Atri (one among the Saptarishi or the seven sages) and the disciple of the sage Bhardwaja. He was the guru of six disciples namely Agnivesha, Bhela, Jatukarna, Parashara, Harita and Ksharapani which are renowned for their particular samhita (compendium). Bhela proposes that Atreya hailed from the Gandhara region which is Kandhar (Afganisthan) in present days. He also adds that Atreya was contemporary to the Rajarsi Nagnajit of Gandhara. Nagnajit has been quoted to Satapatha brahamana (part of Yajurveda) which was written in about 3000 BC (Sahnkar Bal Krishan Dixit). Modern historian suggest that Satapatha brahamana was written around 800 BC. The Mahabharata (Sanskrit epic of Ancient India) mentioned about the Krish...