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Susruta samhita is the first authoritative book on Ayurveda.  It has the distinction of being the only authentic text on ancient Indian surgery and contains the description of many wonderful surgical feats conducted by ancient Indian surgeons.

Susruta, the author of the book is the pioneer in performing repair and reconstruction of mutilated organs of the humanbody, known now a days as "plastic surgery".  His method of repairing the mutilated nose-Rhinoplasty has been adopted by European surgeons under the name "The Indian method".  He was the first medical man to have conducted dissection of the human dead body and described the anatomy of the human being.  He was the first surgeon in the world to insist on training the students in surgical techniques using fruits, vegetables and artificially prepared parts of the human body. He describes all aspects of surgery-pre-operative measures, method of operation in detail and post-operative care.

His methods of "battle field surgery" were the most scientific methods appropriate to those days.  He has described many surgical instruments which had been fabricated ideally.  His surgical operation included removal of foreign bodies, treatment of bones and joints (orthopedics) wounds, obstructed labour (obstretrics) abdominal surgery, diseases of the eyes (ophthalmology) ear, nose, throat and head, urinary calculus and many more.  With all these merits Sursruta samhita is considered a book" par excellence on ancient Indian surgery".

In addition to surgery, it also deals with all other branches of Ayurveda such a Kaya cititsa (inner medicine) Agada tantra (toxicology), Balaroga (paediatrics) and doctrines of physiology, pharmacology, hygiene, maintainance of health, foods and drugs etc.  Thus Susruta samhita is a classical text of Ayurveda, studied assiduously since very early times to the present day not merely by Indians but even by medical men of many western countries.

The present translation is by Prof. K.R. Srikantha Murthy who has rich experience of teaching and writing spread over a span of fifty years.  It is mainly aimed to help the graduate and post-graduate students of Ayurveda.  It covers the entire treatise, in three volumes of translation.  Each volume contains the original text in Sanskrit, translation in English, explanatory notes and pictures at many places, appendices and index.  It will thus be of great help not only to students of Ayurveda but also to all those interested in knowing ancient Indian wisdom and achievements.