Manuscripts in space

  • How many manuscripts of the Compendium of Suśruta survive from ancient and pre-modern India and where are they?

    At the present time, we think that there are over 200 surviving manuscripts that are called “Suśrutasaṃhitā” in various library catalogues and listings. However, most of these are not complete copies of the whole text. A small proportion, perhaps 20%, are dated. A list of the manuscripts of the Suśrutasaṃhitā that have so far been identified can be found on the PanditProject website.

  • Where are these manuscripts found?

    They are kept in libraries all over India, with a few in Europe and one in the USA, as can be seen in this map:

    Key:
  • yellow=1-5 MSS,
  • green=6-10 MSS,
  • blue=11-15 MSS,
  • red=16 or more MSS </div> </div>