A bronze statue of Maharishi Sushruta, widely regarded as the father of surgery, has been unveiled in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.
Sushruta, an eminent medical scholar from India who lived around 2,600 years ago in Varanasi (present-day Uttar Pradesh), is a celebrated figure in the history of medicine. He is best known for authoring the ancient medical text Sushruta Samhita.
The text, comprising 184 chapters, explains how ailments can be treated through surgical procedures. It also details 1,120 types of diseases and describes medicines prepared using 700 medicinal plants and animal-based ingredients.
The statue has been installed at the campus of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, one of the world’s oldest and most renowned surgical institutions. It was inaugurated by India’s envoy to Scotland, Siddharth Malik.
The installation was funded personally by Chandra Cheruvu, a well-known surgeon in the UK with roots in Andhra Pradesh. Sculptors from Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu crafted the 90-kg statue and shipped it to Edinburgh, the report said.
