Astanga Hrudaya is an authoritative text on the science of life. It has been grouped under “Brihat trayee” along with Caraka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita. Acharya vagbhata son of Simhhagupta is the author of this text.

Astanga Hrudaya consists of 120 chapters divided into six sections, each containing varying number of chapters.
Sutra Sthana - 30 chapters
Sharira Sthana - 6 "
Nidana sthana - 16 "
Chikitsa Sthana - 22 "
Kalpa Sthana - 6 "
uttara tantra - 40 "

Compared to Caraka Samhita, both the texts Astanga Hrudaya and Astanga Samgraha have Uttaratantra which cover many of the E.N.T. disorders and those diseases which are not explained in the earlier treatises.

Astanga hrudaya is one of the important texts on Astanga Ayurveda i.e Ayurveda that consist of eight limbs. Astanga hrudaya is written by Laghu vagbhata, But some opine that both Astanga Sangraha and Astanga Hrudaya are written by the same person – vagbhata. The author states that “by churning the ocean of Ayurveda, ’Astanga Samgraha which is a great store of nectar, was obtained. From that store, Astanga Hrudaya has arisen which is more useful to all categories of students. Astanga Hrudaya is one of the most important texts on Astanga Ayurveda just like the heart which is the most important among the limbs (organs) of the body. It has taken the essence from each limb separately. All works on different aspects of Ayurveda were scattered here and there and Astanga Hrudaya collected the essence of each limb separately and pooled it in one place, just like one collects barley from different fields and makes a heap of it. Earlier works also tried to bring scattered information in one place for e.g on the topic of mahakasaya there have been earlier works. But it is only Astanga Hrudaya which has brought all topics of Ayurveda and pooled them in one place.

1.Kaya cikitsa - Internal Medicine Deals with the prevention, etiology, prognosis and management of disease.
2. Shalya Tantra | Surgery- Various surgeries are described. The first plastic surgery was described in the Sushrut Samhita.
3. Shalakya Tantra | Ear, Nose, Throat and Eye Diseases- The Ayurvedic branch of ophthalmology and Oto-rhinolaryngology - diseases of eye and ear, nose and throat.
4. Kaumarabhrutya Pediatrics-Deals with prenatal and postnatal baby care and with the care of the mother before conception and during pregnancy. Various childhood diseases and treatments come under this branch.
5. Agadatantra |Toxicology- This branch deals with the toxicity and purification of herbs as well as mineral and animal products.
6. Bhuta vidya Psychiatry- This branch is concerned with mental diseases and their treatment. Treatment methods include not only diet and herbs, but also yogic methods for improving the state of mind. There is ample material for research on this branch in the Atharva Veda.7. Rasayana The Science of Rejuvenation- This therapy is used to prevent disease and promote healthy living.8. Vajikarana | The Science of Aphrodisiacs- This branch deals with the means of increasing sexual vitality and efficiency. For achieving healthy and intelligent progeny, the therapy of Rasayana and Vajikarana are closely interrelated. Vajikarana medicines also act as rejuvenatives.

The Ashtanga Samgraha is a systematized text of human illness and therapy in six sections which incorporates the Eight Branches, known as Ashtanga in Sanskrit: Internal Medicine, Paediatrics, Psychiatry, E.N.T, Toxicology, Basic Surgery, Geriatrics and Science of afodisiacs.

This compendium is divided into 6 sections and 150 chapters (sutrasthana-40, nidānasthāna-16,Sharirasthana-12, , cikitsasthana-24, kalpasthana -8 and uttarasthana - 50 chapters). Ashtanga Samgraha describes about the fundamental principles of Ayurveda to maintain the health of a healthy person and to cure the diseases of diseased person in the form of sutra.