The Sushruta Award is named after Sushruta, a surgeon of astounding capabilities, a philosopher and a great teacher. He wrote his monumental treatise on medicine, Sushruta Samhita around 1000 BCE. He organized the medical knowledge into disciplines such as Shalyachikitsa, (Surgery), Vesujavigyana, (Pharmocology), Nidanatatwa, (Pathology), Sharirabritta, (Physiology), Shariraasthana, (Anatomy), Dhatrividya, (Midwifery), and Chakshurogavigyan, (Ophthalmology).

Sushruta described the construction and maintenance of one hundred and twenty one surgical instruments and classified them into six principal types. He classified surgical procedures into eight categories: Incision, Excision, Probing, Puncturing, Extraction, Scraping, Drainage, and Suturing.

Sushruta was the first to intuitively recognize the concept of antisepsis and fumigated his operating room with four sulphur fumes prior to all surgical procedures.

The exceptional brilliance of Sushruta is seen in his pioneering surgical accomplishments. He described Rhinoplasty, Laparotomy, Urethral stricture dilatation, Vesiculolithotomy, cataract surgery, hernia surgery, ceasarian section and many more. Sushruta enumerated over eleven hundred diseases and recommended diagnosis by inspection, palpation and auscultation.

The genius of Sushruta prompted eminent surgeon Whipple to declare Sushruta to be the greatest surgeon of premedieval time.