"The Compendium of Caraka" (Skt. Carakasaṃhitā) is a Sanskrit medical encyclopedia composed over several generations after the time of the Buddha, that probably reached its present form in the third or fourth century CE. This paper explores the significance of the Central Asian and Chinese references made in this work. A related topic concerning medical knowledge in Buddhist monasteries in Bactria is briefly examined: the meaning of "pramukha" (>"Barmakid) in Sanskrit inscriptional sources.