The Compendium of Kāśyapa 2.9.p16

2.9.p16

dehinaḥ kṛtajñāya saṃvibhajanti puraḥstuvanti ca tadasya dharmārthakāmanirvartakaṃ bhavatīti kimarthaṃ cādhyeya ityatroktam - kiṃcāsyādyaṃ

"O physician, what is life? What makes Ayurveda Ayurveda, and what is called life? How many branches does Ayurveda have? How is it to be studied, why is it to be studied, and what is its first treatise? Which of these is foremost, and which Veda does it rely upon? Is it eternal or non-eternal? What is the foundation of Ayurveda? What are their distinct characteristics? And of the three [types of] pain—past, present, and future—which one does the physician treat? What is the means of attaining this Ayurveda? Is it meritorious or unmeritorious?" If asked thus, one should reply: "Sir! / There, life is called living existence. The root vid- has the sense of knowing, and vidlṛ- has the sense of obtaining. Life is known, discerned, obtained, acquired, and does not perish by means of this knowledge; therefore it is Ayurveda, the science of life. / How many branches does Ayurveda have? It has eight branches. They are: paediatrics and obstetrics, internal medicine, surgery, ophthalmology and ENT, the treatise on spirits, the treatise on poisons, toxicology, and the treatise on rejuvenation. / Here he says: 'These are the limbs; what is its body which the limbs depend upon? For limbs indeed depend upon a body.' Here he says: 'Its body is righteousness, for action succeeds in this [world] based upon righteousness.' / How did it originate? He says: 'In the Upaniṣads of the Atharvaveda, Brahmā, the self-born, born first, desiring to create living beings, for the purpose of preserving living beings, first created Ayurveda, knowing everything; then all beings. Then, to whom did Ka [Brahmā] give this meritorious, endless Ayurveda, the promoter of lifespan, the support, the nourisher, the nectar? To the two Aśvins. Those two [gave it] to Indra; Indra to four ṛṣis: Kaśyapa, Vasiṣṭha, Atri, and Bhṛgu. They gave it to their sons and pupils for the welfare [of all] and for the preservation of the capacity for righteousness, wealth, pleasure, and liberation.' Thus it originated. / How is it to be studied? 'With the permission of the guru.' By whom is it to be studied? 'Ayurveda is to be studied by Brahmins, Kṣatriyas, Vaiśyas, and Śūdras. There, it is to be studied by Brahmins for the sake of understanding its meaning, for spiritual merit, and for showing compassion to living beings; by Kṣatriyas for the protection of subjects; by Vaiśyas for a livelihood; by the others for service; and by all for the sake of righteousness. For they say that the gift of happy life is greater than all righteousness, and hence Ayurveda is indeed meritorious. And living beings, pleased by the gift of happy life, share [their goods] with the grateful [physician] and praise him openly; thus it brings about righteousness, wealth, and pleasure.' Thus it has been said why it is to be studied. / And what is its first treatise? / Paediatrics and obstetrics is called the first of the eight treatises / of great Ayurveda, as the consumer of the oblation [Agni] is among the gods. / For others treat [a person] who has been nurtured by this [branch]. A child's agreeable medicine is different, / the dosage is different, the procedure is different, and there are other specific differences. / Which Veda does it rely upon? 'The Atharvaveda,' he says. For there, the performance of protective rites, oblations, burnt offerings, propitiatory rites [...] is especially taught, and likewise in Ayurveda; therefore it relies upon the Atharvaveda. 'Upon all the Vedas,' say some, 'because it relies on the sciences of verse, prose, dialogue, and song.' But this is not so; the Vedas actually rely upon Ayurveda. / For instance: on the right hand, the thumb exercises dominance over the four fingers, / yet it does not attain equality with them, though it is on the same single hand. / Just so is this Ayurveda the fifth beside the Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda, and Atharvaveda. / For what reason? For just as in the Vedas the highest good of man connected with the three goals of life is constantly contemplated by knowers of Brahman, even so in this Veda, through etiology, pathology, symptoms, fatal prognostic signs, and treatment, the highest good of man, which constantly produces benefit and happiness and forms the essence of the three goals of life, is contemplated. And just as men endowed with various branches of learning and knowledge, skilled in commentaries and speech, endowed with eightfold intellect, capable of jumping, swimming, standing, sitting, walking, and coming, yet lacking local knowledge, always follow a guide who knows the region—in the very same way, indeed, those who are specifically learned in the aggregate knowledge of phonetics, ritual codes, etymology, metre, prosody, and the arrangement of sacrifices run only after Ayurveda when pains arise. Therefore we say: this Ayurveda is the fifth beside the Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda, and Atharvaveda. / And because health for the diseased and the remaining activities for the healthy in righteousness, wealth, pleasure, and liberation are accomplished [by it]. / Is it eternal or non-eternal? [It is eternal.] Why? Because of the authoritativeness of the sages' words, because of its imperishability, and because of the generality of place and time in the attainment of the curable. / What is its foundation? It is founded on vāta, pitta, and kapha. / And they rely upon two deities each: vāta relies upon wind and space; pitta upon fire and the sun; kapha upon the moon and Varuṇa. These are their deities. 'Upon righteousness, wealth, and pleasure,' say some; 'upon clarity, passion, and darkness,' say some; 'upon curability, manageability, and incurability,' say some. / What are their distinct characteristics and those of their constitutions? Here it is said: / There, kapha is unctuous [...] / Only this much of the Vimānasthāna has been recovered.