Glossary of Materia Medica of the Bhāvaprakāśa 13
English (machine translation) 13
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Contents
13.1
Pānīya, salila, nīra, kīlāla, jala, ambu, / āpas, vār, vāri, ka, toya, payas, pāthas, udaka, / jīvana, vana, ambhas, aṇas, amṛta, and ghanarasa [are synonyms for water].
13.1.p1
Water destroys fatigue, removes exhaustion, and dispels fainting and thirst;
it relieves drowsiness, vomiting, and constipation; imparts strength, dispels excessive sleep, and is nourishing;
13.2
it is pleasing to the heart, possesses imperceptible taste, pacifies indigestion, is ever wholesome, cold, / light, clear, the basis of all bodily fluids, and is declared to be life-sustaining like nectar.
13.3
Water has been stated by the sages to be twofold: celestial and terrestrial.
13.4
Celestial [water] is declared to be of four kinds: that which comes from rain showers, that which arises from hail, / that from frost, and that from snow. Among these, rainwater possesses superior qualities.
13.5
Water fallen in showers and gathered on an outspread cloth, / or that which has fallen on clean rock or washed ground,
13.6
and then stored in a vessel made of gold, silver, copper, quartz crystal, glass, / or clay, is called dhāra [rainwater].
13.7
Rainwater pacifies all three doshas, has an unidentifiable taste, and is light, / gentle, rejuvenative, strengthening, nourishing, gladdening to the heart, and life-giving.
13.8
It is digestant, enhances intellect, and removes fainting, drowsiness, burning sensations, fatigue, exhaustion, / and thirst; it is considered wholesome, especially in the rainy season.
13.9
Rainwater is twofold according to the division between Gāṅga [Gangetic/pure atmospheric] and Sāmudra [oceanic/impure atmospheric].
13.10
Taking the water associated with the celestial Gaṅgā, the directional elephants, / concealed by clouds, cause rain—such is the statement of the wise.
13.11
Clouds usually shower Gāṅga water in the month of Āśvayuja; / it is to be understood in every respect as such, and likewise is the statement in Caraka:
13.12
[Water] placed in a vessel of gold, silver, or earthenware, / by which boiled rice of śāli-grain, when sprinkled, remains unmoistened and retains its colour,
13.13
is to be known as Gāṅga water, pacifying all doshas; otherwise it is Sāmudra water. / That [Sāmudra water] contains alkaline and salty properties, and deprives one of semen, eyesight, and strength.
13.14
It is foul-smelling, aggravating to doshas, sharp, and not wholesome for any therapeutic actions. / But Sāmudra water in the month of Āśvina should be declared equal in properties to Gāṅga water,
13.15
because, from the rising of the divine sage Agastya, all water / becomes clean, free from poison, sweet, spermatogenic, and non-aggravating to doshas.
13.16
Due to the venomous breath of serpents moving through the sky, / celestial water, except in the month of Āśvina, is poisonous during the rainy season.
13.17
The water that the clouds discharge unseasonably / is proclaimed to aggravate all three doshas in all living beings.
13.18
Water that, by the combination of celestial air and heat, becomes solidified and falls from the sky / like fragments of stone, is hail; it is comparable to nectar.
13.19
Hail water is dry, non-slimy, heavy, stable, / harsh, cold, dense, removes pitta dosha, and produces kapha and vāta doshas.
13.20
The waters that arise from [the warmth of] rivers and the sea, / released as fine particles of vapor, are remembered as frost.
13.21
It is generally unwholesome for living beings, but beneficial for plants. / Frost-water is freezing cold, dry, promotes vāta, does not aggravate pitta, / and cures disorders such as kapha, stiffness of the thighs, diseases of the throat and digestive fire, urinary disorders, and goitre.
13.22
That which melts and showers down from the peaks of snowy mountains / is called hima or haima [snow] water by the wise. / Snow-water is cold, destroys pitta, is heavy, and increases vāta dosha.
13.23
Water from the ocean, driven by the vapor of the submarine fire, which becomes solidified / and is brought by wind to the north, is called hima [snow] by the virtuous.
13.24
Snow is indeed cold, dry, harsh, and subtle; / it does not derange vāta dosha, nor pitta, nor kapha.
13.25
Terrestrial water is declared by the wise to be primarily threefold: / that of arid lands, next that of marshy lands, and thereafter that of moderate lands, in sequence.
13.26
A region with scarce water and few trees, where diseases of pitta and blood prevail, / should be known as arid land; the water found there is arid-land water.
13.27
A region with abundant water and many trees, where diseases of vāta and phlegm prevail, / is known as marshy land; the water originating there is marshy-land water.
13.28
The region that has mixed characteristics is regarded as moderate land; / the water in that region is regarded as moderate-land water.
13.29
Arid-land water is dry, salty, light, dispels pitta dosha, / stimulates digestive fire, cures kapha dosha, is wholesome, and relieves many disorders.
13.30
Marshy-land water produces channel-obstruction, is sweet, unctuous, thick, heavy, / suppresses digestive fire, produces kapha, is agreeable to the heart, and creates many disorders.
13.31
Moderate-land water is sweet, digestive stimulant, cold, light, / nourishing, appetizing, and dispels thirst, burning sensation, and the three doshas.
13.32
The water of a river or a stream is celebrated as river-water.
13.33
River-water is dry, promotes vāta dosha, is light, digestive stimulant, / non-obstructive to channels, non-slimy, pungent, and dispels kapha and pitta doshas.
13.34
All swift-flowing rivers whose waters are clear are light; / those covered with moss, slow-flowing, and turbid are heavy.
13.35
Rivers originating from the Himālaya whose waters break against rocks are wholesome; / the Gaṅgā, Śatadru, Sarayū, Yamunā, and others are supreme in qualities.
13.36
Rivers originating from the Sahya mountains, chief among them the Veṇā and Godāvarī, / generally produce obstinate skin diseases and slightly increase vāta and kapha doshas.
13.37
In water located in rivers, lakes, ponds, / wells, springs, and the like, one should observe the good and bad properties according to the differences of region.
13.38
That water which, cleaving a low tract of land, bursts forth in a large stream, / the great sages declare by the name of spring water [artesian water].
13.49
Spring water pacifies pitta dosha, does not cause a burning sensation during digestion, is extremely cold, / gladdening, sweet, strengthening, slightly aggravates vāta dosha, and is light.
13.40
A stream of water flowing from a mountain ridge is called a waterfall or mountain-stream, / and it is also called a cascade; water from that place is cascade-water.
13.41
Cascade-water creates appetite, destroys kapha dosha, is digestive stimulant, light, / sweet, has a pungent post-digestive taste, aggravates vāta dosha, and does not aggravate pitta dosha.
13.42
Where a river obstructed by a mountain or the like gathers and stands still, / that is a lake covered with lotuses; its water is known as lake-water.
13.43
Lake-water is strengthening, dispels thirst, is sweet, light, / appetizing, astringent, dry, and causes retention of urine and feces.
13.44
A reservoir situated in an auspicious tract of land that has existed for many years / is a pond; its water is known as pond-water.
13.45
Pond-water is sweet, astringent, has a pungent post-digestive taste, / promotes vāta dosha, binds feces and urine, and dispels blood, pitta, and kapha.
13.46
A larger well built with stones or bricks / and provided with steps is a stepwell; its water is called stepwell-water.
13.47
If stepwell-water is alkaline, it increases pitta dosha and relieves kapha and vāta doshas; / if it is sweet, it increases kapha dosha and relieves vāta and pitta doshas.
13.48
That which is dug into the earth, of narrow diameter, deep, circular in shape, / and either lined with masonry or unlined, is a well; its water is called well-water.
13.49-2
If well water is sweet, it pacifies all three doshas, is wholesome, and is light; / if alkaline, it destroys kapha and vāta, stimulates digestion, and strongly increases pitta.
13.50
A natural hollow strewn with stones, having water like blue antimony, / and covered over with a canopy of creepers is called a cauñjya.
13.51
Or, according to others, that which is not bound with stones and the like is a cauñjya; / water found there is declared by sages to be cauñjya water.
13.52
Cauñjya water is known to kindle the digestive fire, be dry, remove kapha, and be light; / sweet, pacifying pitta, appetizing, digestive, and clear.
13.53
A small pool is a palvala; where, when the sun reaches the lunar asterism,
13.54
no water at all remains, the water found there is pālvala water. / Pālvala water is channel-blocking, heavy, sweet, and aggravates all three doshas.
13.55
That which is sandy ground near a river or similar body: / whatever water is drawn out from there, they know as vikira water.
13.56
Vikira water is considered cold, clear, devoid of fault, and light; / astringent, sweet, and destroying pitta; if alkaline, it slightly increases pitta.
13.57
A kedāra is defined as an agricultural field; the water from it is known as kaidāra water. / Kaidāra water is channel-blocking, sweet, heavy, and provokes the doshas.
13.58
Rainwater fallen on the ground on that very day is unwholesome; / but that which has remained for three nights is clear and resembles nectar.
13.59
In early winter, water from a natural lake or an artificial pond is considered wholesome; / water prescribed in early winter is praised in late winter as well.
13.60
In spring and summer, well water, step-well water, or spring water [is advised]; / river water should not be drunk by the wise during spring and summer,
13.61
because it is contaminated by poisonous leaves and other parts of forest trees. / Spring-emergent, rainwater, or well water is prescribed during the rainy season; / in autumn, river water is recommended, and aṃśūdaka is foremost.
13.62
Heated by day by the rays of the sun, and touched at night by the rays of the moon, / it should be known as aṃśūdaka; it is unctuous and removes the three doshas.
13.63
Non-channel-blocking, faultless, equal to rainwater, / strengthening, rejuvenative, intellect-promoting, cold, light, and like ambrosia.
13.64
In autumn, all water, rendered clear by the rising of Canopus, is wholesome.
13.65
In Pauṣa, water born of a lake, in Māgha, that born of an artificial pond, / in Phālguna, that arising from a well, and in Caitra, cauñjya water is considered wholesome.
13.66
In Vaiśākha, spring water, in Jyeṣṭha, artesian water is recommended; / in Āṣāḍha, well water is praised, and in Śrāvaṇa, rainwater alone.
13.67
In Bhādrapada, well water is commended, and in Āśvina, cauñjya water; / in Kārttika and Mārgaśīrṣa, ordinary water is praised.
13.68
The gathering of terrestrial waters is generally preferred in the morning, / since coldness and purity are considered their quality [at that time].
13.69
From excessive drinking of water, food is not digested; and from not drinking water at all, that very same fault occurs; / therefore, a person should drink water frequently in moderate amounts to increase the digestive fire.
13.70
In fainting, heat of pitta, burning sensations, poisoning, blood disorders, and alcohol intoxication; / in fatigue, vertigo, burnt food, suffocative asthma, vomiting, / and in upward-moving bleeding disorder, cold water is praised.
13.71
In flank pain, coryza, vāta disorders, throat constriction, / tympanites, sluggish bowel, immediately after purificatory therapies, in acute fever,
13.72
in anorexia, sprue-syndrome, abdominal swelling, dyspnea, cough, in abscess, / in hiccup, and during oleation therapy, one must avoid cold water.
13.73
In loss of appetite, coryza, sluggish digestive fire, edema, phthisis, / excessive salivation, abdominal enlargement, obstinate skin disease, eye disease, fever, / in ulcers, and in diabetes mellitus, one should drink very little water.
13.74
It is the life of living beings, life itself, and the whole world is made of it; / therefore, water is never prohibited entirely by an absolute prohibition.
13.75
Thirst is very grave, dreadful, and immediately destroys life; / therefore, life-sustaining drinking water should be given to one afflicted by thirst.
13.76
A thirsty person falls into delusion; from delusion he departs life; / hence, in all conditions, one should never withhold water anywhere.
13.77
Odorless, unmanifest in taste, delightfully cold, thirst-quenching, / clear, light, and heart-pleasing: such water is said to be endowed with virtues.
13.78
Slimy, full of worms, damp, [tainted] by color, algae, and mud, / discolored, tasteless, dense, and foul-smelling water is not wholesome.
13.79
Turbid, covered with lotus leaves, indigo, grass, and the like, / unpleasant to the touch, and untouched by the rays of the sun or moon,
13.80
unseasonal, and the first seasonal rainwater that has reached the ground: / vitiated [water] such as this is to be avoided; it provokes all doshas.
13.81
Through bathing and drinking, it causes thirst, tympanites, chronic fever, / cough, poor digestion, conjunctivitis, itching, cervical lymphadenitis, and the like.
13.82
Even condemned drinking water, when boiled or heated by the sun, / or when gold, silver, iron, stone, or sand
13.83
is intensely heated and quenched in it seven times, prepared thus, / and fragranced with camphor, jasmine, punnāga, trumpet flower, and the like,
13.84
filtered through a clean, dense cloth, freed of minute creatures, / clear, and purified with gold, pearls, and the like, becomes free from defects.
13.85
With leaves, roots, lotus-fiber joints, pearls, gold, algae, / agate stone, and cloth, one should effect the purification of water.
13.86
Water drunk [cold] is digested in two yāmas; boiled and cooled, in only one yāma; / boiled and lukewarm, in just half that time: such are the three periods for the digestion of water.
13.86.p1
Thus, in the Bhāvaprakāśa composed by Śrī Miśra Bhāva, son of Śrī Miśra Laṭakana,
in the Miscellaneous Section, the thirteenth section, the Section on Water, is concluded.
Linked texts (1)
- Bhāvaprakāśanighaṇṭu — Bhāvamiśra 1550, Sanskrit