Ashtangasamgraha 35.4

35.4

And the maximum length of all of them is eighteen finger-breadths. / Among them, one should use those of four, five, or six finger-breadths on humans; / the others on elephants and horses. / Among them, those that are delicate, thin-skinned, small-headed, and large in the lower body are female; / the opposite are male, and they are round in front in the shape of a half-moon. / There, in conditions with abundant doṣas and in long-standing diseases, males are to be employed; / females in the opposite cases. / But taking leeches by means of wet leather and other methods, one should keep them in a new jar containing fragrant mud in its interior. / One should give them the powder of water chestnuts, kaśeruka, water lily rhizomes, moss, lotus stalks, dried meat, soft clay, and lotus seeds, along with sweet, cold, and clear water for their food and drink. / In this way, to avoid decomposition from saliva and the like, after every three days, one should remove the previous food and drink and supply fresh. / And after five days, one should transfer them to another jar of the same kind. / But fainting occurs in them from bad blood, incomplete vomiting, or frequent application. / Recognizing them by their lack of movement and absence of desire for food when placed in a vessel filled with water, one should discard them. / But as for the others: when they have passed feces in water [mixed] with a paste of turmeric and mustard, and have been refreshed again in sour gruel, buttermilk, or water, one should apply them to the site of the bite, having gently roughened it comfortably with earth and cow-dung powder, while [the patient] is sitting or lying down comfortably. / If they do not attach, one should place a few drops of milk, clarified butter, fresh butter, or blood, or make small incisions. / And placing the mouth like a horse's hoof, with raised shoulders, they bite. / And when, breathing like an infant, they drink with waves of pulsating movements of the head, then one should cover them with a wet cloth / and sprinkle them repeatedly with a little water. / And just as a swan extracts milk from a mixture of milk and water, / so does the leech first extract the corrupted blood from the agitated blood. / And when there is pricking pain or itching at the site of its bite, then one should remove it in order to protect the pure blood. / And from greed, if it does not release the bite, one should apply honey or powdered salt to its mouth; / or with the minced meats of cattle, goats, sheep, donkeys, camels, horses, elephants, or mice, seasoned like veśavāra and accompanied by fat and oil.