The Compendium of Caraka 1.4: caturtho 'adhyāyaḥ/

Now we shall explain the chapter on the six hundred evacuatives.

Thus spoke the venerable Ātreya:

Here indeed there are six hundred evacuatives, six sources of evacuatives, five sources of decoctions, a fivefold preparation of decoctions, fifty great decoctions, and five hundred decoctions: such is the summary.

As for what was stated as 'six hundred evacuatives', having mentioned that here in brief, we shall explain it in detail in the Kalpasthāna. There, one hundred and thirty-three formulations are taught for madana fruit; thirty-nine formulations for jīmūtaka; forty-five for ikṣvāku; dhāmārgava comes with sixty formulations; kuṭaja reaches eighteen formulations; kṛtavedhana comes with sixty formulations; one hundred formulations are taught for śyāmā and trivṛt, and there are ten further formulations here; caturaṅgula reaches twelve formulations; lodhra comes with sixteen formulations in the procedure; mahāvṛkṣa comes with twenty formulations; thirty-nine formulations for saptalā and śaṅkhinī; forty-eight for dantī and dravantī: such are the six hundred evacuatives.

As for the 'six sources of evacuatives': they are latex, root, bark, leaf, flower, and fruit.

As for the 'five sources of decoctions': sweet decoction, sour decoction, pungent decoction, bitter decoction, and astringent decoction are the technical terms in this treatise.

As for the 'fivefold preparation of decoctions': namely, fresh juice, paste, boiled decoction, cold infusion, and hot infusion.

The juice expressed from a substance with a mechanical press is called fresh juice.

A lump formed of [substances] ground with a liquid is proclaimed as a paste.

Physicians call a substance boiled over fire a boiled decoction.

From a substance pounded and steeped overnight in heated water,

The extract that emerges is called a cold infusion.

Thrown into hot water and macerated, that is proclaimed as a hot infusion. Their strength is greater in the preceding order; therefore, the preparation of decoctions depends on the strength of the disease and the patient; for indeed not all [preparations] are suitable everywhere.

Regarding what was stated: 'the fifty great decoctions', we shall explain it in detail. That is to say: the group of six decoctions: life-promoting, bulk-promoting, scraping, purgative, uniting, and appetizing; the group of four decoctions: strength-giving, complexion-enhancing, beneficial for the throat, and beneficial for the heart; the group of six decoctions: destroying satiety, destroying piles, destroying dermatosis, destroying itching, destroying parasitic worms, and destroying poison; the group of four decoctions: producing breast milk, purifying breast milk, producing semen, and purifying semen; the group of seven decoctions: adjuvant to unction, adjuvant to sudation, adjuvant to emesis, adjuvant to purgation, adjuvant to non-unctuous enema, adjuvant to unctuous enema, and adjuvant to head evacuation; the group of three decoctions: suppressing vomiting, suppressing thirst, and suppressing hiccups; the group of five decoctions: astringent of feces, altering fecal pigmentation, astringent of urine, altering urinary pigmentation, and promoting urination; the group of five decoctions: relieving cough, relieving dyspnea, relieving swelling, relieving fever, and relieving fatigue; the group of five decoctions: pacifying burning sensations, pacifying cold, pacifying urticaria, pacifying body ache, and pacifying colic; the group of five decoctions: arresting hemorrhage, relieving pain, restoring consciousness, stabilizing pregnancy, and stabilizing age. Thus, fifty great decoctions have been explained for the purpose of defining and illustrating the major decoctions.

In each of these great decoctions, we shall explain ten constituent decoctions; these indeed make five hundred decoctions.

Namely: jīvaka, ṛṣabhaka, medā, mahāmedā, kākolī, kṣīrakākolī, mudgaparṇī, māṣaparṇī, jīvantī, and madhuka—these ten are life-promoting (1); kṣīriṇī, rājakṣavaka, aśvagandhā, kākolī, kṣīrakākolī, vāṭhyāyanī, bhadraudanī, bhāradvājī, payasyā, and ṛṣyagandhā—these ten are bulk-promoting (2); mustā, kuṣṭha, haridrā, dāruharidrā, vacā, ativiṣā, kaṭurohiṇī, citraka, cirabilva, and haimavatī—these ten are scraping (3); suvahā, arka, urubūka, agnimukhī, citrā, citraka, cirabilva, śaṅkhinī, śakulādanī, and svarṇakṣīriṇī—these ten are purgative (4); madhuka, madhuparṇī, pṛśniparṇī, ambaṣṭhakī, samaṅgā, mocārasa, dhātakī, lodhra, priyaṅgu, and kaṭphala—these ten are uniting (5); pippalī, pippalīmūla, cavya, citraka, śṛṅgavera, amlavetasa, marica, ajamodā, bhallātakāsthi, and the exudate of hiṅgu—these ten are appetizing (6). Thus ends the group of six decoctions.

Aindrī, ṛṣabhī, atirasā, ṛṣyaproktā, payasyā, aśvagandhā, sthirā, rohiṇī, balā, and atibalā—these ten are strength-giving (7); candana, tuṅga, padmaka, uśīra, madhuka, mañjiṣṭhā, sārivā, payasyā, sitā, and latā—these ten are complexion-enhancing (8); sārivā, ikṣumūla, madhuka, pippalī, drākṣā, vidārī, kaiṭarya, haṃsapādī, bṛhatī, and kaṇṭakārikā—these ten are beneficial for the throat (9); āmra, āmrātaka, likuca, karamarda, vṛkṣāmla, amlavetasa, kuvala, badara, dāḍima, and mātuluṅga—these ten are beneficial for the heart (10). Thus ends the group of four decoctions.

Nāgara, cavya, citraka, viḍaṅga, mūrvā, guḍūcī, vacā, mustā, pippalī, and paṭola—these ten destroy satiety (11); kuṭaja, bilva, citraka, nāgara, ativiṣā, abhayā, dhanvayāsaka, dāruharidrā, vacā, and cavya—these ten destroy piles (12); khadira, abhayā, āmalaka, haridrā, aruṣkara, saptaparṇa, āragvadha, karavīra, viḍaṅga, and shoots of jātī—these ten destroy dermatosis (13); candana, nalada, kṛtamāla, naktamāla, nimba, kuṭaja, sarṣapa, madhuka, dāruharidrā, and mustā—these ten destroy itching (14); akṣīva, marica, gaṇḍīra, kebuka, viḍaṅga, nirguṇḍī, kiṇihī, śvadaṃṣṭrā, vṛṣaparṇikā, and ākhuparṇikā—these ten destroy parasitic worms (15); haridrā, mañjiṣṭhā, suvahā, sūkṣmailā, pālindī, candana, kataka, śirīṣa, sindhuvāra, and śleṣmātaka—these ten destroy poison (16). Thus ends the group of six decoctions.

Roots of vīraṇa, śāli, ṣaṣṭika, ikṣuvālikā, darbha, kuśa, kāśa, gundrā, itkaṭa, and kattṛṇa—these ten produce breast milk (17); pāṭhā, mahauṣadha, suradāru, mustā, mūrvā, guḍūcī, vatsakaphala, kirātatikta, kaṭurohiṇī, and sārivā—these ten purify breast milk (18); jīvaka, ṛṣabhaka, kākolī, kṣīrakākolī, mudgaparṇī, māṣaparṇī, medā, vṛddharuhā, jaṭilā, and kuliṅgā—these ten produce semen (19); kuṣṭha, elavāluka, kaṭphala, samudraphena, exudate of kadamba, ikṣukāṇḍa, ikṣu, ikṣuraka, vasuka, and uśīra—these ten purify semen (20). Thus ends the group of four decoctions.

Mṛdvīkā, madhuka, madhuparṇī, medā, vidārī, kākolī, kṣīrakākolī, jīvaka, jīvantī, and śālaparṇī—these ten are adjuvant to unction (21); śobhāñjanaka, eraṇḍa, arka, vṛścīra, punarnavā, barley, sesame, kulattha, māṣa, and badara—these ten are adjuvant to sudation (22); honey, madhuka, kovidāra, karbudāra, nīpa, vidula, bimbī, śaṇapuṣpī, sadāpuṣpā, and pratyakpuṣpā—these ten are adjuvant to emesis (23); drākṣā, kāśmarya, parūṣaka, abhayā, āmalaka, bibhītaka, kuvala, badara, karkandhu, and pīlu—these ten are adjuvant to purgation (24); trivṛt, bilva, pippalī, kuṣṭha, sarṣapa, vacā, vatsakaphala, śatapuṣpā, madhuka, and madanaphala—these ten are adjuvant to non-unctuous enema (25); rāsnā, suradāru, bilva, madana, śatapuṣpā, vṛścīra, punarnavā, śvadaṃṣṭrā, agnimantha, and śyonāka—these ten are adjuvant to unctuous enema (26); jyotiṣmatī, kṣavaka, marica, pippalī, viḍaṅga, śigru, sarṣapa, apāmārgataṇḍula, śvetā, and mahāśvetā—these ten are adjuvant to head evacuation (27). Thus ends the group of seven decoctions.

Tender leaves of jambū and āmra, mātuluṅga, sour badara, dāḍima, barley, yaṣṭimadhuka, uśīra, earth, and parched grain—these ten check vomiting (28); nāgara, dhanvayavāsaka, mustā, parpaṭaka, candana, kirātatikta, guḍūcī, hrīvera, dhānyaka, and paṭola—these ten check thirst (29); śaṭī, puṣkaramūla, badara seeds, kaṇṭakārī, bṛhatī, vṛkṣaruhā, abhayā, pippalī, durālabhā, and kulīraśṛṅgī—these ten check hiccup (30). Thus ends the triad of decoction groups.

Priyaṅgu, anantā, āmra stones, kaṭvaṅga, lodhra, mocarasa, samaṅgā, dhātakī flowers, padmā, and padma stamens—these ten are bowel-binders (31); bark of jambū and śallakī, kacchurā, madhūka, śālmalī, śrīveṣṭaka, roasted earth, payasyā, utpala, and tila seeds—these ten are bowel-chromatizers (32); jambū, āmra, plakṣa, vaṭa, kapītana, uḍumbara, aśvattha, bhallātaka, aśmantaka, and somavalka—these ten are anti-diuretics (33); padma, utpala, nalina, kumuda, saugandhika, puṇḍarīka, śatapatra, madhuka, priyaṅgu, and dhātakī flowers—these ten are urine-chromatizers (34); vṛkṣādanī, śvadaṃṣṭrā, vasuka, vaśira, pāṣāṇabheda, and the roots of darbha, kuśa, kāśa, gundrā, and itkaṭa—these ten are diuretics (35). Thus ends the pentad of decoction groups.

Drākṣā, abhayā, āmalaka, pippalī, durālabhā, śṛṅgī, kaṇṭakārī, vṛścīra, punarnavā, and tāmalakī—these ten alleviate cough (36); śaṭī, puṣkaramūla, amlavetasa, elā, hiṅgu, aguru, surasā, tāmalakī, jīvantī, and caṇḍā—these ten alleviate asthma (37); pāṭalā, agnimantha, śyonāka, bilva, kāśmarya, kaṇṭakārī, bṛhatī, śālaparṇī, pṛśniparṇī, and gokṣuraka—these ten alleviate swelling (38); sārivā, sugar, pāṭhā, mañjiṣṭhā, drākṣā, pīlu, parūṣaka, abhayā, āmalaka, and bibhītaka—these ten alleviate fever (39); drākṣā, kharjūra, priyāla, badara, dāḍima, phalgu, parūṣaka, sugar cane, barley, and ṣaṣṭika—these ten alleviate fatigue (40). Thus ends the pentad of decoction groups.

Parched grain, candana, kāśmarya fruit, madhūka, sugar, nīlotpala, uśīra, sārivā, guḍūcī, and hrībera—these ten soothe burning sensations (41); tagara, aguru, dhānyaka, śṛṅgavera, bhūtīka, vacā, kaṇṭakārī, agnimantha, śyonāka, and pippalī—these ten soothe cold sensations (42); tinduka, priyāla, badara, khadira, kadara, saptaparṇa, aśvakarṇa, arjuna, asana, and arimeda—these ten soothe urticaria (43); vidārīgandhā, pṛśniparṇī, bṛhatī, kaṇṭakārī, eraṇḍa, kākolī, candana, uśīra, elā, and madhuka—these ten soothe body aches (44); pippalī, pippalī root, cavya, citraka, śṛṅgavera, marica, ajamodā, ajagandhā, ajājī, and gaṇḍīra—these ten soothe colic (45). Thus ends the pentad of decoction groups.

Honey, madhuka, blood, mocarasa, baked earth potsherd, lodhra, red ochre, priyaṅgu, sugar, and parched grain—these ten are hemostatics (46); śāla, kaṭphala, kadamba, padmaka, tumba, mocarasa, śirīṣa, vañjula, elavāluka, and aśoka—these ten are anodynes (47); hiṅgu, kaiṭarya, arimeda, vacā, coraka, vayasthā, golomī, jaṭilā, palaṅkaṣā, and aśokarohiṇī—these ten are restoratives of consciousness (48); aindrī, brāhmī, śatavīryā, sahasravīryā, amoghā, avyathā, śivā, ariṣṭā, vāṭyapuṣpī, and viṣvaksenakāntā—these ten secure conception (49); amṛtā, abhayā, dhātrī, muktā, śvetā, jīvantī, atirasā, maṇḍūkaparṇī, sthirā, and punarnavā—these ten sustain youth (50). Thus ends the pentad of decoction groups.

Thus, summing to five hundred decoctions, fifty great decoctions have been explained to exemplify the characteristics of the great decoctions.

Indeed, there is no limit to elaboration, nor does excessive brevity suffice for the competence of those of dull intellect; therefore, they have been taught with neither excessive brevity nor excessive elaboration.

For this much is enough for the practical application of those of dull intellect, and for the intelligent who are skilled in specific characteristics, inference, and reasoning, to understand what has not been explicitly stated.

To the reverend Ātreya speaking thus, Agniveśa said: “Lord, these do not add up to five hundred decoctions, for the very same items recur across those various great decoctions.”

The reverend Ātreya said to him: “It should not be viewed thus by an intelligent person, Agniveśa.

For even a single entity receives multiple designations when performing different actions. Just as a person is capable of performing many actions, and whatever action he performs, he receives that corresponding secondary specific name linked with agent, instrument, and effect—just so should a medicinal substance be regarded.

And if we could find even a single substance endowed with such qualities that it were capable of performing all actions, who would wish to learn or teach anything else to pupils?”

On this point there are verses:
From which [sources], how many, and with which substances the six hundred evacuatives
have been briefly taught here, as well as their six sources;

and that tastes, excluding salt, are designated as ‘decoction’;
therefore, a fivefold source of decoctions has been declared.

Likewise, their preparation has been stated as fivefold as well;
and fifty great decoctions have been proclaimed.

Five hundred decoctions have also been stated item by item
for the sake of characterization; for indeed, of elaboration there is no limit.

Nor is excessive brevity sufficient to ensure competence
for one of dull intellect; therefore, this is neither too brief nor too elaborate.

For the practice of the slow-witted and for the growth of intellect of the wise,
this group of fifty decoctions has been declared.

He who knows their application in external and internal actions,
and their combination and administration, is the foremost of physicians.

Thus ends the fourth chapter, titled "The Chapter on Six Hundred Evacuatives," in the Sūtrasthāna of the compendium composed by Agniveśa and redacted by Caraka. //4

Thus ends the tetrad on medicine. //1