The Compendium of Caraka 1.4.8

1.4.8

`pañcāśanmahākaṣāyā' iti yaduktaṃ tadanuvyākhyāsyāmaḥ; tadyathā --- jīvanīyo bṛṃhaṇīyo lekhanīyo bhedanīyaḥ sandhānīyo dīpanīya iti ṣaṭkaḥ kaṣāyavargaḥ; balyo varṇyaḥ kaṇṭhyo hṛdya iti catuṣkaḥ kaṣāyavargaḥ; tṛptighno 'arśoghraḥ kuṣṭhaghnaḥ kaṇḍūghnaḥ krimighno viṣaghna iti ṣaṭkaḥ kaṣāyavargaḥ; stanyajananaḥ stanyaśodhanaḥ śukrajananaḥ śukraśodhana iti catuṣkaḥ kaṣāyavargaḥ; snehopagaḥ svedopago vamanopago virecanopaga āsthāpanopago 'anuvāsanopagaḥ śirovirecanopaga iti saptakaḥ kaṣāyavargaḥ; chardinigrahaṇastṛṣṇānigrahaṇo hikkānigrahaṇa iti trikaḥ kaṣāyavargaḥ; purīṣasaṃgrahaṇīyaḥ purīṣavirajanīyo mūtrasaṃgrahaṇīyo mūtravirajanīyo mūtravirecanīya iti pañcakaḥ kaṣāyavargaḥ; kāsaharaḥ śvāsaharaḥ śothaharo jvaraharaḥ śramahara iti pañcakaḥ kaṣāyavargaḥ; dāhapraśamanaḥ śītapraśamana udardapraśamano 'aṅgamardapraśamanaḥ śūlapraśamana iti pañcakaḥ kaṣāyavargaḥ; śoṇitasthāpano vedanāsthāpanaḥ saṃjñāsthāpanaḥ prajāsthāpano vayaḥsthāpana iti pañcakaḥ kaṣāyavargaḥ; iti pañcāśanmahākaṣāyā mahatāṃ ca kaṣāyāṇāṃ lakṣaṇodāharaṇārthaṃ vyākhyātā bhavanti/

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.