[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Medicine](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med) › [Early and ascribed compendia](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita) › [The Compendium of Caraka](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka) › 1.9 # The Compendium of Caraka 1.9: navamo 'adhyāyaḥ / Carakasaṃhitā 1.9 - **Language:** Sanskrit ### navamo 'adhyāyaḥ / ### [1.9.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.1) athātaḥ khuḍḍākacatuṣpādamadhyāyaṃ vyākhyāsyāmaḥ // > Now we shall explain the minor chapter on the four pillars \[of medicine\]. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.2) iti ha smāha bhagavānātreyaḥ // > Thus spoke the venerable Ātreya. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.3) bhiṣagdravyāṇyupasthātā rogī pādacatuṣṭayam / guṇavat kāraṇaṃ jñeyaṃ vikāravyupaśāntaye // > The physician, the substances, the attendant, and the patient: these four pillars, / possessing their qualities, are to be known as the cause for the alleviation of disorders. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.4) vikāro dhātuvaiṣamyaṃ sāmyaṃ prakṛtirucyate / sukhasaṃjñakamārogyaṃ vikāro duḥkhameva ca // > Disorder is disequilibrium of the tissues; equilibrium is called their normal state; / health is designated as happiness, and disorder is indeed suffering. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.5) caturṇāṃ bhiṣagādīnāṃ śastānāṃ dhātuvaikṛte / pravṛttirdhātusāmyārthā cikitsetyabhidhīyate // > When tissue morbidity occurs, the purposeful application of the four commendable \[factors\], beginning with the physician, / aimed at the equilibrium of the tissues, is designated as treatment. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.6) śrute paryavadātatvaṃ bahuśo dṛṣṭakarmatā / dākṣyaṃ śaucamiti jñeyaṃ vaidye guṇacatuṣṭayam // > Thorough clarity regarding scriptural learning, having repeatedly witnessed practical action, / dexterity, and purity: this is to be known as the tetrad of qualities in a physician. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.7) bahutā tatrayogyatvamanekavidhakalpanā / saṃpacceti catuṣko 'ayaṃ dravyāṇāṃ guṇa ucyate // > Abundance, suitability for the purpose, multiple modes of preparation, / and potency: this tetrad of qualities is stated for medicinal substances. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.8) upacārajñatā dākṣyamanurāgaśca bhartari / śaucaṃ ceti catuṣko 'ayaṃ guṇaḥ paricare jane // > Knowledge of nursing care, dexterity, affection for the master, / and purity: this tetrad of qualities belongs to an attendant. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.9) smṛtirnirdeśakāritvamabhīrutvamathāpi ca / jñāpakatvaṃ ca rogāṇāmāturasya guṇāḥ smṛtāḥ // > Memory, obedience to instructions, fearlessness, and moreover, / the ability to describe ailments: these are recorded as the qualities of a patient. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.10) kāraṇaṃ ṣoḍaśaguṇaṃ siddhau pādacatuṣṭayam / vijñātā śāsitā yoktā pradhānaṃ bhiṣagatra tu // > The four pillars endowed with sixteen qualities are the cause of success; / but here the physician—the knower, the director, the administrator—is the primary \[factor\]. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.11) paktau hi kāraṇaṃ pakturyathā pātrendhanānalāḥ / vijeturvijaye bhūmiścamūḥ praharaṇāni ca // > For just as the vessel, fuel, and fire are the cook's instruments in cooking, / and the field, army, and weapons are the conqueror's in victory, > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.12) āturādyāstathā siddhau pādāḥ kāraṇasaṃjñitāḥ / vaidyasyātaścikitsāyāṃ pradhānaṃ kāraṇaṃ bhiṣak // > so too the patient and the other \[two\] are designated as the pillars serving as instruments in the success / of the physician; therefore, in treatment, the physician is the primary cause. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.13) mṛddaṇḍacakrasūtrādyāḥ kumbhakārādṛte yathā / nāvahanti guṇaṃ vaidyādṛte pādatrayaṃ tathā // > Just as clay, the rod, the wheel, and cord cannot produce results without a potter, / so the triad of pillars cannot bring about any benefit without the physician. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.14) gandharvapuravannāśaṃ yadvikārāḥ sudāruṇāḥ / yānti yaccetare vṛddhimāśūpāyapratīkṣiṇaḥ // > The fact that very severe disorders vanish like a city of the Gandharvas, / and that other \[disorders\], waiting only for a prompt remedy, grow worse— > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.15](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.15) sati pādatraye jñājñau bhiṣajāvatra kāraṇam / varamātmā huto 'ajñena na cikitsā pravartitā // > in this case, even when the triad of pillars is present, the knowing and ignorant physicians are the decisive cause. / Better that an ignorant person sacrifice his own life than initiate medical treatment. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.16](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.16) pāṇicārādyathā 'acakṣurajñānādbhītabhītavat / naurmārutavaśevājño bhiṣak carati karmasu // > Just as a blind person gropes with his hands, terrified out of ignorance, / or as a boat is driven by the wind, so the ignorant physician proceeds in his actions. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.17](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.17) yadṛcchayā samāpannamuttārya niyatāyuṣam / bhiṣaṅmānī nihantyāśu śatānyaniyatāyuṣām // > A pretender to medicine, having by chance cured a patient of predetermined lifespan who came to him, / swiftly kills hundreds of those whose lifespans are not predetermined. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.18) tasmācchāstre 'arthavijñāne pravṛttau karmadarśane / bhiṣak catuṣṭaye yuktaḥ prāṇābhisara ucyate // > Therefore, a physician endowed with the fourfold \[qualifications\]—scriptural knowledge, understanding of the meaning, practical application, and witnessed experience— / is called a rescuer of vital breaths. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.19) hetau liṅge praśamane rogāṇāmapunarbhave / jñānaṃ caturvidhaṃ yasya sa rājārho bhiṣaktamaḥ // > He who possesses fourfold knowledge of the cause, symptoms, alleviation, / and non-recurrence of diseases is the best of physicians, worthy of kings. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.20) śastraṃ śāstrāṇi salilaṃ guṇadoṣapravṛttaye / pātrāpekṣīṇyataḥ prajñāṃ cikitsārthaṃ viśodhayet // > Weapons, scriptures, and water depend upon their recipient / for their operation toward good or bad qualities; therefore, one should purify one's intellect for the purpose of treatment. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.21) vidyā vitarko vijñānaṃ smṛtistatparatā kriyā / yasyaite ṣaḍguṇāstasya na sādhyamativartate // > He who possesses these six qualities—learning, discernment, deep understanding, memory, dedication, and practical action— / finds nothing curable beyond his reach. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.22](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.22) vidyā matiḥ karmadṛṣṭirabhyāsaḥ siddhirāśrayaḥ / vaidyaśabdābhiniṣpattāvalamekaikamapyataḥ // > Learning, intellect, witnessed experience, practice, success, and reliance \[on a teacher\]: / even a single one of these is sufficient to establish the title of 'physician'. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.23](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.23) yasya tvete guṇāḥ sarve santi vidyādayaḥ śubhāḥ / sa vaidyaśabdaṃ sadbhūtamarhan prāṇisukhapradaḥ // > He, however, who possesses all these auspicious qualities beginning with learning, / truly merits the title of 'physician' and bestows happiness upon living beings. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.24](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.24) śāstraṃ jyotiḥ prakāśārthaṃ darśanaṃ buddhirātmanaḥ / tābhyāṃ bhiṣak suyuktābhyāṃ cikitsannāparādhyati // > The treatise is a light for illumination, one's own intellect is vision; / a physician well endowed with both does not err when treating. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.25](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.25) cikitsite trayaḥ pādā yasmādvaidyavyapāśrayaḥ / tasmāt prayatnamātiṣṭhedbhiṣak svaguṇasaṃpadi // > Because three of the pillars in treatment depend upon the physician, / therefore the physician should exert effort toward perfection in his own qualities. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.26](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.26) maitrī kāruṇyamārteṣu śakye prītirupekṣaṇam / prakṛtistheṣu bhūteṣu vaidyavṛttiścaturvidheti // > Friendliness and compassion toward the sick, affection toward the curable, and indifference / toward those who are approaching their natural end: such is the fourfold conduct of a physician. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.27](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.27) tatra ślokau bhiṣagjitaṃ catuṣpādaṃ pādaḥ pādaścaturguṇāḥ / bhiṣak pradhānaṃ pādebhyo yasmādvaidyastu yadguṇaḥ // > Here are the two verses: > Medicine has four pillars, and each pillar has four qualities; / the physician is the foremost among the pillars, because of whom and with what qualities the physician acts. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.28](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.28) jñānāni buddhirbrāhmī ca bhiṣajāṃ yā caturvidhā / sarvametaccatuṣpāde khuḍḍāke saṃprakāśitamiti // > The kinds of knowledge, the divine intellect, and the fourfold conduct of physicians: / all of this has been illuminated in the minor chapter on the four pillars. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ### [1.9.28\_1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9.28_1) ityagniveśakṛte tantre carakapratisaṃskṛte ślokasthāne khuḍḍākacatuṣpādo nāma navamo 'adhyāyaḥ //9// > Thus ends the ninth chapter, named 'Minor Chapter on the Four Pillars', in the Ślokasthāna of the treatise composed by Agniveśa and redacted by Caraka. //9 > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka~en-mt.1.9.1) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (2) - [Bheḷasaṃhitā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.bhela.1.9.36) — Bheḷa, Sanskrit - [Bhaiṣajyaratnāvalī (ed. Rājeśvaradatta Śāstrī)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.cikitsa.gauda.bhaisajyaratnavali*sastri1978.4.3-2) — Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita.caraka.1.9) · Pramāṇa