The Compendium of Caraka 6.23

English (machine translation) 6.23

Language: English

6.23.1

Now we shall explain the treatment of poison.

6.23.3

First, the origin, properties, source, impulses, signs, and treatments / of poison, as I declare them properly, understand from me, O Agniveśa!

6.23.4

When the ocean was being churned by the gods and demons for the sake of nectar, / before the emergence of the nectar, a being of dreadful appearance was born.

6.23.5

Blazing with splendor, four-fanged, green-haired, and fire-eyed; / seeing him, the world was despondent (viṣaṇṇa), and therefore he was named poison (viṣa).

6.23.6

Brahmā placed him in animate and inanimate sources; / having arisen from water, it is therefore twofold, resembling fire.

6.23.7

It has eight impulses, ten properties, and twenty-four treatments; / in the rainy season, owing to its watery source, it becomes moist like jaggery.

6.23.8

It moves abroad, and upon the departure of clouds, Agastya destroys it; / therefore, at the end of the rainy season, poison enters a state of diminished potency.

6.23.9

Snakes, insects, mice, spiders, scorpions, house-geckos, / leeches, fish, frogs, wasps, along with chameleons,

6.23.10

dogs, lions, tigers, jackals, hyenas, mongooses, and the like: / those that have fangs—their venom is held to arise from the fangs and is animate.

6.23.11

Mustaka, pauṣkara, krauñca, vatsanābha, balāhaka, / karkaṭa, kālakūṭa, and that named karavīraka,

6.23.12

pālaka, indrāyudha, taila, meghaka, kuśapuṣpaka, / rohiṣa, puṇḍarīka, lāṅgalakī, añjanābhaka,

6.23.13

saṅkoca, markaṭa, śṛṅgīviṣa, and likewise hālāhala: / these and other such poisons are root-born and inanimate.

6.23.14

Another kind, born of combination, is called gara and produces illness; / because it digests after an interval of time, it does not carry away life immediately.

6.23.15

Sleep, drowsiness, exhaustion, burning, suppuration, horripilation, / swelling, and diarrhea animate poison produces.

6.23.16

Inanimate poison, however, produces fever, hiccup, sensitive teeth, constriction of the throat, / frothy vomiting, loss of taste, asthma, and fainting.

6.23.17

Animate [venom] tends downward, but root-born poison tends upward; / therefore, fang-poison destroys root-poison, and root-poison destroys fang-poison.

6.23.18

Thirst, delusion, sensitive teeth, excessive salivation, vomiting, and exhaustion occur in the first / impulse, from vitiation of the rasa; in the second, however, from vitiation of the blood,

discoloration, dizziness, trembling, fainting, yawning, tingling of the limbs, and breathlessness [occur]; / in the third, from vitiated flesh, round patches, itching, swelling, and urticarial wheals [occur].

6.23.20

In the fourth, burning, vomiting, body ache, fainting, and so forth born of wind and the rest [occur]; / in the fifth impulse, seeing of blue and other colors and darkness [occurs].

6.23.21

In the sixth, hiccup; in the seventh, drooping of the shoulder; and in the eighth, death / for human beings; for quadrupeds it is fourfold; for birds it is threefold.

6.23.22

A quadruped sinks down and wanders in the first, trembles [in the second], then becomes insensible / with diminished appetite [in the third], and indeed dies of dyspnea in the fourth impulse.

6.23.23

A bird appears pensive in the first impulse, wanders about in the second, / and with drooping limbs in the third poison-impulse meets its death.

6.23.24

Light, dry, fast-acting, non-slimy, pervasively diffusing, sharp, depressing, subtle, / hot, and of undefinable taste: poison is declared by those who know it to have ten properties.

6.23.25

Through dryness it aggravates wind; through lack of coldness, pitta; through subtlety, blood; / through unmanifest taste, kapha; and it swiftly follows after the chyle of food.

6.23.26

It quickly and swiftly pervades the entire body owing to its diffusing nature; / because of sharpness, it strikes the vital spots; because of depression, it takes life.

6.23.27

It is difficult to treat because of lightness; because of non-sliminess, its doshas have an unhindered course; / reaching the sites of the doshas and the constitution, it excites one or another of them.

6.23.28

In a windy person, in the seat of wind, there are slight signs of kapha and pitta, / such as thirst, delusion, restlessness, fainting, throat constriction, frothy vomiting, and so forth.

6.23.29

In a bilious person, poison seated in the stomach displays likewise [slight signs] of kapha and wind: / thirst, cough, fever, vomiting, exhaustion, burning, stupor, diarrhea, and so forth.

6.23.30

And in the region of kapha in a phlegmatic person, it shows slight signs of wind and pitta: / asthma, throat constriction, itching, salivation, vomiting, and so forth.

6.23.31

Latent poison, through corruption of the blood, shows signs such as sores, kiṭima, and wheals; / poison, corrupting each dosha one by one, thus steals away the breath of life.

6.23.32

By the fiery power of the poison, blood flows out; that, obstructing the channels, kills the creature; / when drunk, it stays in the heart of the dead; in the bitten or pierced, it is at the site of the wound.

6.23.33

Blue lips, loosening of teeth, falling of hair, drooping of limbs, tossing about, / no horripilation from cold things, no welt on being struck with a stick,

6.23.34

and no blood coming from an incision—these are the signs of death; / those who are otherwise are treatable; and hear from me their procedures:

6.23.35

Incantations, tourniquet, incision, squeezing, suction, cauterization, sprinkling, / immersion, bloodletting, emesis, purgation, application to the crown,

6.23.36

protecting the heart, collyrium, errhine, fumigation, licking medicines, pacification, / rubbing with powders, antidote, resuscitation of consciousness, paste,

6.23.37

and reviving the dead: these twenty-four / are the procedures; hear how, which, and where they are to be applied:

6.23.38

Before the poison from the bite of one bitten has spread, the physician, having tied a braid [as a tourniquet], / should press the bite firmly, or excise it, avoiding the vital spots.

6.23.39

Or he should suck that bite with a mouth filled with barley flour or dust; / then blood should be drained by scarification, cupping horn, leeches, or venesection.

6.23.40

When the blood is corrupted by poison, the bodily constitution is corrupted; thereafter he loses his life; / therefore, if the blood does not flow, it should be made to flow by rubbing.

6.23.41

Trikatu, soot from the house, turmeric, the five salts, and rocanā with vārtāka / form the rubbing mixture; if excessive flow occurs, a cold paste of vaṭa and others [should be applied].

6.23.42

For blood is the vehicle of poison, as wind is of fire; by cold / poultices and washings it clots; when it has clotted, the impulse of the poison subsides.

6.23.43

From the impulse of poison, intoxication, fainting, despondency, and palpitations arise; / one should turn them back with cold [measures], and he should be fanned until horripilation occurs.

6.23.44

As a tree [does not grow] when cut at the root, so poison does not increase when the bite is excised; / sucking brings [it out], and a tourniquet [acts] just like a dam against water.

6.23.45

Cautery burns poison situated in the skin and flesh; bleeding removes it from the blood; / when ingested, one should remove it immediately with emetics, but in the second [impulse], with purgers.

6.23.46

First, the heart must be protected; as a covering for it, one should drink whatever is available: / honey and ghee, marrow, milk, red ochre, or cow dung juice,

6.23.47

or well-ripened sugarcane, or having squeezed a crow, its juice as a protection; / or one should swiftly drink the blood of goats and others, ash, or earth.

6.23.48

In the third [impulse], an alkaline antidote, scraping with swelling-reducing [drugs], and honey-water [should be used]; / in the fourth impulse, cow dung juice with kapittha, honey, and ghee.

6.23.49

With the fresh juice of kākāṇḍa and śirīṣa, eye-drops, collyrium, and nasal errhine / should be given in the fifth; then in the sixth, resuscitation of consciousness should be performed.

6.23.50

Drinking turmeric, mañjiṣṭhā, black pepper, and pippalī combined with ox bile [is prescribed]; / drinking poison for those who are bitten, and in the case of poison drunk, biting [by a snake] at the end.

6.23.51

Palāśa seeds mixed with half the amount of peacock bile are the best antidote for the unconscious; / or vārtāku, treacle, soot from the house, ox bile, and neem.

6.23.52

Pills [prepared] with ox bile, holy basil, granthi, the two turmerics, madhuka, and kuṣṭha / are praised as equal to nectar; or with the juices of śirīṣa flowers and kākāṇḍaka.

6.23.53

With kākāṇḍa, holy basil, gavākṣī, punarnavā, vāyasī, and śirīṣa fruits, / pastes, crown applications, nasal medications, and potions [are prepared] for those dead from hanging, poison, or water.

6.23.54

Spṛkkā, plava, sthauṇeyaka, kāṅkṣī, śaileya, rocanā, tagara, / dhyāmaka, saffron, māṃsī, holy basil tips, cardamom, and costus,

6.23.55

bṛhatī, śirīṣa flower, śrīveṣṭaka, lotus, cāraṭi, viśālā, / suradāru, lotus filaments, sāvaraka, realgar, kauntya,

6.23.56

jasmine flowers, arka flower juice, the two turmerics, asafoetida, pippalī, lac, / jala, mudgaparṇī, sandalwood, madhuka, madana, and sindhuvāra,

6.23.57

śampāka, lodhra, mayūraka, gandhaphalā, nākulī, and viḍaṅga— / having collected these in equal parts under the constellation Puṣya and ground them, pills should be made to be smelled.

6.23.58

Destroying all poisons, bringing victory, reviving the dead from poison, dispelling fevers, / and when kept in the house, by smelling, anointing, wearing, and fumigation,

6.23.59

it destroys spirits, poisons, vermin, misfortune, sorcery, spells, the foremost lightning bolts, and enemies, / bad dreams, defects of women, and gives freedom from fear of untimely death, water, and thieves.

6.23.60

It brings success in wealth, grain, and affairs, increases prosperity, nourishment, and lifespan, and is auspicious. / This Mṛtasañjīvana was proclaimed of old by Brahmā for the sake of the gods. / Thus ends the Mṛtasañjīvana antidote. / Tying the vessels with mantras, sweeping, and protection of the self must be performed; / in whichever doṣa's seat the poison resides, one should conquer that first.

6.23.62

In the seat of vāta, sweating, and drinking a paste of nata and kuṣṭha with curd; / in the seat of pitta, drinking ghee, honey, milk, and water, as well as tub-baths and affusions.

6.23.63

When it has reached the seat of kapha, an alkaline antidote, sweating, and venesection; / in dūṣīviṣa and when it resides in the blood, fivefold vein treatment [is prescribed].

6.23.64

Medicine should thus be prepared by the wise physician, observing everything at all times; / indeed, he should first conquer the seat, and [administer what is] non-contradictory to what resides in the seat.

6.23.65

When the passages of kapha are corrupted by poison and the breath is obstructed by the blockage of channels, / a man breathes as if dead, yet is devoid of the signs of incurability.

6.23.66

Having made a crow's foot incision on his head, one should apply / a paste of carmakaṣāyā the size of a bilva fruit, and blow in kaṭabhī, kaṭu, and kaṭphala.

6.23.67

Or one should place goat, beef, buffalo, / or chicken meat upon that crow's foot; from that, the poison transfers.

6.23.68

When there is obstruction of the nose, eyes, ears, tongue, and throat, nasal treatment should be performed / with ground vārtāku, bījapūra, jyotiṣmatī, and the like.

6.23.69

When there is obstruction of the eyes, an eye salve should be prepared from / cedar, trikatu, turmeric, karavīra, karañja, neem, and holy basil, ground with goat's urine.

6.23.70

White aparājitā, vacā, aśvagandhā, asafoetida, amṛtā, kuṣṭha, rock salt, garlic, / mustard, inside of kapittha, and seeds of ṭuṇṭuka and karañja,

6.23.71

trikatu, śirīṣa flower, the two turmerics, and bamboo manna in equal parts, / having ground [them] with goat's urine, and for seven days with cow and horse bile

6.23.72

alternately impregnated, this quickly destroys poison situated in the head, / all fevers, seizures by evil spirits, cholera, indigestion, and the torment of fainting,

6.23.73

madness, epilepsy, cataract, dark pigmentation, disorders of the head, / xerophthalmia, pilla, tumor, pterygium, itching, and conditions of darkness,

6.23.74

wasting, debility, alcoholism, and anemia from collyrium application, as well as stupor; / from application as an ointment, it destroys poison smeared on wounds, ingested, bitten, or drunk.

6.23.75

In piles and abdominal distension, an ointment to the rectum; an ointment to the vagina for women / in obstructed labor and corrupted conditions; an ointment on the forehead in catarrh;

6.23.76

in scrotal enlargement, kiṭibha, leprosy, leucoderma, vicarcikā, and the like, it is an ointment; / like an elephant [uprooting] trees, this antidote named Gandhahastī destroys poison diseases. / Thus ends the antidote named Gandhahastī. / Patra, aguru, mustā, cardamom, the five resins, sandalwood, spṛkkā, / cinnamon, nalada, utpala, bālaka, hareṇuka, uśīra, and forest nakhī,

6.23.78

deodar cedar, kanakapuṣpa, saffron, dhyāmaka, kuṣṭha, priyaṅgu, tagara, / the five parts of śirīṣa, trikatu, orpiment, realgar, and cumin,

6.23.79

śveta, kaṭabhī, karañja, rakṣoghnā, sindhuvārikā, turmeric, / holy basil, rasāñjana, red ochre, mañjiṣṭhā, and neem resin,

6.23.80

bamboo bark, aśvagandhā, asafoetida, dadhittha, amlavetasa, lac, / honey, madhuka, somarājī, vacā, ruhā, rocanā, and tagara—

6.23.81

this sixty-ingredient antidote was declared to Vaiśravaṇa by Tryambaka; / of unimpeded efficacy, it is renowned as Mahāgandhahastī.

6.23.82

It should be ground with cow's bile and made into pills under the asterism Puṣya; / through potions, collyriums, and cool unguents, one should accomplish all therapeutic actions.

6.23.83

Pilla, itching, blurred vision, night blindness, cataract, tumor, and corneal opacity / it cures through continual use in men who eat wholesome, measured, and suitable food.

6.23.84

Intermittent fevers, indigestion, ringworm, itching, cholera, and scabies; / the poison of mice, spiders, and all snakes / it quickly destroys, as well as all poisons born of roots or tubers.

6.23.85

With his limbs smeared with this, one may seize snakes and consume poison; / even a man overtaken by death lives, always free from distress.

6.23.86

In abdominal distension, an ointment to the rectum, and an ointment to the vagina in cases of obstructed labor; / and in the distress of fainting, they declare application of a cool unguent to the forehead to be foremost.

6.23.87

Having smeared kettledrums, mṛdaṅgas, paṭahas, and parasols with this, as well as flags and banners, / to expel snake venom, the wise physician should cause them to sound and display them.

6.23.88

And where this [antidote] is present, there are no seizures of children and no rakṣases; / neither do magical vetālas nor Atharvan incantations take effect.

6.23.89

All possessing spirits have no power there, nor fire, weapons, kings, and thieves; / and fortune abides where Mahāgandhahastin is present.

6.23.90

And while it is being ground, he should utter this accomplished mantra: / 'Jayā is my mother's name, and Jaya is my father's name.

6.23.91

I, the son of Jaya and Jayā, am Vijaya and conquer; / homage to the lion among men, to Viṣṇu, the maker of all,

6.23.92

to the eternal one, to Kṛṣṇa, to the existent, to the sovereign; / [let there be] the splendor of Vṛṣākapi itself, the splendor of Brahmā and Indra in Yama.

6.23.93

Just as I know no defeat of Vāsudeva, / nor the taking of my mother's hand, nor the drying up of the ocean,

6.23.94

by this statement of truth, let this antidote indeed succeed! / Hilimili, protect upon contact, O highest of all medicines! Svāhā!' / Thus the antidote named Mahāgandhahastin. / Ṛṣabhaka, jīvaka, bhārgī, madhuka, utpala, dhānyaka, keśara, and ajājī, / along with sugar, gairika, and the stone of the kola: these should be drunk to remove dyspnea, fever, and the rest.

6.23.96

Asafoetida combined with pippalī, and the finest salt combined with juice of kapittha, / taken with honey and sugar, should be drunk to destroy fever, hiccup, dyspnea, and cough.

6.23.97

A linctus made of kola stones, añjana, parched grain, and utpala, with honey and ghee, is for vomiting; / while a smoking wick of the two bṛhatīs and āḍhakī leaves destroys hiccup.

6.23.98

The bones of peacocks and balākā herons, mustard seeds, and sandalwood, mixed with ghee— / this fumigation, commended for houses, beds, seats, clothes, and the like, expels poison.

6.23.99

Nata and kuṣṭha mixed with ghee, along with the head of the king of serpents and siris flowers— / this is known as a fumigation antidote, destroying all poisons and removing swelling.

6.23.100

Lac, sevyā, tejapatra, guggulu, bhallātaka, arjuna flowers, sarjarasa, / and śvetā make an excellent fumigation to expel snakes, mice, insects, and garment worms.

6.23.101

One should cook filtered alkali of young palāśa along with powdered equal parts of / red earth, the two rajanīs, white surasā shoots, madhuka,

6.23.102

lac, rock salt, māṃsī, hareṇu, asafoetida, the two sārivās, kuṣṭha, / along with the three pungents and saffron, stirring until it coats the ladle.

6.23.103

All poisons, swelling, abdominal lump, cutaneous disorders, piles, fistula-in-ano, spleen diseases, / edema, epilepsy, worms, possessing spirits, hoarseness, and anemia,

6.23.104

poor digestion, cough, along with insanity in men—they are destroyed / when pills of the size of a jujube dried in the shade are employed. / Thus the alkaline antidote. / In cases of drinking poison, bites, stings, and poisoned weapons, this general remedy has been stated; / now listen to the specific instruction according to rule.

6.23.106

From men allied with enemies, from his own people, or from women, there is danger for the king / regarding food and recreation; therefore he should examine attendants.

6.23.107

He who is excessively anxious, very talkative or speaking little, bereft of luster, / and has undergone an alteration of his natural demeanor is to be recognized as a poisoner.

6.23.108

Seeing such a one, he should not consume the food at once, but rather put that food into fire; / for on receiving poisoned food, the fire undergoes many abnormal changes.

6.23.109

Its flame becomes variegated like a peacock's tail, smoky with a sharp, unbearable, rough, cadaverous odor; / it crackles with sound, swirls in a single vortex, and its flame may even be quenched.

6.23.110

Food placed in a vessel becomes discolored and kills flies; / it makes crows speak with hoarse voices, and the eyes of the cakora bird lose their color.

6.23.111

In drink, there appears a blue streak and discoloration, and one does not see one's own reflection, / or sees it distorted; or when mixed with salt, a garland of foam appears.

6.23.112

From the smell of poisoned food and drink there is headache and fainting in the heart; / from touch, swelling of the hands, numbness, burning of the fingers, pricking pain, and cracking of the nails.

6.23.113

Reaching the mouth, there is tingling of the lips, a swollen, stiff, and discolored tongue, / tingling of the teeth, lockjaw, burning in the mouth, salivation, and disorders of the throat.

6.23.114

When it has entered the stomach, discoloration, sweating, exhaustion, nausea, / obstruction of vision and heart occur, and the body becomes covered with hundreds of spots.

6.23.115

When it has gone into the intestine, there is fainting, intoxication, delusion, burning, loss of strength, / drowsiness, and emaciation; and pallor appears when the poison is in the abdomen.

6.23.116

The brush of the tooth-cleaning stick disintegrates, and there is swelling of the gums and lips; / falling of hair, headache, and lumps occur when poison is in the head-inunction.

6.23.117

In poisoned collyrium, burning of the eyes, discharge, excessive encrustation, swelling, and redness occur; / by poisoned eatables the digestive tract is corrupted at first, and by touchables the skin is corrupted.

6.23.118

By poisoned baths, inunctions, pastes, clothes, ornaments, and cosmetic colors, / itching, pain, allergic rashes, boils, horripilation, tingling, and swellings occur.

6.23.119

These symptoms, along with burning and pricking in hands and feet, exhaustion, and indigestion, / occur from poisoned ground, sandals, horses, elephants, armor, banners, beds, and seats.

6.23.120

A poisoned garland becomes odorless, withers, and causes headache and horripilation; / poisoned smoke obstructs the channels, destroys the nose, and impairs vision.

6.23.121

Water of wells, ponds, and the like that is foul-smelling, turbid, and discolored, / when drunk, causes swelling, allergic rashes, boils, and death.

6.23.122

When it has entered the stomach at first, the physician should administer emesis; when in the skin, application of pastes, irrigation, and the like, / having carefully examined the strength of the doṣas.

6.23.123

Thus the particular plant poisons have been stated; now listen to the animal poisons; / first of all, the specific treatment among them for snakes is declared:

6.23.124

Here, the hooded snake, the viper, and the striped snake—these three, / in respective order, aggravate vāta, pitta, and kapha.

6.23.125

The darvīkara is known to be hooded; the maṇḍalī has circular hoods; / while the serpent variegated with dots and lines is the rājimān.

6.23.126

Specifically dry and pungent, sour and hot, sweet and cold / is their poison respectively; therefore it aggravates vāta and the others.

6.23.127

A bite made by a darvīkara has fine fang-marks, is black, / with arrested bleeding, resembles a tortoise-shell, and is regarded as causing vāta disorders.

6.23.128

Broadly inflicted and with swelling is the bite made by a maṇḍalī; / yellowish in appearance and with yellowish blood, causing all pitta disorders.

6.23.129

A bite made by a rājimān is slimy, causes firm swelling, / is unctuous, pale, has thick blood, and excites kapha disorders.

6.23.130

Having round coils, a large body, hissing, and looking upward, is the male; / with a thick head and symmetrical limbs, while the female is the reverse of this.

6.23.131

A neuter snake is frightened, looks downward, is devoid of sound, and trembles; / a man is regarded as bitten by a female by the opposites of these [signs of a bite] by a male.

6.23.132

One should declare a man bitten by a neuter snake by these mixed signs. / Thus has been stated the indication of male, female, and neuter snakes.

6.23.133

Bitten by a pregnant snake, [the victim] has a pale face, swollen lips, and dark eyes; / afflicted with yawning, anger, and a ranula, [and bitten] by one that has given birth, he has bloody urine.

6.23.134

There is a snake named gaudherayaka, four-footed, born of a godhā; / it is equal to a black snake, and there may be diverse mixed breeds.

6.23.135

Deep, inflicted, circular, pressed, hanging, delivered, / and creeping—these bites cause severe distress; those that are otherwise are not severe.

6.23.136

Young black snakes, old gonasa snakes, / and rājimān snakes in middle age are like virulent serpents.

6.23.137

The fangs of a snake are four: of them, the left lower is white, / the left upper fang is yellow, and the right lower and upper are red and dark brown.

6.23.138

Whatever size drop falls from a cow's hair lifted from water, / just that amount is the snake's venom in the left lower fang.

6.23.139

The venom portions increase successively by one, two, three, and four; / the bites inflicted by them share their colors, and with poison greatly increasing, are severe.

6.23.140

From the very feces and urine of snakes arise the insects regarded as [venomous] insects; / in brief, they are considered to possess slow poison and to be lethal.

6.23.141

The body becomes red, white, black, or dark brown, covered with eruptions; / accompanied by itching, burning, erysipelas, suppuration, and likewise putrefied.

6.23.142

Hear the lethal signs of being bitten by insects with slow poison: / as in a snakebite, swelling increases, with foul-smelling blood;

6.23.143

the bite [pains], heaviness of the eyes, fainting; afflicted with pain, he also pants; / and seized with thirst and anorexia, he is tormented by slow poison.

6.23.144

In the center of the bite, that which is black or dark brown, covered with a web, / burnt in appearance, severely suppurating, accompanied by moisture, swelling, and fever—

6.23.145

one should indicate him as bitten by spiders bearing slow poison. / And the symptom in the bite of all of them is stated:

6.23.146

Swelling, white, black, red, or yellow eruptions, fever, / breathlessness that may be fatal, burning, hiccups, and head-seizures.

6.23.147

From the bite, pale blood, circular patches, fever, anorexia, / horripilation, and also burning occur when afflicted with the slow poison of a mouse.

6.23.148

Fainting, limb swelling, discoloration, wetness, inaudibility of sound, fever, / heaviness of the head, and vomiting of saliva and blood are caused by incurable rats.

6.23.149

Dark brownness or blackness, or indeed multi-coloredness, / stupefaction, and diarrhea occur when bitten by chameleons.

6.23.150

First it burns like fire, and quickly as if tearing upward, / the poison of a scorpion travels, but afterward remains in the bite.

6.23.151

A man who is incurably bitten, his sight, smell, and taste impaired, / suffering from extreme pain with sloughing flesh, gives up his life.

6.23.152

Erysipelas, swelling, sharp pain, fever, and vomiting / are the symptoms when bitten by hornets, and the bite disintegrates.

6.23.153

One bitten by an ucciṭiṅga has horripilation, an erect penis, severe agony, / and thinks his limbs are sprinkled with cold water.

6.23.154

Afflicted by a single fang, swollen, in pain, yellowish, thirsty, / with vomiting and sleepiness—these are the symptoms of being bitten by venomous frogs.

6.23.155

Venomous fish cause burning, swelling, and pain; / venomous leeches cause itching, swelling, fever, and fainting.

6.23.156

The house gecko causes burning, pricking pain, sweat, and swelling; / the venom of a centipede produces sweating, pain, and burning at the bite.

6.23.157

From mosquitoes there is an itchy, slight swelling with mild pain; / a wound from an incurable mosquito is like that of an incurable insect.

6.23.158

Immediately discharging, dark brown, accompanied by burning, fainting, and fever / is the eruption from a fly bite; among them, the sthagikā is lethal.

6.23.159

In a cemetery, cremation ground, ant-hill, sacrifice site, hermitage, or temple, / at the junctures of fortnights, at midday, at midnight, and on the eighth lunar days,

6.23.160

and in heretic shrines, bitten men are not cured; / likewise from virulent serpents whose venom acts by sight, breath, excrement, or touch.

6.23.161

Those who are bitten in all the vital points quickly perish, / (and every manifestation [may arise] from any kind of snake).

6.23.162

Venom increases in one frightened, intoxicated, weak, afflicted with heat, hunger, or thirst; / venom [increases] having met constitutional factors and time matching itself; otherwise it is slight.

6.23.163

Struck by water, emaciated, frightened, defeated by mongooses, / old, young, or having shed their skins, snakes are remembered as having mild venom.

6.23.164

From anger, a snake discharges venom pervading its entire body; / out of the motive of food or fear, it does not discharge that [venom].

6.23.165

Ucciṭiṅgas together with scorpions generally have poison with aggravated vāta; / insects have poison with aggravated vāta and pitta; hornets and the like are phlegmatic.

6.23.166

Whichever doṣa's symptoms one observes to be predominant, / for that doṣa one should undertake treatment with medicines of opposing qualities.

6.23.167

Oppression of the heart, upward wind, stiffness, vein distension, pain in bones and joints, / giddiness, twisting cramps, and dark brown coloration of the body occur in vāta venom.

6.23.168

Loss of consciousness, hot breath, burning at the heart, bitter taste in the mouth, / sloughing of the bite, and red and yellow swelling occur in pitta venom.

6.23.169

By vomiting, anorexia, nausea, salivation, churning nausea, heaviness, / coldness, and sweet taste in the mouth, one should recognize venom with kapha predominant.

6.23.170

In vātika [venom], anointing the wound with molasses, oil massage, / sudation with tube and pouch fomentations, and a nourishing regimen are beneficial.

6.23.171

One should arrest paittika [venom] with very cold irrigations and poultices; / one should overcome ślaiṣmika [venom] by scraping, excising, sudation, and emetics.

6.23.172

And in all poisons, lodged in all places, / except for scorpions and ucciṭiṅgas, a cold regimen is generally beneficial.

6.23.173

In scorpion [venom], one should apply sudation and massage with ghee and salt, / and warm irrigations, and the eating and drinking of ghee.

6.23.174

This very [treatment is used] in ucciṭiṅga as well, and an upward rubbing with dust, / likewise covering with thick warm cloths and comfortable warm water.

6.23.175

A dog, from the aggravation of all three doṣas and derangement of the dhātus, / develops fever in the head, dribbles saliva, and keeps its face downward.

6.23.176

Other wild beasts of such kind, provoking kapha and vāta, / are considered to cause pain in the heart and head, fever, stiffness, thirst, and fainting.

6.23.177

Itching, pricking pain, discoloration, numbness, wetness, drying, / inner burning, redness, pain, suppuration, swelling, and contraction of knots,

6.23.178

sloughing of the bite, blisters, granulations, circular patches, / and fever are the symptoms in a venomous [bite]; in a non-venomous one, the opposite.

6.23.179

There, all measures previously stated should be applied according to the stage; / and hear from me speaking properly of another procedure.

6.23.180

When there is burning in the heart or salivation, strong purgation or vomiting / should be applied according to the stage; once purified, the regimen of dietary progression [is used].

6.23.181

When venom has gone to the head, an intelligent physician should administer nasal drops made of the roots / of bandhujīva, bhārgī, and black surasa.

6.23.182

Flesh and blood of a rooster, crow, and peacock should be applied to an incision on the head / of one bitten below; to the feet of one bitten above.

6.23.183

Pippalī, black pepper, alkali, vacā, rock salt, and śigru, / ground with the bile of a rohita fish, destroy [venom] gone to the eyes when used as a collyrium.

6.23.184

One should lick unripe kapittha with sugar and honey when venom has gone to the throat; / when it has gone to the stomach, a pala of powder of nata with both of those [sugar and honey].

6.23.185

When venom has gone to the colon, a person should drink pippalī, the two kinds of turmeric, / and mañjiṣṭhā ground in equal parts with ox-bile.

6.23.186

The blood and flesh of a godhā, dried and powdered, is beneficial / as a drink combined with kapittha juice when venom has gone to the plasma.

6.23.187

One should drink the roots, bark, and shoots of śelu, badara, udumbara, / and kaṭabhī when [venom] has gone to the blood; when it has gone to the flesh, one should drink

6.23.188

khadira and ariṣṭa with honey, or kutaja root with water; / and in all [stages, one should drink] both balās, madhūka, madhuka, and nata.

6.23.189

When kapha is aggravated, the physician should administer a rubbing / of pippalī, dry ginger, and alkali, blended with butter.

6.23.190

With māṃsī, saffron, patra, cinnamon bark, turmeric, nata, sandalwood, / realgar, vyāghranakha, and surasa ground with water,

6.23.191

drinks, nasal drops, collyriums, and unguents destroy all swellings and venoms. / Sandalwood, tagara, kuṣṭha, the two turmerics, cinnamon bark,

6.23.192

realgar, tamāla, cinnabar, and the claw of a tiger, / ground well with rice water,

6.23.193

destroys all venoms just as the thunderbolt of the wielder of the vajra destroys the Asuras. / White pepper soaked in the juice of śirīṣa flowers for seven days

6.23.194

is beneficial as nasal drops, a drink, and a collyrium for those bitten by snakes. / Two palas of nata and kuṣṭha, and four palas of ghee and honey,

6.23.195

gives relief as a drink even to those bitten by Takṣaka. / The root of sindhuvāra, and white girikarṇikā,

6.23.196

are a drink when bitten by hooded snakes, [or] nasally with honey as a cooked preparation. / Mañjiṣṭhā, madhuyaṣṭī, jīvaka, ṛṣabhaka, white sugar,

6.23.197

kāśmarya, and aerial leaf-buds of the banyan are a drink in the venom of vipers. / Trikaṭu, ativiṣā, kuṣṭha, soot, hareṇukā,

6.23.198

tagara, kaṭukā, and honey destroy the venom of striped snakes. / Soot, the two kinds of turmeric, and taṇḍulīyaka along with its roots,

6.23.199

one bitten even by Vāsuki should drink steeped in honey and ghee. / An unguent of bark from milky sap trees destroys insect venom once [the body] is cleansed.

6.23.200

An application of pearls is excellent, destroying swelling, burning, pricking pain, and fever. / Sandalwood, padmaka, uśīra, śirīṣa, sindhuvārikā,

6.23.201

kṣīraśuklā, nata, kuṣṭha, pāṭalā, udīcya, and sārivā / ground with the fresh juice of śelu is effective for all purposes against spiders;

6.23.202

(it should be applied as appropriate, having considered [its use] in unguents and other measures.) / Madhūka, madhuka, kuṣṭha, śirīṣa, udīcya, and pāṭalā / with neem, sārivā, and honey, drunk, destroy spider venom.

6.23.203

Safflower blossoms, selenite, svarṇakṣīrī, pigeon droppings, / dantī, trivṛt, and rock salt cause the dropping off of the granulation in both [insects and spiders].

6.23.204

Bark of kaṭabhī, arjuna, śirīṣa, śelu, and milky sap trees / as decoctions, pastes, and powders destroy sores from insects and spiders.

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Carakasaṃhitā — Agniveśa (Āyurveda) & Caraka, Sanskrit