The Bower Manuscript 30

30

II. Fol. 29: Bower manuscript
And from the application of chebulic myrobalan, edema is broken, / [as also] dysentery raised by the wind humour […] // 943
phlegm-bile, bleeding disorders, anemia, severe jaundice, / chebulic myrobalan [destroys] diseases […] // 944
phlegm-salivation, discoloration, hoarseness, loss of appetite, / heart disease, and indeed fainting this chebulic myrobalan surely destroys. // 945
Just as fire when joined with wind becomes powerful, / [so] chebulic myrobalan becomes endowed with potency when [combined] with jaggery. // 946
Here is a verse on that:
However it is consumed, mixed with jaggery, drunk or licked, O physician, / it cures men's hard-to-cure and long-standing diseases. // 947
There is no disease on earth among human beings / that this chebulic myrobalan does not forcefully conquer; / the wise man should employ that renowned [herb], born of ambrosia, in every way. // 948
Salt is wholesome and praised for horses, water for elephants, fire for cattle, / and chebulic myrobalan is the best treatment for men; so said the Lotus-born [Brahmā]. // 949
[Thus ends] the Formulation of Chebulic Myrobalan by the Aśvins.
Now, next, we shall explain the Formulation of Bitumen.
Neither exceedingly hot, and astringent, / and pungent in post-digestive effect is bitumen; / neither exceedingly hot nor cold, its origin should be declared to be from four metals: // 950
from gold, copper, then silver, and also from black iron. / It is a rejuvenator through proper procedures, it is an aphrodisiac, / and it removes diseases. // 951
It destroys wind, bile, and phlegm humours when well impregnated with decoctions; / it attains supreme excellence of potency by all [decoctions] or one by one. // 952
Thrusting in and taking out [repeatedly], placing it in the juice / [which is] hot for seven days—such is its method of impregnation. // 953
According to the previously stated method, with powdered metals, / drunk with milk, it gives long life endowed with happiness. // 954
It alleviates old age and subsequent disease, supremely promotes firmness of the body, / grants intellect and memory, and confers strength; one who eats [only] milk should use it. // 955
Its course of use is stated as threefold: seven weeks, / three weeks, and one week; the superior, middle, and lowest. // 956
The dose is a pala measure, half a pala measure, / and the smallest is half a karṣa measure. / Next I shall state its distinct varieties along with the procedure. // 957
The mountain minerals, gold and the rest, heated by the sun, / exude their own impurity, oily in appearance, heavy, smooth and clear; that is bitumen. // 958
That which is sweet and slightly bitter, resembling the hibiscus flower, / pungent in post-digestive effect and cold, is the exudation of gold. // 959
The copper [type] resembles a peacock's neck, sharp and hot, and cooks pungent; / the silver [type] is pungent, white, cold, and digests sweet; // 960
and that which is pungent and cold in post-digestive effect, the best of all, is of iron. // 961b
All have the smell of cow's urine; all are employed in treatment; / but in rejuvenation procedures, the last is superior. // 962
In wind-bile, phlegm-bile, / and phlegm, in all three, the impurities such as gold-impurity and the rest are praised in due order. // 963
During treatments with bitumen, one should avoid burning and heavy foods, / and at all times one must avoid horsegram. // 964
Milks, sour gruels, meat juices with vegetable broths, water with urine, and various decoctions, / are prepared to dissolve the mountain-born [bitumen]; these should be applied after examining the regions [of the body]. // 965
There is no curable disease on earth / that bitumen does not conquer by force; / therefore when administered according to proper procedures, // 966
it also grants varied vigor to the healthy. // 967a
Now, next, we shall explain the Formulation of Plumbago.
Keśava questioned the highly wise Dhanvantari: / “Is there any medicinal herb such as to destroy all diseases?” // 968
Having heard Keśava’s words, Dhanvantari replied: / “There is no medicinal herb spoken of here like plumbago. // 969
And it should be known as threefold: black, white, and yellow; / one should designate superior, inferior, and middle [grades] in that order. // 970
For those with skin disorders, those with urinary disorders, and likewise for those with abdominal swelling, / one should know the black to be beneficial, and especially for those with vitiligo. // 971
Destroying disorders of the duodenum and hemorrhoids, destroying diarrhea, / maintaining youth, and beneficial to the intellect—thus one should specify the white-flowered [variety]. // 972
The yellow is recorded as producing intellect, luster, and digestive fire, and destroying phlegm humour; / and in due order they should be specified as destroying wind, bile, and phlegm humours. // 973
Gathering whatever is obtained, one should employ them all; / one should gather it in the month of Kārttika, or Mārgaśīrṣa, or in Āṣāḍha. // 974
In Kārttika one should gather the black, and in Mārgaśīrṣa the white, / or in Āṣāḍha the yellow; that is the proper season for its collection. // 975
Having worshipped the gods according to rule, and having had the brāhmaṇas pronounce blessings, / in an area free from cremation grounds, saline soil, ant-hills, and sacred monuments, // 976