Agnipurana 279

English (machine translation) 279

Language: English

279.4 — 1 part
279.16 — 1 part
279.27 — 1 part
279.39 — 1 part
279.48 — 5 parts

279.1

Dhanvantari said:
Diseases are considered to be bodily, mental, exogenous, and innate.
Fever, leprosy, and the like are bodily; anger and the like are considered mental;

279.2

exogenous [diseases] arise from trauma; innate [diseases] are hunger, old age, and so on.
For the destruction of bodily and exogenous [diseases], on a Sunday one should offer

279.3

ghee, jaggery, salt, and sweet cakes along with gold to a brāhmaṇa;
and giving an unction on a Monday to a brāhmaṇa, one is freed from all diseases.

279.4

One should give oil on a Saturday; in the month of Āśvina, giving dairy products and food,
and bathing the liṅga with ghee and milk, one becomes free from disease.

One should sacrifice into the fire with the Gāyatrī dūrvā grass smeared with the three sweets.
Under whichever asterism one contracts a disease, under that auspicious one bath and offering [are prescribed].

279.6

For mental afflictions and the like, a hymn of praise to Viṣṇu will be the remover.
Wind, bile, and phlegm are the humours, and also the bodily tissues; hear about them:

279.7

O Suśruta, the food eaten from the digestive tract goes two ways:
by one portion into waste, and into the state of nutrient fluid by the other.

279.8

There the waste portion is excretion: feces, urine, sweat, rheum of the eyes,
nasal mucus, earwax, and whatever is bodily excrement.

279.9

From the nutrient part, the chyle there duly turns into blood; / from blood, flesh; from that, fat; and from fat occurs the production of bone.

279.10

From bone comes marrow; from that, semen; from semen comes lustrous vigor, and similarly vitality. / Having considered the place, the disease, the bodily strength, digestive power, season, and constitution,

279.11

as well as the strength of the medicine, one should administer treatment. / One should avoid an empty lunar day, Tuesday, Saturday, and a fierce, unfavorable [day].

279.12

Having worshipped Hari, the cow, the twice-born, the moon, the sun, the gods, and others, / listen to this mantra, O wise one, and begin [administering] the medicine:

279.13

"May Brahmā, Dakṣa, the Aśvins, Rudra, Indra, Earth, the Moon, the Sun, Wind, and Fire, / the sages, the multitude of medicinal herbs, and the hosts of beings protect you!

279.14

Just as the elixir of life is to the sages, just as nectar is to the gods, / just as heavenly ambrosia is to the foremost serpents, so may this medicine be to you!"

279.15

A region that aggravates wind and phlegm, having many trees and much water, / is known as marshy; the arid [region] is devoid of these.

279.16

A region with some trees and water is regarded as moderate.

279.16.p1

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279.16_2

The arid [region] has an excess of bile; the intermediate is regarded as moderate.

279.17

Wind is dry, cold, and mobile; bile is hot, pungent, and sharp; / phlegm is declared to be stable, sour, unctuous, and sweet.

279.18

Their increase is caused by similar [qualities], their decrease by opposite ones. / Tastes that are sweet, sour, and salty increase phlegm and destroy wind.

279.19

Pungent, bitter, and astringent [tastes] increase wind and destroy phlegm. / Pungent, sour, and salty [tastes] are to be known as increasing bile.

279.20

Bitter, sweet, and astringent [tastes] destroy bile. / This is not a quality of the taste [alone]; it is held to belong to the post-digestive effect.

279.21

Substances hot in potency destroy phlegm and wind; cold ones destroy bile; / and they also act by their specific potency, O Suśruta.

279.22

In the cold season, spring, and summer, respectively, / the accumulation, aggravation, and pacification of phlegm are proclaimed.

279.23

In summer, the rainy season, and autumn, O Suśruta, / the accumulation, aggravation, and pacification of wind are proclaimed.

279.24

In the rainy season, autumn, and early winter, respectively, / the accumulation, aggravation, and pacification of bile are declared.

279.25

The release [period] begins with the rainy season, consisting of the three starting with early winter; / the period of absorption begins with the cold season, consisting of the three seasons ending with summer.

279.26

The release [period] is lunar, while the period of absorption is proclaimed to be solar. / The moon, traversing the three seasons beginning with the rainy season, in turn,

279.27

produces the three tastes: sour, salty, and sweet, respectively. / The sun, traversing the seasons beginning with the cold season, in turn,

279.27.p1

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279.28

increases bitter, astringent, and pungent [tastes] in succession. / As the nights lengthen, strength alone increases;

279.29

and gradually, as they diminish, it diminishes in human beings. / In the beginning, middle, and end of the night, of digestion, of the day,

279.30

and likewise of life, phlegm, bile, and wind / undergo aggravation. Their accumulation is remembered at the time prior to aggravation;

279.31

their pacification is proclaimed at the time following aggravation. / From overeating, O twice-born one, and likewise from fasting,

279.32

indeed all diseases arise, [and also] by exciting or suppressing natural urges. / One should fill two parts of the stomach with food, and one with drink;

279.33

and one should leave one part empty for the movement of wind and the others. / Medicine should be administered that is contrary to the disease and its cause;

279.34

this alone should be done; I have stated the essence here. / Above the navel, below it, and likewise in the anus and pelvis,

279.35

the locations of phlegm, bile, and wind in the body are declared; / nevertheless, these move throughout the whole body, especially wind.

279.36

The heart in the center of the body is remembered as the seat of the mind. / A person who is emaciated, has little hair, is fickle, talkative, has irregular digestive fire,

279.37

and moves through the sky in dreams, is said to have a wind constitution. / One whose hair greys prematurely, who is wrathful, sweats profusely, is fond of sweets,

279.38

and sees bright lights in dreams, is said to have a bile constitution. / One whose limbs are firm, whose mind is steady, who has good luster, glossy hair,

279.39

and sees clear water in dreams, is a person of phlegm constitution.

279.39.p1

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279.39_2

They are also regarded as tamasic, rajasic, and sattvic, respectively,

279.40

O tiger among sages—men characterized by wind, bile, and phlegm. / From sexual intercourse, undertaking heavy labor,

279.41

eating bad food, and from grief, wind is aggravated in the body. / In those who consume burning substances, firebrands, hot food, and engage in travel,

279.42

bile becomes aggravated, and likewise from fear, O twice-born one. / In those who drink too much water, eat heavy food, sleep after meals,

279.43

and people who are indolent, phlegm becomes aggravated. / Having identified diseases arising from wind and the others, which are pacified through their symptoms:

279.44

bone fracture, astringency in the mouth, dryness of the mouth, / yawning, and horripilation are the signs of a wind-born disease.

279.45

Yellowness of the nails, eyes, and veins, bitterness in the mouth, / thirst, a burning sensation, and feverish heat are the indicators of a bile disease.