Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s16.269

v1.c3.s16.269

Jāyānya,¹ Jāyenya,² are variant forms of the name of a disease mentioned in the Atharvaveda and the Taittirīya Saṃhitā. In one passage of the former text³ it is mentioned with jaundice (harimā) and pains in the limbs (aṅga-bhedo visalpakah). Zimmer⁴ thinks these are its symptoms, and identifies it with a kind of Yakṣma, or disease of the lungs. Bloomfield⁵ prefers to identify it with syphilis, in accordance with certain indications in the ritual of the Kauśika Sūtra.⁶ Roth conjectures ‘gout,’ but Whitney⁷ leaves the nature of the disease doubtful.