Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s7.1394

v2.c4.s7.1394

Vyādhi, ‘disease,’ occurs several times in Vedic literature.¹ The specific diseases are dealt with under the separate names, but the Vedic texts also mention innumerable bodily defects. The list of victims² at the Puruṣamedha (‘human sacrifice’) includes a ‘dwarf’ (vāmana, kubja), a ‘bald’ person (khalati),³ a ‘blind’ man (andha),⁴ a ‘deaf’ man (badhira),⁵ a ‘dumb’ man (mūka),⁶ a ‘fat’ man (pīvan), a ‘leper’ (sidhmala, kilāsa),⁷ a ‘yellow-eyed’ man (hary-akṣa), a ‘tawny-eyed’ man (piṅg-ākṣa), a ‘cripple’ (pītha-sarpiṇ), a ‘lame’ man (srāma), a ‘sleepless’ man (jāgaraṇa), a ‘sleepy’ man (svapana), one⁸ ‘too tall’ (ati-dīrgha), one ‘too short’ (ati-hrasva), one ‘too stout’ (ati-sthūla or aty-aṃsala), one ‘too thin’ (ati-kṛśa), one ‘too white’ (ati-śukla), one ‘too dark’ (ati-kṛṣṇa), one ‘too bald’ (ati-kulva), and one ‘too hairy’ (ati-lomaśa).