The Materia Medica of the Hindus, compiled from Sanskrit Medical Works c4.s4: On the Different Modes in Which Medicines Are Applied
The Materia Medica of the Hindus, compiled from Sanskrit Medical Works c4.s4
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On the Different Modes in Which Medicines Are Applied
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BESIDES being taken internally, medicines are applied in various other ways, such as by injections into the rectum, urethra and female organs ; application to the nose ; to the mouth ; to the eyes ; to the skin in the shape of plasters, ointments, oils and fumigations, and to the lungs by inhalation.
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वस्तिकर्म *Vastikarma* or injections into the rectum, were thrown in by means of a tube with a membranous bag tied to its end. The bag was recommended to be made of the bladder of some animal, such as bull, goat, etc. It was filled with the fluid to be injected and tied to one end of a tube, about eight inches long and with a tapering rounded extremity for introduction into the rectum. Injections into the urethra and vagina were thrown in by similar contrivances, the tubes being adapted in length and thickness to the passages for which they were intended.
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फलवर्ती *Phalavarti* or suppositories were recommended to be made of the size of the patient's thumb. They were smeared with clarified butter and introduced into the rectum. The following is an example of a suppository. Take of assafœtida and rock-salt equal parts and make a suppository with honey, for use in tympanitis.
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नस्य *Nasya* or the application of medicated substances to the nose, forms a prominent feature of native therapeutics. Two primary classes of medicines for this organ are recognized, namely *Sirovirechana* or medicines causing a flow of secretion from the nose and thus relieving cerebral congestion, and *Vrinhan*a or medicated oils applied to the nose with the object of cooling the head and relieving affections of the neck and chest. For clearing the head and promoting discharge from the nose, the expressed juice of pungent drugs is poured into the nose, drop by drop, or powders are blown into the nostrils by means of a tube. The former process is called *Avapida* and the latter, *Pradhamana*. For cooling the head and relieving affections of the upper part of the body, various medicated oils are used. In one form of snuff called *Pratimarsha*, two or three drops of medicated oil are directed to be snuffed up the nostril till they reach the throat, when they should be expectorated and not swallowed. In another form of application called *Marsha* about a drachm of oil is recommended to be gradually poured into each nostril from a spoon or shell.
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कवल *Kavala*. Liquids used as gargles are so called. Sometimes a mixture of liquid and solid substances or solid balls of medicine are taken into the mouth and retained in it till they bring on a discharge from the nose and eyes. This mode of application is गण्डूष *Gaṇḍusha*. When powders or thick solutions are applied to the teeth and gums with the finger, the process of medicament is called प्रतिसारण *Pratisárana*.
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शिरोवस्ति *Sirovasti*, etc. or applications to the head. Oils or other fluids are applied to the head in four different ways. The first form called *Sirovasti*, consists in tying a piece of leather four and a half inches in breadth all round the head, luting its lower margin to the skin by a paste of the pulse called *máshakaláya* and then filling the cavity thus formed on the top of the head with lukewarm oil. The oil is directed to be retained till relief of pain, or till there is discharge from the eyes and nose. It should then be removed and the head washed with warm water. This sort of medication is said to be useful in severe headache and shaking of the head. In the second form, oil or other fluid is poured in a stream on the head. This is called *Parisheka*. In the third form, called *Pichu*, cotton soaked in oil is applied to the scalp; and in the fourth, called *Avyanga*, the oil is simply rubbed on the head.
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Applications of liquids and medicated oils to the ears are used in diseases of the head as well as of the ears. The external meatus is filled with the fluid which is allowed to remain in it from one to twenty minutes and is then withdrawn.
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नेत्रकर्म *Netrakarma* or applications to the eyes receive various names according to the nature of the substances used and the manner in which they are applied. Pouring of drops into the eyes is called *A'schotana*. A poultice enclosed within a piece of cloth and applied over the lids is called *Piṇḍa*. A paste applied to the lids is called *Viḍálaka*. Medicines applied to the margin of the lids or to the conjunctiva with the finger or a metallic probe are called *Anjana*. These last may be in the shape of powder or liquid or they may be made into sticks or pills which are rubbed with water before use. The probe for applying medicines to the margin of the lids should be six inches long with a rounded bulbous end. It may be made of gold, silver, copper, iron or stone. For habitual use of collyria a lead probe is preferred. When medicines are applied not only to the lids but also to the conjunctiva up to the margin of the cornea, the finger is recommended to be used, as it is soft and safe.
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Applications to the skin. These consist of ghritas, oils, plasters, poultices, baths and hot applications for inducing perspiration. Medicated ghritas and oils have been already described. They are for the most part rubbed all over the body, except those intended for local ailments. Plasters called प्रलेप *Pralepa* are applied moist and cold. प्रदेह *Pradeha* or poultices are applied moist and hot. They are also thicker than plasters.
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स्वेदन *Svedana* or application of heat to the skin for inducing perspiration is carried out in four different ways, namely :—
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1. तापस्वेद *Tápasveda* or the application of dry heat by means of heated plates, bricks, sand, cloth or the palm of the hand only. These are recommended to be heated by catechu-wood fire.
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2. उष्मस्वेद *Ushmasveda* or the application of hot steam. This is effected in various ways. The part to be heated is covered with wet cloth. Bricks, stones or iron plates are made red hot and sprinkled over with *kánjika* or some decoction, and are then applied to the part to be heated; or an earthen pot with a small opening in the side is filled with hot water or decoction of some drugs, a tube is adjusted to the hole in the pot and the steam is applied to the covered body through it. A third method consists in heating the ground by burning catechu-wood over it, and after removing the fire, sprinkling some decoction over the spot and making a bed of castor oil leaves on it. The patient is to lie on this bed and cover himself with a blanket. Or the ground may be covered with a thick layer of boiled pulse such as *máshakaláya* and a bed made over it for the patient.
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3. उपनाहस्वेद *Upanáhasveda*. This means the application of heat by hot medicinal substances in the form of decoctions, pastes, or plasters, or of fomentation by cloth wrung out of hot fluids;
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or heat may be applied by enclosing hot medicinal substances or pastes within a cloth bag and applying the latter to the skin.
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4. द्रवस्वेद Dravasveda. This means the hot hip-bath and hot bath with warm water or decoctions. Milk, broth, oil, kánjika etc. may also be used for baths. The patient should sit in a tub with the fluid up to his navel, and which should also be poured over his body from above the shoulders, so as to bathe him thoroughly. The tub should be made of wood, silver, copper or iron, of square form and twenty-six fingers in measurement in all directions, that is in height, length and breadth. After the application of heat, the patient should take a hot bath, eat light food and keep himself covered in bed. If too much heat has been applied, and the patient suffers from pain in the joints, thirst, langour or giddiness, then he should be treated by cooling applications. The region of the heart, scrotum and eyes should be heated with great care and to a mild degree only.
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धूमपान Dhumapána or inhalations. Tapers or pastilles made of medicinal substances are set fire to, and their fumes inhaled through a tube by the mouth or nose. Pastilles for inhalation are thus prepared : a reed, half a cubit in length, is smeared or laid over with a paste of the drugs to be used, to two-thirds of its extent and is dried in the shade. When dry, the reed is withdrawn from the paste, leaving it in the form of a hollow tube. This is smeared with clarified butter and lighted. The lighted extremity is introduced into one end of the inhaling tube and the fumes drawn in by the other end through the mouth or nose, as the case may be, and emitted again through the mouth. In affections of the throat and chest, inhalation through the mouth is recommended, while in diseases of the head, eyes or nose, the fumes are drawn in through the nose. The tube for inhalation may be metallic or made of wood or ivory. Its length varies from two cubits to half a cubit, and its calibre should be sufficient to allow a large pea to pass through. The shorter tubes are used in administering expectorant and emetic fumes. Inhalations are useful in cough, asthma, catarrh, pain in the neck or head, etc. They may be used for soothing the air passages, for promoting discharge from them, for the relief of cough, or for inducing vomiting. Another form of inhalation, called Samana, is recommended to be used daily after washing the face, bathing, breakfast, etc. The pastille for this was made of cardamoms and other aromatic substances. This sort of smoking is not seen in the present day. Probably it was in vogue before the introduction of tobacco and has been displaced by the latter.
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धूपन *Dhupana* or fumigations were employed for ulcers and skin diseases. The pastilles for these are made as for inhalation. They are lighted and placed inside two earthen pots, placed face to face. A hole is made in the upper pot and a tube adjusted to it. The free or open end of the tube is now directed to the affected part and the fumes allowed to spread over it. Incenses and tapers composed of various medicinal substances are also burnt in rooms occupied by the sick, for removing unpleasant smells and supposed evil spirits.
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क्षारकर्म *Kshárakarma* or caustic applications. The ancient physicians of India, like their modern representatives, preferred opening abscesses by caustics, to incising them with the lancet. Hence caustics were described as superior to the lancet, inasmuch as, in addition to opening abscesses, they purified them by removing the derangement of the humours. The ashes of the following plants were used for the preparation of caustics, namely:—
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पाटला *Páṭalá*.—*Stereospermum suaveolens*. कुटज *Kuṭaja*.—*Holarrhena antidysenterica*. पलाश *Palása*.—*Butea frondosa*. अश्वकर्ण *Asvakarna*.—*Shorea robusta*. पारिभद्र *Páribhadra*.—*Erythrina Indica*. विभीतका *Vibhitaka*.—*Terminalia Bellerica*. आरग्वध *A'ragvadha*.—*Cassia fistula*. लोध्र *Lodhra*.—*Symplocos racemosa*. अर्क *Arka*.—*Calotropis gigantea*. स्नुहि *Snuhi*.—*Euphorbia neriifolia*. अपामार्ग *Apámárga*.—*Achyranthes aspera*. करञ्ज *Karanja*.—*Pongamia glabra*. वासक *Vásaka*.—*Justícia Adhatoda*. कदलि *Kadali*.—*Musa sapientum*. चित्रक *Chitraka*.—*Plumbago Zeylanica*. पुतिक *Putika*.—*Cæsalpinia Bonducella*.
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देवदारु *Devadáru*.—*Cedrus Deodara*. आस्फोता *A'sphotá*.—*Vallaris dichotoma*. करवीर *Karavira*.—*Nerium odorum*. सप्तपर्णि *Saptaparni*.—*Alstonia scholaris*. गम्भारी *Gambhári*.—*Gmelina arborea*. गुञ्जा *Gunjá*.—*Abrus precatorius*. कोषातकी *Koshátaki*.—*Luffa pentandra*.
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The roots, stems and leaves of these plants or of such of them as are available, are cut into pieces and burnt in a pit. The ashes are then collected and boiled in six times their weight of water till the solution becomes transparent, red, pungent and soapy to the feel. It should then be strained and again put on fire and the following substances added, namely, ashes of *Euphorbia neriifolia* (*snuhi*), and the burnt powders of bivalve and conch shells. The mixture should be constantly stirred and boiled till it is of a thick consistence. The proportion of shell-lime added varies from one fourth to one-eighth or one-sixteenth part of the solution. Caustics of three strengths are thus obtained. Sometimes orpiment and realgar are added to increase their strength.
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The part where the caustic is to be applied, should first be cleaned and rubbed. The caustic should then be applied with a probe. It should be allowed to remain in contact with the skin for such time as is occupied in uttering a hundred words and then removed. The skin becomes black from the application, when it is dressed with a paste of acids, clarified butter and honey. For hastening the removal of the slough, a paste or poultice composed of sesamum seeds, liquorice root, lemon juice and *kánjika* should be applied. Caustics are applied to external piles, sinuses, fistulæ in ano, abscesses, warts, tumours, leprous patches, etc.
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THE
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MATERIA MEDICA OF THE HINDUS. PART I.
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INORGANIC MATERIA MEDICA.
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GENERAL REMARKS ON MINERAL MEDICINES.
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MINERAL or inorganic medicines are generally described under five heads, namely, *Rasa* or mercury which forms a class by itself; *Uparasa* or metallic ores and earths, *Dhátu* or metals, *Lavana* or salts, and *Ratna* or precious stones. The metals used in Sanskrit medicine are mercury, gold, silver, copper, tin, zinc, lead, iron, bell-metal, and brass. The *Uparasas* used are sulphur, talc or mica, two sorts of iron pyrites called *Svarnamákshika* and *Táramákshika*, loadstone, orpiment, realgar, sulphate of copper, sulphate of iron, cinnabar, minium or red lead, sulphuret of lead, calamine (*kharpara*), *Silájatu* (a bituminous substance containing iron), alum, borax, chalk, calcined cowries and conch shells, *Gairika* a sort of red mountain earth or ochre, *Kankushṭa* a sort of mountain earth, *Sauráshṭri* a fragrant earth from Surat, sand, clay, etc.
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The precious stones described are, 1 *Hiraka*, diamond; 2 *Gárutmat*, emerald; 3 *Pushparága*, topaz; 4 *Mánikya*, ruby; *Indranila*, sapphire; 6 *Gomeda*, a yellow gem of the colour of fat; 7 *Vaidurya*, a gem of a dark blue colour, the lapis lazuli; 8 *Mauktika*, pearls; 9 *Vidruma*, corals. Collectively they are called *Navaratna* or the nine gems. *Rájavarta*, an inferior kind of diamond from Virat, and *Vaikránta*, another inferior kind of diamond, are sometimes used instead of diamond.
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Salts.—Of these the following are noticed by most writers, viz., *Saindhava*, rock salt; *Sámbara*, Sambar lake salt; *Sauvarchala*, sonchal salt; *Bit*, black salt; *Sámudra*, sun-dried sea salt, commonly known as *Karkach*; *Audbhida*, a saline efflorescence on *reh* lands; *Pánsuja* or salt obtained from saline earth; *Yavakshára*, impure carbonate of potash; *Sarjikákshára*, impure carbonate of soda; *Sarvakshára*, mixed ashes of several plants; *Narasára* chloride of ammonium; *Soraka*, nitrate of potash, and *Tankana*, borax. The term *Ushara* is applied to saline earth.
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Metals and metallic compounds are subjected to a so-called process of purification in order to get rid of their impurities or deleterious qualities. If used in an unpurified state, they are supposed to induce certain diseases or morbid symptoms. The metals, for the most part, are purified by repeatedly heating their plates and plunging them in the following fluids, namely, oil, whey, sour conjee, cow's urine and the decoction of a pulse called *kulattha* (*Dolichos uniflorus*). Another method of purification consists in soaking the plates of heated metals in the juice of the plantain-tree.
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Metals and metallic compounds are reduced to powder by various processes. The operation is called *márana*, which literally means killing or destruction of metallic character but practically a reduction to powder, either in the metallic state, or after conversion into an oxide or a sulphide. Various processes for the calcination of different metals are described in Sanskrit works on the subject. I will not burden these pages with a detailed account of these but shall only describe modes of preparation followed at the present day.
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Although the Hindus had made some successful efforts in preparing a certain number of chemical compounds such as perchloride of mercury, sulphides of copper and silver, oxide of tin, some acids, alkalies, etc., yet their chemical operations were of a very rude and primitive character. The apparatus employed by them consisted of crucibles of different sorts, glass bottles and earthen pots arranged for sublimation of volatile compounds, retorts for distillation, sand and vapour baths, etc. The furnace for heating metals is usually a pit in the ground called गजपुट *Gajapuṭa*. It is made one and a quarter cubits in depth, length and breadth. This is filled with dried balls of cowdung. The metals or metallic compounds to be roasted are enclosed in a covered crucible and placed in the centre of the pit within the balls of cowdung, which are then set fire to and allowed to burn till consumed to ashes.
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मुषायन्त्र. *Musháyantra* or crucibles, are recommended to be made of husks of rice two parts, earth from ant-hills, iron rust, chalk and human hair cut into small bits, one part each. These are rubbed together into a paste with goat-milk, and made into crucibles which are dried in the sun. Practically, however, goldsmith's crucibles or common earthen cups are used. The compounds to be roasted are placed in one crucible, this is covered with a second, and the two are luted together with clay.
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वालुकायन्त्र. The sand-bath called *Váluká yantra* is made by filling an earthen pot with sand and heating it over the fire. Metalic preparations sublimed within glass bottles are heated in sand-baths.
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दोलायन्त्र. When medicines, tied in a piece of cloth or other material, are suspended and boiled in a pot of water, the apparatus is called *Dolá yantra*. The steam-bath called *Svedana yantra* is got up by covering the mouth of a pot of boiling water with a piece of cloth, placing the medicines to be heated by steam on this cloth, and then covering them with another pot.
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For the sublimation of metals and metalic preparations, two sorts of apparatus are used. The first, called उर्द्धपातनयन्त्र *Urddha-pátana yantra*, consists of two earthen pots placed one above the other with their rims luted together with clay. The lower pot containing the medicine is put on fire while the upper one is kept cool with wet rags. The sublimate is deposited in the interior of the upper pot. Sometimes the lower pot is covered with a concave dish and water poured into its hollow to keep it cool and changed as often as it gets hot. The second plan consists in placing the medicines to be sublimed in the bottom of a glass bottle which has been strengthened with layers of clay and cloth wrapped round it, and then exposing it to heat in a sand-bath. The sublimate is deposited in the neck of the bottle, whence it is extracted by breaking the latter.
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तिर्यक्पातनयन्त्र *Tiryak pátana yantra*. This apparatus means the adjustment of retorts and receivers for sublimation and distillation. At the present day glass retorts of European manufacture are used. Country-made glass retorts are also available.