The Classical Doctrine of Indian Medicine: Its Origins and its Greek Parallels c8.84

c8.84

The Vedic legend has been preserved in the classical medical texts. The Caraka-saṃhitā (Cik., VIII, 1-11) describes it with certain modifications, befitting a text having a scientific purpose. It starts by saying that “the body of the god Moon, too much attached to Rohiṇī and not taking care of his organism, starts to wither away because of amourous exhaustion”.³ This is a natural explanation of the consumptive disease given in advance. Later it gives a version similar to that of the Yajurveda. The neglected wives complain to their father who becomes furious and turns out his anger with his breath. This anger attacks the god Moon who comes to demand succour from Prajāpati. Prajāpati permits the Aśvins to treat him and the text adds “Anger, yakṣman, fever, disorder (are the evils which) have only one signification: misery”. As this disease had, first of all, attacked a king, it is considered as “royal yakṣman”. The yakṣman exorcised by the Aśvins, reached the world of humans; it took hold of men due to four causes: effort out of proportion with force, overwork, exhaustion; the