The Classical Doctrine of Indian Medicine: Its Origins and its Greek Parallels c9.112

c9.112

One last liquid of the body still remains. The bile has the same name, *pitta*, in both the Veda and Āyurveda. In the theory of the latter, it has an intimate connection with fire, representing in liquid form the fiery element of the organism. This concept could not have resulted from an observation of pathological facts. Undoubtedly the morbid manifestations, in which bile appears to play a rôle, can themselves be febrile, but they are not necessarily so. The bilious vomitings, accidents wherein the participation of bile is particularly evident, can be produced outside all hyperthermia. A theoretical speculation is necessary to make bile into a form of fire, and the existence of some similar speculation in the Vedic period is guaranteed by the *Atharvaveda* and the *Yajurveda*. The same passage in these two texts says to the Fire, “O Agni, thou art the bile of the waters”.¹