Studies in the Medicine of Ancient India, Part I: Osteology, or the Bones of the Human Body c6.s1.t12: § 16. The Genuine Recension of the Non-medical Version

Studies in the Medicine of Ancient India, Part I: Osteology, or the Bones of the Human Body c6.s1.t12

Language: English

§ 16. The Genuine Recension of the Non-medical Version

c6.s1.t12.1

The genuine Non-medical Version, as it is found in the Law-book of Yājñavalkya, in its third chapter, verses 84-90, runs as follows (Original Text in § 77):

c6.s1.t12.2

(In the body) there are six parts (*aṅga*); and of bones there are in it three hundred and sixty; namely:

[Verse 85] 1. 64 teeth (*danta*) with their sockets (*sthāla*).
2. 20 nails (*nakha*).
3. 20 long bones (*śalākā*) of the hands and feet.
4. 4 bases (*sthāna*) of the long bones.
[Verse 86] 5. 60 phalanges (*aṅguli*).
6. 2 heels (*pārṣṇi*).
7. 4 ankle-bones (*gulpha*).
8. 4 bones of the forearms (*aratni*).
9. 4 bones of the legs (*jaṅgha*).
[Verse 87] 10. 2 knee-caps (*jānu*).
11. 2 elbow-pans (*kapola*).
12. 2 thighs (*ūru-phalaka*).
13. 2 shoulder-blades (*aṃsa-samudbhava*).
14. 2 collar-bones (*akṣa*).
15. 2 palatal cavities (*tālūṣaka*).
16. 2 hip-blades (*śroṇi-phalaka*).

c6.s1.t12.4

[Verse 88] 17. 1 pubic bone (*bhag-asthi*).
18. 45 back-bones (*prstha*).
19. 15 neck-bones (*grīvā*).
20. 1 windpipe (*jatru*).
21. 1 (lower) jaw-bone (*hanu*), or chin. [Verse 89] 22. 2 basal bones of the jaw-bone (*hanu-mūla*). 23 *a*. 3 bones constituting brows, eyes, and cheeks, (*lalāt-ākṣi-gaṇḍa*). 23 *b*. 1 nasal bone (*nāsā*) called *ghana*.
24. 72 ribs (*pārśvaka*) with their sockets (*sthālaka*) and tubercles (*arbuda*). [Verse 90] 25. 2 temporal bones (*śaṅkhaka*).
26. 4 cranial pan-shaped bones (*śiraḥ-kapāla*).
27. 17 breast-bones (*uras*). These bones make up the skeleton of man.’

c6.s1.t12.5

This list works out the correct total 360.

Cites (1)

Yājñavalkyasmṛti — Yājñavalkya, Sanskrit