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Studies in the Medicine of Ancient India, Part I: Osteology, or the Bones of the Human Body c6.s1.t14: § 18. Gangādhar's 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.t14

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§ 18. Gangādhar's Recension of the Non-medical Version

c6.s1.t14.1

In his commentary on Charaka's Compendium, in illustration of the statement of Suśruta (§ 27) that the professors of General Medicine hold the number of bones to be 360, Gangādhar quotes the Non-medical Version, as he states himself, from the Law-book of Yājnavalkya and the Agni Purāṇa. As given by him, that Version is not quite easy to follow, but it would seem to yield the following list, which works out the required total of 360 (Original Text in § 78):

c6.s1.t14.2

[Verse 85] 1. 64 teeth (*daśana*) with their sockets (*sthāla*).
2. 20 nails (*nakha*).
3. 20 long bones (*śalākā*).
4. 4 bases (*sthāna*) of the long bones. [Verse 86] 5. 60 phalanges (*aṅguli*).
6. 4 heels (*pārṣṇi*). 7 *a*. 4 wrist-bones (*maṇika*). } 1 7 *b*. 4 ankle-bones (*gulpha*). }
8. 4 bones of the forearm (*aratni*).
9. 4 bones of the legs (*jaṅgha*). [Verse 87] 10. 2 knee-caps (*jānu*).
11. 2 elbow-pans (*kūrpara*).
12. 2 thighs (*ūru-phalaka*).
13. 2 shoulder-blades (*aṃsa-samudbhava*).
14. 2 collar-bones (*akṣaka*).
15. 2 palatal cavities (*tālūṣaka*).
16. 2 hip-blades (*śroṇi-phalaka*). [Verse 88] 17. 1 pubic bone (*bhag-asthi*). 18 *a*. 1 sacral bone (*trika*). 18 *b*. 1 anal bone (*pāyu*). 18 *c*. 35 back-bones (*pṛṣṭha*).

c6.s1.t14.3

¹ These two items of bones are stated in Gangādhar's list to be situated ‘below the clusters’ (*kūrca*).

c6.s1.t14.4

19. 15 neck-bones (*grīvā*).
20. 2 collar-bones (*jatru*).
21. 1 (lower) jaw-bone (*hanu*) or chin. [Verse 89] 22. 2 basal bones of the jaw (*hanu-mūla*). 23 *a*. 6 bones constituting brows, eyes, and cheeks (*lalāṭ-ākṣi-gaṇḍa*). 23 *b*. 1 nasal bone (*nāsā*) called *ghana*.
24. 72 ribs (*pārśvaka*) with their shallow sockets (*sthālaka*) and tubercles (*arbuda*). [Verse 90] 25. 2 temporal bones (*śaṅkhaka*).
26. 4 cranial pan-shaped bones (*śiraḥ-kapāla*).
27. 15 breast-bones (*uras*).

Cites (4)