Indian Medicine (Medicin), translated by C. G. Kashikar c10.26

c10.26

According to the grade of their dangerousness, the diseases are divided into three kinds : curable (sādhya), only mitigating (yāpya) and incurable (pratyākhyeya, anupakrama, asādhya). Reference is always made to this division in the description of diseases. Chronic diseases are understood by yāpya; these may be temporarily checked by suitable medicine or remedies, but cannot be cured. In Caraka, therefore, they form a section of incurable diseases. On the other hand, the curable diseases are divided by him into those that are curable easily and those that are curable with difficulty (Su 1.35.18; Car 1.10. 7-10; AHr 1.1.30-32). To the difficult diseases belong the surgical cases (śastrādisādhana, AHr 1.1.32). Su 1.24.3, therefore, remarks that in surgical cases the application of medical remedies is not inadmissible, on the other hand in the cases of diseases curable by medical remedies operation is not to be resorted to.