Indian Medicine (Medicin), translated by C. G. Kashikar c12.14

c12.14

The intermittent fever (*viṣamajvara*) forms a further variety of fever which is divided into five subsections : [1] *samtata* :- lasts for 7, 10 or 12 days, but in certain cases takes a still longer duration. This fever especially affects the chyle (*rasa*) or chyle and blood, generally all elements of the body and urine and faeces. [2] *satata* :- affects the blood and comes twice in course of day and night, i.e. once by day and once by night, or twice by day and twice by night (Arunadatta). [3] anyedyuṣka [Quotient fever] :- affects the flesh and comes at any time once within twentyfour hours. [4] tṛtīyaka [Tertian fever] :- affects the fat and repeats at interval of a day. In this fever there is pain in the head, upper coccyx or back according to the deranged doṣa. [5] cāturthaka [Quartan fever] :- affects the marrow and the bones whereby there is pain either in bones or in the head, and repeats every fourth day or lasts for two days as caturthaviparyaya while the first and the fourth days are free from fever. This fever is especially dangerous. The ‘hectic fever’ (*pralepaka*) which appears in Suśruta as corresponding to the *saṃtata* of other authors is very scarcely curable. It also appears as a peculiar type of intermittent fever. It makes the limbs hot and heavy and results in the death of consumptives. Related to this is *vātabalāsaka*. Balāsa and fever come together already in the Vedic medicine, and by these chiefly malaria seems to have been characterized (Car 6.3.52-81; Su 6.39.51-58; AS 3.2.264 f.; AHr 3.2.56-74; MN 42 ff.; Bhāv 2.1.107-141; Vang 51 f.).