Indian Medicine (Medicin), translated by C. G. Kashikar c12.22

c12.22

Closely connected with *atisāra* is *grahaṇī* or *grahaṇīroga*, *grahaṇīgada*—a kind of dysentary or chronic diarrhoea. *Grahaṇī* really means an organ above the navel, the seat of digestive fire that takes the undigested food and returns it in digested condition. If the *grahaṇī* is deranged by weakness of this fire, it sends out the food undigested (Car 6.15.54). Among its causes the neglected *atisāra* is particularly mentioned. In all cases the digestion is abnormal, stools are sometimes fluid, sometimes dry, thin, undigested, noisy, frothy, many times blue and yellow, or mostly phlegmatic, painful etc. Other less constant symptoms are: heart-burn, bad taste in the mouth, pain in the sides, thighs, chest, throat, vomiting diarrhoea, wasting, heat, fever and so forth. According to AS, AHr the difference between *atisāra* and *grahaṇī* is that the former disappears quickly, the latter gradually. The *grahaṇī*, moreover, lasts long and is also counted among the "major diseases" (Car 6.15.55-68; Su 6.40.166-177;