Indian Medicine (Medicin), translated by C. G. Kashikar c9.49

Language: English

c9.49.1

§ 28. Surgical Instruments :—Descriptions of surgical instruments really agreeing in essentials are made only in Su ( 1.7 f. ), AS ( 1.34 ), AHr ( 1.25 f. )¹. Of the two kinds of instruments, namely the blunt ( yantra ) and the sharp ones ( sastra ), the former are divided into six kinds with 101 instruments in all. According to Su, the hand is the most important of all yantras, for without it no operation can be made². The main function of the yantra is extraction of foreign matter ( salya ) from the body, yet AS and AHr assert that yantras also serve to protect healthy limbs in difficult operations with knife, fire, cauteries, e. g. in diseases like hemorrhoids and fistula; they also assert that Basti, cupping horns, hollow calabash and other implements should be counted as yantras. 1. Svastikayantra " cross-shaped instrument " ( pair of tongs ) should, as a rule, be made of iron, 18 fingers long, the ends of the heads like beasts of prey and birds of prey, the arms of the pair held together by a pin the head of which is as big as a lentil and therefore bent where it is to be held. According to Susruta there are 24 Svastikayantras, 9 appearing at the end like the heads of lion, tiger, wolf and other beasts of prey and 15 appearing like the heads of crow, heron, vulture, falcon and other birds of prey. AS and AHr give no definite number.

c9.49.2

They serve to extract foreign matters from the bones, and really the 9 yantras bearing the heads of beasts of prey extract such foreign matters as are prominent and are easily sizable. The best pair of tongs applicable to all parts is that of heron's head. 2. Samdamsa ( pair of tongs ) of two kinds, with or without arms, 16 fingers long, to extract Salya from the skin, flesh, veins or sinews. AS, AHr mention two more Samdamsas : (1) a smaller kind, 6 fingers long, to extract hair in the nose or on the eyelids, irregular flesh on the wounds and the like and (2) mucundi provided with a ring on the grip which serves to extract remnants of cut-off Pterygium or to remove irregular flesh in deep abscesses. 3. Tāla, spoon, 12 fingers long, resembling the mouth of a big fish. There are two kinds : a single spoon and a double spoon. They serve to extract foreign matter from the ears, nose or fistula. 4. Nāḍī-yantra "Reeds", 20 kinds, with an aperture on one end or on both the ends, of different length and strength, according to the organ in which it is inserted, serving to extract foreign matters from the canals, (e. g. from the ear) for diagnosis (e. g. of diseases of throat), for sucking (e. g. poison), for the facilitation of operations (e. g. for washing out wounds ) or for introducing medicinal stuffs.

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These reeds are applied in fistula of the anus, hemorrhoids, tumour, ulcer, enemata, injection in the urinary passage, hydrocele, dropsy, inhalation, stricture of the urinary passage and the anus. The calabashes and horns for cupping also belong to this. AS and AHr describe some of these Nāḍīyantras in detail, thus a 10 fingers long and 5 fingers broad reed for the examination of a śalya stuck to the throat, a short but thick reed for examining, cauterizing and operating in the case of piles, a 16 fingers long reed for the examination of female genitals etc. 5. Śalākāyantra "instruments of the kind of awl" are 28 in number. Out of these, seven have earthworm-like points for probing, two have ends like an arrowshaft for shaking, two have ends like a serpent-hood for pushing, two have hooklike points for extracting, two have a little bent ends, of the form of a half lentil for extracting śalya from external organs, six have turbanlike points, surrounded with cotton for wiping off (pus, blood, cauteries etc.), three have spoonlike points for introducing cauterizing material, three have heads like Jambu fruit for cauteries and brandings, one with a point like a half fruit-kernel for extracting or branding a tumour in the nose. There are three more Śalākāyantras for branding and one for introducing eye-ointment and for cleansing the urinary canal.

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AS and AHr mention a foetus-hook (garbhaśaṅku) for extracting a dead foetus, a hooklike instrument like serpent's hood for extracting stone in the bladder, an instrument with a point like an arrowshaft for extracting bad teeth, an ear-spoon etc. and six other instruments. The 25 anuyantras "secondary yantras", i. e. helping implements are a magnet (for extracting foreign matter), a horse-bridle ring, branch of a tree (for similar purpose), thread, cloth-pieces and bandage, a hammer (for loosening foreign matter), cautery, fire and medicines, the hand and foot-palms, tongue, teeth, nails and the mouth, time, digestion, cheering and the like.