Indian Medicine (Medicin), translated by C. G. Kashikar c9.62

c9.62

§ 32. Hygienic Directions :— The day-to-day duties (dinacaryā) are both a matter of religion as well as of medicine. The statements in the medical works, therefore, often agree¹ literally with the statements in the Smṛtis and Gṛhya sūtras. Getting up before sunrise, the first duty consists of answering nature's call, at which the head is covered. The cleansing is done with water and earth. Then follows the cleansing of teeth with fresh tooth-stick which should be taken from a certain tree possessing astringent, sharp or bitter taste. Precaution must be taken not to hurt the gums. According to Caraka, the teeth should be brushed two times a day. The tongue should then likewise be scraped with a tongue-scraper (jihvānirlekhana). The mouth should be rinsed with cold water and the face should be washed. The eyes are to be treated every day with an ointment (sauvīrāñjana—antimony sulphide)² which is applied to the inner surface of the eye-lids. Thereby the eyes become beautiful and keen. Besides, every 5 or 8 days (Car) or 7 days (AS, AHr) an ointment rasāñjana—an extract from Berberis asiatica with milk should be used in order to make the eyes shed tears and thereby to relieve them of kapha and to improve