A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c13.144

Language: English

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The subjects are: the first appearance (prāgutpatti) of poison during the churning of the ocean; it arose, prior to the amṛta, in human form, as a fierce-looking, resplendent being with four fangs, fair-haired, with fiery eyes; he was called Viṣa because the living beings became viṣaṇṇa (dejected) on seeing him (23.4–5);542 Brahmā placed viṣa in two sources (yoni): mobile (i.e., animals; jaṅgama) and immobile (i.e., plants; sthāvara); it originates from water, is of two kinds, resembles fire, has eight stages of action (vega), ten properties, and twenty-four ways of treatment (upakrama) (23.6); being of a watery origin, it becomes fluid like guḍa and spreads during the rainy season; Agastya543 harms it when the clouds have disappeared, as a result of which its potency (vīrya) becomes milder (manda) (23.7–8); a long series of fanged (daṃṣṭrin) animals, whose fangs are the source of jaṅgama poisons: sarpa (snake), kīṭa, indura, lūtā (spider), vṛścikā (scorpion), gṛhagodhikā, jalaukas (leech), matsya (fish), maṇḍūka (frog), kaṇabha, kṛkaṇṭaka, śvan (dog), siṃha (lion), vyāghra (tiger), gomāyu (jackal), tarakṣu (hyena), nakula (ichneumon), etc. (23.9–10); the sthira (= sthāvara) poisons, deriving from the roots of plants: mustaka, pauṣkara, krauñca, vatsanābha, balāhaka, karkaṭa, kālakūṭa, karavīraka, pālaka, indrāyudha, taila, meghaka, kuśapuṣpaka, rohiṣa, puṇḍarīka, lāṅgalakī, añjanābhaka, saṃkoca, markaṭa, śṛṅgiviṣa, hālāhala, etc.

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(23.11–13);544 a third type of poisonous substance, called gara, which results from a mixture of substances; it is not instantly lethal, because its activation (vipākitva) takes time (23.14);545 the effects of poisons of animal and vegetable origin; animal poisons (jāṅgama, damṣṭrāviṣa) affect the lower, vegetable poisons (sthāvara, maulaviṣa) the lower part of the body, which makes the two types antagonistic (23.15–17); the signs of the eight stages of action (vega) in human beings;546 these stages, four in number, as occurring in quadrupeds; the three stages occurring in birds547 (23.18–23); the ten properties of poison: laghu (light), rūkṣa (dry), āśu (quickly acting), viśada (clear), vyavāyin (diffusive),548 tīkṣṇa (sharp), vikāsin (relaxation promoting),549 sūkṣma (subtle), uṣṇa (hot), of undefined taste (anirdeśyarasa) (23.24);550 poison excites vāta by its dryness, pitta by its heat, blood by its subtlety, kapha by its undefined taste; it quickly pervades (anuvartate)551 the annarasa (rasa derived from the food); due to its vyavāyin and āśu character, it quickly penetrates into the whole body; it damages the vital organs (marman) due to its sharpness and the prāṇa(s) because it is vikāsin; its lightness makes treatment difficult;

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it does not impede the movement of the doṣas (asaktagatidoṣa) on account of its clearness (23.25–27);552 the symptoms of poisoning in persons with a constitution dominated by vāta, pitta or kapha (23.28–30);553 dūṣīviṣa (a slowly acting poison) brings about corruption of the blood, arus (ulcers), kiṭibha554 and koṭha (an urticarial rash); it is fatal, because it corrupts each doṣa separately (23.31);555 the fiery quality (tejas)556 of poison makes the blood flow, which blocks the vessels (kha), leading to death; poison that is drunk stays in the heart after death, while the poison of a bite or sting remains at the site bitten or stung (23.31–32);557 the signs of death by poisoning are described (23.33–34); the twenty-four ways of treatment: mantra,558 ariṣṭā,559 utkartana (excision), niṣpīdana (compression), cūṣaṇa (suction),560 agni (cauterization), pariṣeka (affusion),561 avagāha (bathing), raktamokṣaṇa (blood-letting),562 vamana (emetics),563 vireka (purgation),564 upadhāna (the application of drugs on the incised scalp),565 hṛdayāvaraṇa (protection of the heart),566 añjana (collyrium),567 nasya (errhine), dhūma (inhalation of medicinal smoke), leha (linctus), auṣadha (medicament), pradhamana (blowing drugs into the nose),568 pratisāraṇa (local application),569 prativiṣa (antidote), saṃjñāsamsthāpana (re-animation),570 lepa (paste), and mṛtasaṃjīvana (resuscitation) (23.35–37); treatment by means of these methods (23.38–104).571