A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c13.153

Language: English

v1.c13.153.1

The subjects dealt with are: the two groups of vraṇa: nija (endogenous), caused by the doṣas, and āganta (exogenous), caused by external agents; the causes of āgantuvraṇa;649 differences in treatment (25.5–8); exogenous vraṇas which do not heal should be treated like endogenous ones, having regard to the doṣa(s) involved (25.9);650 the characteristics and treatment of vraṇas caused by vāta, pitta, kapha (25.10–16);651 the classification, etc., of the two groups of vraṇa (25.17–19);

v1.c13.153.2

the twenty types of vraṇa are: suitable to surgical treatment (kṛtya) or unsuitable to it (akṛtya),652 vitiated (duṣṭa) or not vitiated (aduṣṭa), located in a marman (vital spot) or not located there, closed (saṃvṛta) or open, severe (dāruṇa) or mild, discharging (srāvin) or not discharging, containing toxic substances (saviṣa) or devoid of these, irregular (viṣamasthita) or regular, provided with pouches (utsaṅgin)653 or devoid of these, elevated (utsanna)654 or depressed (25.20–21);655 the threefold examination of vraṇa(s): by inspection (darśana), interrogation (of the patient) (praśna) and palpation (saṃsparśa) (25.22–23);656 the twelve types of vitiated (duṣṭa) vraṇa: white (śveta), provided with a narrow opening (avasannavartman),657 provided with a very wide opening (atisthūlavartman),658 very piñjara,659 dark-blue (nīla) or śyāva,660 covered with pustules (atipiḍaka), red (rakta), black (kṛṣṇa), excessively bad-smelling (atipūtikā), apparently healing outside, but non-healing and recurring inside (ropya),661 and bottle-necked (kumbhīmukha) (25.24–25ab);662 these pathological conditions (doṣa) are twenty-four in number when classified according to another method (25.25cd);663 the eight seats of vraṇa(s) are: the skin, vessels (sirā), muscular tissue, fatty tissue, bones, cords (snāyu), vital spots (marman), and the viscera (antarāśraya)664 (25.26);665 the eight kinds of smell of a vraṇa are: like that of ghee, oil, muscle-fat (vasā), pus (pūya) and blood, śyāva,666 sour, and fetid (pūtikā) (25.27);667 the discharges from wounds (vraṇasrāva) are of fourteen kinds: like serous fluid (lasīkā), water, pus or blood, yellow (hāridra), ruddy (aruṇa), piñjara,668 ochre-coloured (kaṣāya), dark-blue (nīla), yellowish green (harita), oleaginous (snigdha), dry (rūkṣa), white (sita), and dark (asita) in colour (25.28–29ab);669 the experts concerning vraṇa(s) (vraṇacintaka) acknowledge sixteen complications (upadrava): visarpa (erysipelas), pakṣaghāta (hemiplegia or hemiparesis), sirāstambha (occlusion of vessels), apatānaka,670 moha (mental confusion), unmāda (insanity), vraṇaruja (pain in the vraṇa), jvara (fever), tṛṣṇā (thirst), hanugraha (lockjaw), kāsa (cough), chardi (vomiting), atīsāra (diarrhoea), hikkā (hiccup), śvāsa (shortness of breath), and vepathu (trembling) (25.29cd–31ab);

v1.c13.153.3

factors which impair the healing of a vraṇa: snāyukleda (softening of the cords),671 sirākleda (softening of vessels), gāmbhīrya (deep-seatedness), kṛmibhakṣaṇa (tissue destruction caused by maggots), asthibheda,672 saśalyatva (the presence of a corpus alienum), saviṣatva (the presence of toxic substances), sarpaṇa (the tendency to spread), nakhakāṣṭhaprabheda (injury by nails or a piece of wood), carmātighaṭṭana (excessive rubbing of the skin), lomātighaṭṭana (excessive rubbing of the body hair), mthyābandha (faulty bandaging), atisneha (over-oleation), atibhaiṣajyakarṣaṇa (emaciation due to over-medication), ajīrṇa (disorders of the digestive process), atibhukta (overeating), viruddhabhojana (consumption of incompatible foods), asātmyabhojana (consumption of unsuitable foods), śoka (grief), krodha (anger), divāsvapna (sleeping by day), vyāyāma (physical exercise), maithuna (sexual intercourse), and niṣkriyatva673 (25.31cd–34); degrees of curability (25.35–37);674 therapeutic measures to be applied first (25.38–39ab);

v1.c13.153.4

the thirty-six therapeutic measures in cases of vraṇa: śophaghna (reduction of swelling),675 the six kinds of śastrakarman (surgical intervention),676 avapīdana (compression),677 nirvāpaṇa (reduction of calor),678 saṃdhāna (union),679 sveda (sudation),680 śamana (pacification of excited doṣas), eṣaṇa (probing),681 śodhana (purification) by means of decoctions (kaṣāya),682 ropaṇa (promotion of granulation) by means of decoctions (kaṣāya),683 śodhana by means of pastes (pralepana),684 ropaṇa by means of pastes,685 śodhana by means of oils (taila),686 ropaṇa by means of oils,687 two kinds of pattracchādana (covering with leaves),688 two kinds of bandhana (bandaging),689 bhojya (diet), utsādana (elevation, i.e., the promotion of granulation, which elevates the level of the wound),690 two kinds of dāha (cauterization and the application of caustic fluids),691 avasādana (depression, i.e., the reduction of too large an amount of granulation tissue),692 dhūpana (fumigation) of a kāṭhinyakara (promoting firmness of the new tissue) type,693 dhūpana of a mārdavakara (inducing softness) type,694 ālepana of a kāṭhinyakara type,695 ālepana of a mārdavakara type,696 avacūrṇana (the application of a powder),697 varṇya (restoration of the normal colour of the skin),698 ropaṇa (healing of a wound or ulcer), and lomaro haṇa (restoration of hair growth)699 (25.39cd–43).700