A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c23.421.1

v1.c23.421.1

The subjects dealt with are: a king is always in danger of being poisoned;¹ women, wanting to secure a man’s affection, may try to achieve their aim by the administration of (poisonous) preparations;² the contact with a poison-girl (viṣakanyā)³ may also prove to be instantaneously fatal to a man; the (royal) physician should therefore always do his utmost to protect a king from being poisoned (1.4–7); the qualities the physician should possess who is in charge of the (royal) kitchen (mahānasa) (1.8–11); the royal kitchen, its location, design, utensils, personnel, etc. (1.12–13); the superintendent (adhyakṣa) of the kitchen should possess the same qualities as the (royal) physician (1.14ab);⁴ the qualities required in those working in the kitchen (1.14cd–16ab); the responsibilities of the physician attached to the royal kitchen (1.16cd–17ab); all those with specialized tasks should be under the direct control of the (responsible) physician (1.17cd–18ab); characteristic features of a poisoner; his detection (1.18cd–24);⁵ articles which may be poisoned (1.25–27);