A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c23.425

Language: English

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Its subjects are: the enumeration of the already briefly mentioned sixteen sources of poisons of animal origin; these poisons reside in the gaze (dṛṣṭi), breath (niḥśvāsa), fangs (damṣṭrā), nails (nakha), urine, excrement, semen, saliva (lālā), menstrual discharge (ārtava), biting parts (mukhasaṃdamśa), flatus (viśardhita), mouth parts (tuṇḍa), bones, bile, bristles (śūka), and dead bodies (śava) (3.4); the poison of celestial (divya) serpents resides in their gaze and breath, that of earthly (bhauma) snakes in their fangs;

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the poison is located in the teeth (damṣṭrā) and nails of cats, dogs, monkeys (vānara), makaras,⁴⁵ frogs, pākamatsyas,⁴⁶ godhās,⁴⁷ śambūkas,⁴⁸ pracalākas,⁴⁹ gṛhagodhikās,⁵⁰ small invertebrates with four legs (catuṣpādakīṭa), etc., in the urine and excrements of cipiṭas, picciṭakas,⁵¹ kaṣāyavāsikas,⁵² sarṣapakas,⁵³ toṭakas,⁵⁴ varcaḥkīṭas,⁵⁵ and kauṇḍinyakas,⁵⁶ in the semen of mūṣikas,⁵⁷ in the saliva, urine, excrements, biting parts, nails, semen and menstrual discharge of spiders (lūṭā), in the stinging parts (āra) of scorpions (vṛścika), viśvambharas,⁵⁸ varaṭīs,⁵⁹ rājīvamatsyas,⁶⁰ ucciṭingas,⁶¹ and samudravṛścikas,⁶² in the biting parts, flatus, urine and excrements of the animals called citraśiras,⁶³ sarāva,⁶⁴ kurdiśata, dāruka, arimedaka,⁶⁵ and sārikāmukha,⁶⁶ in the biting parts of makṣikās,⁶⁷ kaṇabhas⁶⁸ and leeches, in the bones of animals killed by a poison, in the scales (kaṇṭaka) of a snake, in the bones of a varaṭīmatsya, in the bile of a śakulīmatsya, raktarājī⁶⁹ and varaṭīmatsya,⁷⁰ in the bristles and mouth parts of the animals called sūkṣmatuṇḍa, ucciṭinga, varaṭī,⁷¹ śatapadī,⁷² śūka, valabhikā,⁷³ śṛṅgī,⁷⁴ and bhu'amara,⁷⁵ in the dead bodies of kīṭas and snakes, and in the biting parts of animals not mentioned (3.5); the enemies of a king, when invading his country, poison the pastures, waters, roads, food, smoke, and air;⁷⁶ purificatory measures should be taken after recognizing the characteristics (3.6); signs indicating that water has been poisoned;

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disorders caused by it; methods of purifying poisoned water (3.7–10ab);77 the disorders caused by poisoned soil (kṣiti), stone slabs (śilātala), steps on the bank of a river at a tīrtha (place of pilgrimage), uncultivated soil (tṛṇa); purificatory measures (3.10cd–12); symptoms caused by poisoned grass and other fodder; treatment by means of appropriate drugs and by beating on drums and sounding other musical instruments, besmeared with antipoisonous substances (3.13–15);78 signs of poisoned air; disorders caused by it; purification of the air (3.16–17); the mythic origin of poison, associated with Brahmā’s wrath over the asura Kaiṭabha,79 who obstructed the creation of the living beings (3.18–22);80 just like rain water, which has no manifest taste and acquires the taste of the soil it falls upon, poison acquires the taste of the substance in which it stays after pervading it (3.23–24); poisons excite all the doṣas by their sharp (tīkṣṇa) property; for that reason, these doṣas forego their proper functions; since poisons cannot be digested, they obstruct the prāṇas; breathing becomes difficult because its pathway is covered by kapha; consequently, a poisoned person, though remaining alive, loses consciousness (3.25–27); the venom of snakes is, like semen, present throughout their body;

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just like semen is collected and ejaculated by friction, snake venom is collected in the hook81-like fangs in a state of anger and cannot be emitted without lowering them (3.28–29);82 sprinkling (pariṣeka) with cold water is indicated in poisoning by hot and sharp substances; sudation is, however, not contraindicated in poisoning by kīṭas with slow-acting and not very hot poisons; poisoning by kīṭas with strong poisons should be treated like cases of snake-bite (3.30–32ab); the flesh of animals killed by a poisoned arrow or the bite of a poisonous animal should not be eaten, except when consumed within a muhūrta and the area of the injury is excluded, because the poison spreads from the site of injury to all the other parts of the body (3.32cd–35ab); the symptoms of someone who has taken poison; the heart of such a person cannot be consumed by fire, because it is pervaded by the poison (3.35cd–37);83 signs indicating a fatal outcome in cases of snake-bite (3.38–44).84