A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c24.26

v1.c24.26

Substance (dravya) is the most important concept because taste, etc., reside in it; substances consist of the five mahābhūtas and are designated after the one that is predominantly present (9.1–2). 96 No substance possesses therefore one taste only; what is called its taste, is the taste manifestly present; the less manifest taste, or the taste perceived later on, is called the after-taste (anurasa) (9.3–4ab). 97 The qualities (guṇa), residing in a substance, are said to reside in its taste(s), figuratively, because of their intimate connection with taste (9.4cd–5ab). The qualities and actions of substances in which one of the mahābhūtas predominates are described (9.5cd–10a). 98 No substance found in the world is devoid of medicinal properties (9.10b–d). 99 Substances with a predominance of wind and fire possess an upwards-moving action, while substances with a predominance of earth and water possess a downwards-moving action (9.11). 100 Taste is a subject to be discussed later on (9.12ab). 101