A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c24.37

v1.c24.37

The subjects discussed are: the two types of treatment called saṃtarpaṇa or bṛṃhaṇa and apatarpaṇa or laṅghana (14.1–2);¹⁵⁹ the mahābhūtas predominantly present in roborant (bṛṃhaṇa) and reducing (laṅghana) substances (14.3ab); other therapeutic measures, such as snehana, rūkṣaṇa, svedana and stambhana can be subsumed under bṛṃhaṇa and laṅghana (14.3cd–4ab);¹⁶⁰ laṅghana is either śodhana (purificatory) or śamana (pacificatory) (14.4cd); śodhana, which eliminates the doṣas, is of five kinds: nirūha, vamana (emesis), kāyareka (purgation), śiroreka (evacuation of the head) and asravisruti (bloodletting) (14.5); śamana, which neither expels nor excites doṣas, but normalizes them, is of seven kinds: pācana measures, dīpana measures, hunger, thirst, physical exercise, exposure to the sun (ātapa) and exposure to wind (14.6–7ab);¹⁶¹ bṛṃhaṇais only śamana with regard to vāta and a combination of vāta and pitta (14.7cd); indications for bṛṃhaṇa (14.8–10ab)¹⁶² and laṅghana (14.10cd–15ab);¹⁶³ persons suitable for laṅghana should not be treated with bṛṃhaṇa measures when suffering from a disease, but those suitable for bṛṃhaṇa may be treated with mild laṅghana measures or a combination of laṅghana and bṛṃhaṇa, dependent on various circumstances (14.15cd–16ab); the results of bṛṃhaṇa and laṅghana measures (14.16cd–18ab); excessive bṛṃhaṇa and laṅghana in general (14.18cd–19); excessive bṛṃhaṇa, its effects (14.20)¹⁶⁴ and treatment (14.21–28);¹⁶⁵ excessive laṅghana, its effects (14.29–32ab)¹⁶⁶ and treatment (14.32cd–35);¹⁶⁷ foods to be recommended to obese (sthūla) and lean (kṛśa) persons (14.36); therapies are either bṛṃhaṇa or laṅghana, and all diseases are to be treated in one of these two ways (14.37).