A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c8.164

v1.c8.164

Chapter thirty, called arthedaśamahāmūlīya, 712 deals with the following subjects: the heart (hṛd, hṛdaya)713 and the ten great vessels (mahāmūla) attached to it;714 the ojas transported in these vessels; the vessels called dhamanī,715 srotas and sirā,716 characterized by their inflatedness (dhmāna),717 oozing out (nutritive substances) (sravaṇa)718 and carrying function (saraṇa);719 measures to protect one’s heart (30.3–15); the study of āyurveda (30.16–19); the relationship between the āyurveda and the Vedas, in particular the Atharvaveda (30.20–21);720 definitions of āyurveda and āyus (30.22–23);721 the object of āyurveda and its eternity (30.24–27); the eight branches (aṅga) of āyurveda: 722 kāyacikitsā (internal medicine), śālākya (the branch dealing with diseases of the supraclavicular region),723 śalyāpahartṛka (the extraction of foreign bodies),724 viṣagaravairodhikapraśamana (the treatment of intoxications), bhūtavidyā (demonology),725 kaumārabhṛtyaka (the treatment of women during pregnancy, delivery and the puerperium, coupled with paediatrics),726 rasāyana (the science of longevity), and vājīkaraṇa (the science concerned with aphrodisiacs) (30.28);727 those qualified for the study of āyurveda (30.29); the eight topics of discussion among physicians (30.30); synonyms of āyurveda (30.31); the scope of āyurveda (30.32); a table of contents of the Carakasamhitā (30.33–68); the eight topics of discussion again and the exposition of those with insufficient knowledge (30.69–85).