A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c9.2

v1.c9.2

The general features of nidāna are discussed first: the synonyms of nidāna² and its three types: asātmyendriyārthasaṃyoga, prajñāparādha and pariṇāma;³ the classification of diseases into three groups: āgneya (= caused by pitta), saumya (= caused by kapha) and vāyavya (= caused by vāyu), to which the rājasa and tāmasa diseases are added; the synonyms of vyādhi (disease); the five means to acquire knowledge (upalabdhi) about a disease: nidāna, pūrvarūpa, liṅga, upaśaya and saṃprāpti;⁴ the synonyms of pūrvarūpa (prodrome),⁵ liṅga (symptom),⁶ upaśaya (therapeutic diagnosis)⁷ and saṃprāpti (onset);⁸ the subdivisions of saṃprāpti: saṃkhyā (number), prādhānya (predominance), vidhi (type), vikalpa (proportional variation), and balakāla (the time of aggravation); definitions of saṃkhyā,⁹ prādhānya,¹⁰ vidhi,¹¹ vikalpa,¹² and balakāla¹³ (1.3–12).