A History of Indian Medical Literature v2.c33.371

v2.c33.371

61 Bhishagratna: cricket. Compare MW. Known to the Arthaśāstra (14.1.4) as uccidiṅga. Mentioned as a vāyavya type of kīṭa at Su.Ka.8.5–8ab. 62 Bhishagratna and Singhal c.s.: sea-scorpion. P. Ray c.s.: sea scorpion, possibly scorpion fish. See on the scorpion fishes (Scorpaenidae): WIRM IV, Suppl., 48. 63 Compare the citraśīrṣaka of Su.Ka.8.5–8ab. 64 Compare the śarāvakurda of Su.Ka.8.5–8ab. 65 Singhal c.s. read dārūkāri(ka) and medaka, but compare Ka.8.9, where the arimedaka is mentioned. 66 Mentioned as a vāyavya type of kīṭa at Su.Ka.8.5–8ab. 67 Bhishagratna and Singhal c.s.: flies. P. Ray c.s.: stinging flies, possibly hornets. 68 Also mentioned at Su.Ka.8.8cd–12ab. P. Ray c.s.: a kind of stinging fly. 69 Su.Ka.8.5–8ab mentions the raktarāji as a kind of kīṭa. 70 A variant reads varakī and matsya. 71 Cf. Su.Ka.8.8cd–12ab. 72 Bhishagratna and Singhal c.s.: a centipede. P. Ray c.s.: centipede (Aptera ametabola). Compare the śatapādaka of Su.Ka.8.8cd–12ab and the śatapadīs of Su.Ka.8.30. See on Indian centipedes and millipedes: WIRM VI, 380–381. 73 Compare the valabha of Su.Ka.8.12cd–15ab. 74 Śṛṅgī is a vāyavya kind of kīṭa at Su.Ka.8.5–8ab. 75 A bee. 76 Compare Arthaśāstra 12.4.12–13; 12.5.6–7; 14.1. 77 Cf. Ca.Ci.23.121. 78 One of the substances mentioned is sutāra, interpreted as mercury (pārada) by Ḍalhaṇa, who is followed by Bhishagratna and Singhal c.s.; MW takes it as a particular perfume. Cf. Ca.Ci.23.87; Su.Ka.8.546 and 72cd; 6.4. Compare Arthaśāstra 14.4.12–13. 79 See on Kaiṭabha: Vettam Mani. 80 Cf. Ca.Ci.23.4–5. 81 Baḍiśa. 82 Cf. Ca.Ci.23.164. See R.F.G. Müller (1936). 83 Cf. Ca.Ci.23.32cd. The explanation may be that poison itself is of a fiery nature (see I. Stubbe-Diarra, 1995: 18–19). 84 Cf. Ca.Ci.23.159–160ab; Mādhavanidāna 69.19–25ab. 85 See on Takṣaka and Vāsuki: Hopkins; M. A. Mehendale (1993); C. Minkowski (1991): 390; Vettam Mani. Takṣaka is already mentioned in the Atharvaveda (8.10.29). See on the names of many snakes: Mahābhārata, Ādiparvan 31 and 52 (crit. ed), 35 and 57 (ed. Poona); M. A. Mehendale (1993). 86 See on the breath of snakes: I. Stubbe-Diarra (1995): 26–27. 87 See on the gaze of snakes: J. Gonda (1970a): 27; W. Hertz (1897): 109–111; I. Stubbe-Diarra (1995): 25–26. 88 Cf. Ca.Ci.23.124–125. 89 These are crossbreeds (saṃkīrṇajāta) according to Ḍalhaṇa. Cf. Ca.Ci.23.134cd. 90 Ḍalhaṇa mentions four maṇḍalin and three rājila kinds (see Ka.4.34). 91 Cf. Ca.Ci.23.163. 92 See on Garuḍa as the arch-enemy of snakes: I. Stubbe-Diarra (1995): 54–57. 93 G. Majno (1975: 282) records that, in India, well over half of those who have been bitten by venomous snakes escape without any symptoms of poisoning (see H.A. Reid, 1968: 614); many even recover from cobra bites without any effective treatment, perhaps because the snakes inject little venom when biting defensively. See on this subject also: J. Davy (1969): 65–75; S.A. and M.R. Minton (1969).