A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c42.s13: Contents

A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c42.s13

Language: English

v3.c42.s13.1

The *Hāritasamhita* is written in the form of a dialogue between Ātreya³ and Hārita.⁴ The treatise is designated as *Ātreyabhāṣita Hāritottara* in nearly all the chapter colophons, with only one exception (I.2), where it is referred to as *Vaidyasarvasva*. Hārita, sometimes addressed as Putra(ka) (I.1.8; III.5.22; III.8.11),⁵ receives the teachings of Ātreya, also referred to as Atri (V.1.1; pariśiṣṭādhyāya) and pitar (I.8.5), who is surrounded by students, on the northern slopes of the Himālayas (I.1.2–5; V.1.1).

v3.c42.s13.2

The work is almost entirely in verse, apart from a portion of the Śārīrasthāna, the ritual prescriptions,⁶ and the mantras.

v3.c42.s13.3

The internal arrangement diverges considerably from that of the other samhitas. The number of chapters is 102; one additional chapter, the pariśiṣṭādhyāya, is found at the end. The chapters are distributed over six sections (sthāna), the names of which are given in the text (I.2.3–4) and in part of the colophons of sections IV, V and VI. The name of each chapter is found in the colophon only, in contrast with the *Caraka*-, *Suśruta*-, *Bhela*-, and *Kāśyapasamhita*, where the title of a chapter figures at the beginning. A detailed table of contents is absent.⁷

v3.c42.s13.4

The *Hāritasamhita* is composed of the following sections: I, annapāna, twenty-three chapters;⁸ II, ariṣṭa, nine chapters; III, cikitsita, fifty-eight chapters; IV, sūtra, six chapters; V, kalpa, five chapters; VI, śārīra, one chapter.⁹

v3.c42.s13.5

The subjects of the chapters of the Annapānasthāna are: (1: vaidyaguṇadoṣaśatrapāthanavidhi): after the maṅgala (to Śiva) and the introductory dialogue between Ātreya and Hārita, an exposition is given by Ātreya on the extent of the medical science, followed by the announcement that he is going to teach a very concise version of it;¹⁰ the next subjects are the qualities a vaidya should possess, the way āyurveda should be studied, and the circumstances prohibiting its study;¹¹ (2: cikitsāsamgraha): the eight sections of the work, the aṅgas of āyurveda, and the supplementary aṅga (upāṅga); (3: vaidyaśikṣāvidhāna): generalities on the physician and his activities; (4: ṛtucaryā): the types of country, the three divisions of time, the regimen during the seasons; (5: doṣaprakopa): the stages of life (vayas), the constitutions (prakṛti), the different kinds of vāyu (= vāta), the causes of excitement of vāyu, pitta and kapha; (6: ṣaḍrasavarṇana): the six tastes.

v3.c42.s13.6

Chapters seven to twenty-three are devoted to the medicinal properties of foods and drinks:¹² water (7: jala), milk and dairy produce (8: kṣīra), urine (9: mūtra), products of the sugarcane (10: ikṣu), kāñjika (11), maṇḍa (12), yūṣa (13), fatty substances (14: tailavasā), grain (15: dhānya), vegetables (16: śāka), fruits (17: phala), honey (18: madhu), alcoholic drinks (19: madya), flesh of quadrupeds (20: catuṣpadānāṃ māṃsavargaḥ), flesh of terrestrial animals, mainly birds (21: sthalacarāṇāṃ māṃsavargaḥ), flesh of aquatic animals (22: jalacarāṇāṃ māṃsavargaḥ), and prepared foods, supplemented with rules concerning diet (23: annapāna).

v3.c42.s13.7

The Ariṣṭasthāna¹³ deals with diseases resulting from bad karman (1: pāpadoṣapratīkāra),¹⁴ dreams and their prognostic meaning (2: svapna),¹⁵ signs foreboding death (3: svāsthyāriṣṭa),¹⁶ unfavourable prognostic signs in a long series of diseases (4: vyādhyariṣṭa),¹⁷ alterations of the sensorial faculties (5: pañcendriyavikāra),¹⁸ afflictions caused by the nakṣatras (6: nakṣatrajñāna), oblations into the sacrificial fire (7: homavidhi), prognostic signs connected with the messenger (8: dūtapārīkṣalakṣaṇa),¹⁹ prognostic signs connected with birds (9.1–12: śakuna)²⁰ and with objects seen by the physician on his way to a patient (9.13–18: darśanāriṣṭa).²¹

v3.c42.s13.8

Chapter one of the Cikitsāsthāna is concerned with generalities about fevers and their treatment with drugs and diet (1: bheṣajaparijñānavidhi); the remaining chapters are devoted to diseases and their treatment (2–58).²²

v3.c42.s13.9

The Sūtrasthāna is devoted to weights and measures (1: tulāmāna), the preparation of medicated oils (2: tailapāka), clysters (3: nirūhabastikarman), sudation (4: svedana), bloodletting (5: raktāvasecana), and the application of leeches (6: jalaukācāra).

v3.c42.s13.10

The chapters of the Kalpasthāna are about: (1) harītakīkalpa, (2) triphalākvātha, (3) various preparations with harītakī as the main ingredient (harītakīkalpavarṇanabheda), (4) rasonakalpa, (5) guggulukalpa.

v3.c42.s13.11

The Śārīrasthāna describes the nature of the human body (dehaprakṛti), the origin of twins (apatyayugma) and individuals who are neither male nor female (napuṃsaka), and the formation of human beings (sattvasambhava).

v3.c42.s13.12

The pariśiṣṭādhyāya describes the termination of Hārita’s instruction by Ātreya and extols a number of medical authorities.

v3.c42.s13.13

As already mentioned, the structure of the *Hāritasamhita* and the distribution of the subject-matter disagree with the samhitas of Caraka, Bhela, Suśruta and Vāgbhaṭa. The differences are so considerable that Hārita’s treatise can hardly be regarded as belonging to the school of Ātreya, in spite of the latter’s position as Hārita’s teacher.²³

v3.c42.s13.14

The first section, the Annapānasthāna, contains the larger part of the material commonly found in a Sūtrasthāna, while the remaining general subjects are treated in section four, the Sūtrasthāna.²⁴ The Ariṣṭasthāna corresponds to the Indriyasthāna of the *Caraka*- and *Bhelasamhita*. A Nidānasthāna is absent; the nidāna of the diseases is described in the Cikitsāsthāna.²⁵

v3.c42.s13.15

The order of the diseases in the Cikitsāsthāna does not follow one of the earlier patterns and is peculiar to the *Hāritasamhita*. The aṅgas of āyurveda are represented in this section as follows: kāyacikitsā, 1–39; śālākya, 40–42 and 44–46; rasāyana, 43;

A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c42.s13: Contents

Contents