A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c42.s15.1

v3.c42.s15.1

Although the medical science is said to be eightfold (aṣṭadhā), the divisions enumerated and defined are nine in number: śalya or śalyoddharaṇaka, śālākya, kāyacikitsā, agada, bālacikitsā, viṣatantra, bhūtavidyā, vājīkaraṇa, and rasāyana, while, moreover, a tenth division, called upāṅga, is added to the series; śalya heads the list, in spite of the fact that the Hārītasamhitā is mainly devoted to kāyacikitsā; agada deals with diseases of rectum, anal region and bladder (gudāmaya, bastiruj), to be treated with the three varieties of clysters (ūhaka = nirūha, āsthāpana and anuvasana); this acceptation of the term agada is peculiar to the Hārītasamhitā; 193 bālacikitsā has the same range as the division usually called kaumārabhṛtya; the definition of bhūtavidyā refers to possession by demoniacal beings and does not mention unmāda, nor apasmāra; the supplementary aṅga (upāṅga) is characterized by the use of cautery (dagdha) in the treatment of bruises, wounds, fractures, etc. (I.2). The seasons are described in the following order: rainy season, autumn, winter, cool season, spring, and summer (I.4.19–66). 194 The life cycle of human beings in general is divided into four stages (I.5.1–14). 195 The characteristics of several types of wind are enumerated, according to the points of the compass from which they are blowing, and dependent on contrivances producing a flow of air (I.5.24–42). A disease thought to be caused by a strong wind and appearing in both human beings living together in a settlement and domestic animals, is called yakṣman in humans, tilaka in cattle, pāvaka in elephants, and vedya in horses (I.5.48). Pitta is the doṣa to be protected in particular in elephants, kapha in horses, and vāyu in human beings (I.5.49). The chapter on the tastes (I.6) employs the terms lavaṇa and kṣāra as synonyms. Each of the three doṣas is thought to be provoked or pacified by two tastes (I.5.2–4).