A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c42.s18.5

v3.c42.s18.5

Very important is the fact that Mādhava is the earliest author to give a detailed description of masūrikā (smallpox, chicken pox, and other infectious, eruptive fevers). A disorder of this name is briefly mentioned in a single verse of the chapter on śvayathu of the Carakasamhitā (Ci.12.93), together with romāntikā (Ci.12.92), related to masūrikā, whereas Suśruta (Ni.13.38) and Vāgbhaṭa (A.h.U.31.8 = A.s.U.36.8) regard masūrikā as one of the kṣudrarogas. The Kāśyapasamhitā deals with masūrikā in a verse at the end of the chapter on visarpa (Khila 14), while the Hārītasamhitā (III.24) considers it to be a variety of contagious piḍakas (pustules).50 The Mādhavanidāna has a chapter of thirty-one verses, probably by Mādhava, on masūrikā and its various types, among which romāntī figures.51