A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c42.s6.4

v3.c42.s6.4

Two main categories of prameha are described: prakṛtiprabhava or sahaja, and sakṛta or janmottarāja (Ni.6.1–6). 129 A variety of unmāda caused by poison is absent, as it is from the Carakasamhitā. 130 The āgantuja type of unmāda does not include mental disorders caused by intense emotions, which are classified as mada, distinct from unmāda. 131 The Nidāna chapter on unmāda denies that insanity may be the result of possession by supernatural beings (7.10). The Nidāna chapter on epilepsy (apasmāra) relates that an attack comes about when one or more of the doṣas seize the ten vessels located above the heart, and obstruct the pathway of the mind (Ni.8.3 and 8). 132 A supernatural aetiology of apasmāra is rejected (Ni.8.13). 133