A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c42.s9: Contents
A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c42.s9
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Contents
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The Kāśyapasaṃhitā is composed in the form of a dialogue between Kaśyapa as the teacher and Vṛddhajīvaka as his pupil. Some of the colophons refer to the treatise as Vṛddhajīvakīya Kaumārabhṛtya (92 and 146), Vṛddhajīvakīya Tantra (227), Vṛddhakāśyapīya Saṃhitā (324), and Bhārgaviya Saṃhitā (331).⁶
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A story about the transmission of the teachings embodied in the Kāśyapasaṃhitā is told in the last chapter of the Kalpasthāna (226–227): “The great sage Kaśyapa composed, for the benefit of mankind and by order of Brahmā, by the force of his austerities and seeing it with the eye of knowledge, a treatise, which was bestowed on the sages. Jīvaka, the son of Ṛcīka,⁷ free from ignorance and pure, the first to understand this great treatise, made a condensed version of it. The sages, however, disapproved of the words of this child (i.e., Jīvaka). Thereupon the pure Jīvaka, only five years old, plunged into the Gaṅgā at Kanakhala,⁸ to emerge again in a moment, full of wrinkles and with grey hair. Astonished on witnessing this miracle, the sages gave him the name of Vṛddhajīvaka, accepted his treatise, and regarded him as the foremost among the physicians. When this treatise got lost during the Kali age, the yakṣa Anāyāsa⁹ preserved it, intent on the welfare of mankind. The learned Vātsya, who was of Vṛddhajīvaka's lineage, obtained this great treatise, after propitiating Anāyāsa. After a complete study of the three Vedas, the Ṛg-, Yajur- and Sāmaveda, together with their auxiliary works (vedāṅga), and after appeasing Śiva, Kaśyapa and the yakṣas with austerities and devotions, he revised the treatise composed by Vṛddhajīvaka for the prosperity of mankind, in order to acquire merit, fame, and happiness.”
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This story indicates that the text of the Kāśyapasaṃhitā is actually the revision by Vātsya of an earlier treatise. The attribution of the Kāśyapasaṃhitā to Kaśyapa does not explain its name, since Kāśyapasaṃhitā would have been in conformity with usage.¹⁰ The Kaśyapa of the Kāśyapasaṃhitā is sometimes designated as Mārica (183 and 202)¹¹ and Prajāpati (39; 79; 93; 123; 174; 185; 286);¹² he is once referred to as Kāśirāja (363). Vṛddhajīvaka is referred to as Bhārgava (74; 75; 117; 214; 227; 240; 331) and, rather often, as Vṛddha, Sthavira or Sthavirajīvaka. The name Vṛddhajīvaka and the story about him refer to kaumārabhṛtya as the special subject of the treatise, because the first one to grasp this branch of āyurveda is depicted as a wise child. The name recalls that of the paediatrician Jīvaka, quoted in the Bower MS, and the Jīvaka of Buddhist literature.
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The Kāśyapa-saṃhitā mentions, apart from the persons already referred to, a number of ancient sages and authorities who for the greater part are met with in other medical treatises. Their names are: Ātreya Punarvasu (147), Bhārgava Pramati (39), Bhela (147), Dāruvāha (33 and 39), Gārgya (147), Hiraṇyākṣa (39), Kāṅkāyana (39), Kautsa (152), Kṛṣṇa Bhāradvāja (39), Māṭhara (147), Pārāśarya (147 and 152), Vaideha Janaka (153), Vaideha Nimi (39), Vāryovida (39, 153, 324), and Vṛddhakāśyapa (153).
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Most of these authorities appear on the scene on the occasion of discussions touching on controversial subjects. These discussions, resembling those recorded in the Bhela-, Caraka- and Suśrutasaṃhitā, are three in number. The first one (39; Sū.²⁷.3) is about the numbers of diseases to be distinguished. The following views are enunciated: all diseases, being associated with pain, are one (Bhārgava Pramati);¹³ diseases are twofold: nija and āgantu (Vāryovida);¹⁴ diseases are threefold: curable, amenable to palliative treatment, and incurable (Kāṅkāyana);¹⁵ diseases are fourfold: āgantu, and caused by one of the three doṣas (Kṛṣṇa Bhāradvāja);¹⁶ diseases are fivefold: āgantu, caused by one of the three doṣas, or caused by all three doṣas together (the royal sage Dāruvāha);¹⁷ diseases are sixfold, because foods and drinks have six tastes;¹⁸ diseases are of seven kinds: caused by one of the three doṣas, by a combination of two doṣas, or by all three together (Hiraṇyākṣa);¹⁹ diseases are of eight types: caused by one, two, or three doṣas, and of āgantu origin (Vaideha Nimi);²⁰ diseases are of innumerable varieties, because the doṣas involved may be balanced, present in excess, or deficient (Vṛddhajīvaka).²¹ Kāśyapa declares, as Vāryovida did, that diseases are either nija or āgantu, but adding that both categories consist of many varieties.
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The second discussion, fragmentarily preserved, is concerned with the treatment of children by means of enemas (146–147; Si.1). Gārgya²² advances that an enema (basti) may be applied in all children, even immediately after birth; Māṭhara,²³ disagreeing, holds that an enema should not be administered in the first month after birth; Ātreya Punarvasu declares that the first three months of life are unsuitable; the view that one year should have elapsed is expressed by an authority whose name has not been preserved; Pārāśarya²⁴ is convinced that a child may profit from a basti when it is three years old; Bhela moves this limit to six years. Kāśyapa decides that enemas are applicable when a child is no longer breastfed and has become used to solid food.
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The third discussion has the treatment with emetics for its subject (152–153; Si.3). Kautsa²⁵ distinguishes three grades in this treatment; Pārāśarya, apparently agreeing with him, adds that these three grades ought to be related to a patient's strength. The diet after the administration of an emetic is also dealt with; Vṛddhakāśyapa,²⁶ Vaideha Janaka,²⁷ and others, whose names are not extant, give their opinion. Some related subjects are touched upon by Vāryovida and Vātsya.²⁸ Kāśyapa, appearing again at the
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end, expounds his thoughts, which should be regarded as final.
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Dāruvāha (33; Sū.²⁵.3–4) is mentioned once as the one who urges Vṛddhajīvaka on to put questions to Kāśyapa on the diagnosis of young children who are not yet able to speak.
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Someone, several times addressed as king in the Kāśyapa-saṃhitā,²⁹ and apparently desirous of instruction by Kāśyapa, may be Vāryovida,³⁰ who is called a king in some verses dealing with drug treatment in children.³¹
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The structure of the Kāśyapa-saṃhitā resembles that of the Caraka- and Bhelasaṃhitā. The chapters begin with an announcement of Kāśyapa, who mentions the title of the chapter that he is going to expound. In many cases, it is Vṛddhajīvaka who puts questions to Kāśyapa, who, surrounded by other sages,³² gives his answers.
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The internal arrangement of the Kāśyapa-saṃhitā was originally the same as that of the Caraka- and Bhelasaṃhitā in containing a total of 120 chapters, distributed over eight sections with respectively thirty (Sūtrasthāna), eight (Nidānasthāna), eight (Vimānasthāna), eight (Śārīrasthāna), twelve (Indriyasthāna), thirty (Cikitsitasthāna), twelve (Siddhisthāna), and twelve (Kalpasthāna). The order of the last two sections is peculiar to the Kāśyapa-saṃhitā, for the Kalpasthāna precedes the Siddhisthāna in both Caraka- and Bhelasaṃhitā. The verses providing this information on the sections and number of chapters of each section, found in the last chapter of the Kalpasthāna,³³ add that the supplementary section, the Khilasthāna, which distinguishes the Kāśyapa-saṃhitā from the Caraka- and Bhelasaṃhitā, originally consisted of eighty chapters.
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Out of the total number of 200 chapters, the Khilasthāna included, seventy-eight have been preserved, partially (forty-seven chapters) or completely (thirty-one chapters): eleven from the Sūtrasthāna, two from the Vimānasthāna, five from the Śārīrasthāna, one from the Indriyasthāna, eighteen from the Cikitsitasthāna, eight from the Siddhisthāna, nine from the Kalpasthāna, and twenty-four from the Khilasthāna. The Nidānasthāna is completely absent from the MS.³⁴
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The Kāśyapa-saṃhitā is written in a mixture of verse and prose. Verse prevails over prose in general; the Vimāna- and Śārīrasthāna are, as in the Carakasaṃhitā, mainly in prose, as are some stray chapters, such as the Revatīkalpa and chapter fifteen of the Khilasthāna; the single extant chapter from the Indriyasthāna is in verse.
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The work has many elements in common with the saṃhitās of Caraka and Bhela, but differs in several respects, being chiefly concerned with kaumārabhṛtya, which is, accordingly, said to be the foremost among the eight divisions of āyurveda (61).³⁵
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The extant chapters of the Sūtrasthāna describe the treatment with linctuses (lehādhyāya; 1–6);³⁶ disorders associated with breast-feeding (Sū.¹⁹: kṣīrotpatti; 6–10);³⁷ dentition (Sū.²⁰: dantajanmikādhyāya; 10–14);³⁸ piercing of the earlobes (Sū.²¹: cūḍākaraṇādhyāya; 14–16);³⁹ treatment with oils (Sū.²²: sneha; 16–24);⁴⁰ sudation (Sū.²³: sveda; 24–29);⁴¹ arrangements concerning equipment (Sū.²⁴: upakalpanīya; 29–33);⁴² diagnosis in young children not yet able to speak (Sū.²⁵: vedanādhyāya; 33–37);⁴³ the four pillars of treatment (Sū.²⁶: cikitsāsampadīya; 37–39);⁴⁴ the classification of diseases and the enumeration of the disorders caused by vāta, pitta, kapha, and blood (Sū.²⁷: rogādhyāya; 39–47);⁴⁵ auspicious and inauspicious bodily marks, 46 and the sattva typology (Sū.28: lakṣaṇādhyāya; 47–54). 47
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The extant chapters of the Vimānasthāna are about an imperfectly known subject 48 and about the initiation of students (śiṣyopakramaṇīya; 57–65). 49
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The extant chapters of the Śārīrasthāna are concerned with anatomy, elements of Sāṃkhya philosophy, and other subjects (65–69); 50 pregnancy (asamānagotrīya; 69–72); 51 embryology (garbhāvakrānti; 72–74); 52 anatomy (śarīravicaya; 75–79); 53 procreation (jātisūtrīya; 79–88). 54
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The subjects dealt with in the single extant chapter of the Indriyasthāna (oṣadhabheṣajīya; 89–92) are partly the same as those found in some chapters of Caraka's Indriyasthāna, 55 partly absent from the latter. 56
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The extant chapters of the Cikitsitasthāna deal with fevers (jvara; 93–95); 57 diseases of pregnant women (garbhiṇīcikitsita; 95–97); 58 puerperal diseases (duṣprajātacikitsita; 97–98); disorders caused by bālagrahas (98–105); plīhan and halīmaka (105–106); 59 udāvarta (106–108); 60 rājayakṣman (109–111); 61 gulma (111–115); 62 kuṣṭha (115–119); 63 mūtrakṛcchra (120–122); 64 wounds and ulcers (dvivraṇīya; 123–130); 65 pratiśyāya (130–132); 66 uroghāta (132–133); śopha (133–134); 67 kṛmi (134–135); 68 madātyaya (135–139); 69 phakka (139–142); disorders in wet-nurses (dhātrīcikitsita; 142–146). 70
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The extant chapters of the Siddhisthāna 71 are called: (1) rājaputrīya (146–149; on the application of enemas in children); (2) trilakṣaṇa (149–152; on the right and wrong ways of administering pañcakarman); 72 (3) vamanavirecanīya (152–159; on emesis and purgation); 73 (4) naṣṭahkarmīya (159–161; on nasal therapy); 74 (5) kriyāsiddhi (162–163; rules for patients during treatment); 75 (6) bastikarmīya (164–165; on wrong ways of administering enemas); 76 (7) pañcakarmīya (165–168; on indications and contra-indications); 77 (8) maṅgalasiddhi (168–169; recipes for efficient enemas).
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The Kalpasthāna differs considerably from the corresponding section of the Caraka- and Bhelasaṃhitā. The nine chapters which are extant are concerned with: (1) fumigations (dhūpa; 170–174); (2) laśunakalpa (174–181); (3) kaṭutailakalpa (181–183); (4) ṣaṭkalpa (183–185); (5) śatapuṣpāśatāvarīkalpa (185–187); (6) revatikalpa (187–202); (7) bhojanakalpa (202–213); (8) viśeṣakalpa (213–225); (9) saṃhitākalpa (225–227).
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The Khilasthāna 78 is of a mixed character; it contains chapters on the aetiology, symptomatoIogy and treatment, or treatment only, of particular diseases, some of which have already been dealt with in previous chapters; chapters on subjects with a more general bearing are also found in it.
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The Khilasthāna may be due to Vātsya, who added it as a supplement to the Vṛddhajīvakatantra after revising the latter. 79 It has been given the same structure as the preceding sections. The supplementary character appears undisguised in the first verses of its first chapter, where Vṛddhajīvaka approaches Kaśyapa and asks him to elucidate the causes of irregular fevers, reminding him that he failed to discuss this subject in the chapter on the treatment of fevers. 80
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The subjects of the extant chapters of the Khilasthāna are: (1) irregular fevers (viṣamajvaranirdeśiya; 227–234); (2) the treatment of fevers in general (viśeṣanirdeśiya; 234–240); (3) principles of treatment (bhaiṣajyopakramaṇīya; 240–249); (4)
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soups (yūṣanirdeśiya; 249–255); (5) diet and related subjects (bhojyopakramaṇīya; 255–260); (6) the doṣas, the tastes, and their combinations (rasadoṣavibhāgīya; 261–268); (7) purificatory treatments (saṃśuddhiviśeṣaṇīya; 268–277); (8) the treatment with enemas (bastiviśeṣaṇīya; 277–286); (9) the aetiology, symptomatology and treatment of raktagulma (raktagulmaviniścaya; 286–292); (10) the treatment of diseases in pregnant women (antarvatnīcikitsita; 293–304); (11) the treatment of puerperal diseases (sūtikopakramaṇīya; 304–316); (12) the treatment of infants (jātakamottara; 316–319); (13) the aetiology, symptomatology and treatment of kukkuṇaka (kukkuṇakacikitsita; 319–324); (14) the aetiology, symptomatology and treatment of visarpa (visarpacikitsita; 324–331); (15) the aetiology, symptomatology and treatment of carmadala (carmadalacikitsita; 331–335); (16) the aetiology, symptomatology and treatment of amlapitta (amlapittacikitsita; 335–339); (17) the aetiology, symptomatology and treatment of swellings (śothacikitsita; 339–345); (18) the aetiology, symptomatology and treatment of śūla (śūlacikitsita; 345–349); (19) supplementary prescriptions concerning the treatment of the eight types of fever (aṣṭajavaracikitsitottara; 349–353); (21) treatments with honey (madhuviśeṣaṇīya; 353–354); (22) the medicinal properties of milk (kṣiraguṇaviśeṣīya; 354–356); (23) the medicinal properties of water (pānīyagunaviśeṣīya; 356–359); (24) the medicinal properties of meat (māṃsaguṇaviśeṣīya; 359–363); (25) the feeding habits of the inhabitants of various countries (deśasātmya; 363–364).
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The text of the Kāśyapasamhitā repeatedly refers to its various sections and subjects dealt with there; 81 the name of a particular chapter is rarely mentioned. 82
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The author of the treatise or its revisor, Vātsya, was well acquainted with differences of opinion among medical authorities, as shown, apart from the discussions already described, by a rather large number of passages where dissentient points of view are taken into consideration or merely registered. 83 On some occasions Kaśyapa's own opinion, always regarded as decisive, is clearly stated. 84 On one of these, he appears to reject a view expressed in the Carakasaṃhitā. 85
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Medical schools specializing in other branches of medicine than kaumārabhṛtya are referred to. 86