A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c42.s9.5

v3.c42.s9.5

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.