A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c43.26

v3.c43.26

The Madanādinighaṇṭu The Madanādinighaṇṭu,⁷³ also called Gaṇanighaṇṭu,⁷⁴ and sometimes Oṣadhinighaṇṭu,⁷⁵ enumerates both names and properties of medicinal substances.⁷⁶ The treatise can be divided into two main parts. The first one, consisting of 592 verses, is arranged in thirty-two sections (gaṇa), in agreement with the number of groups of drugs (gaṇa) in Vāgbhaṭa’s Aṣṭāngahṛdayasaṃhitā (Sū.15).⁷⁷ The second part (viprakīrṇadravyaprakaraṇa; about 440 verses) deals with miscellaneous drugs, not mentioned in the preceding sections, and some other subjects.⁷⁸ It is mainly devoted to medicinal plants, but also deals with inorganic substances, fermented fluids, grain and pulse, prepared dishes, animals, terms designating parts of plants, groups of drugs, and anatomical terms. The plan of the work therefore resembles that of other nighaṇṭus, also based on the Aṣṭāngahṛdayasaṃhitā, such as the Aṣṭānganighaṇṭu and the Abhidhānamañjarī. Candranandana follows Vāgbhaṭa in the number of drugs, but adds strings of synonyms, properties, and actions.⁷⁹