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A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c43.s20: Gaṅgādhara

A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c43.s20

Language
English

Contents

Gaṅgādhara

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Gaṅgādhara was the author of the Gandhasāra,³⁶¹ a treatise on cosmetics and perfumery, compiled from various sources.³⁶² This work may be the only comprehensive treatise on the subject that has been preserved. The art of cosmetics and perfumery, called gandhayukti or gandhaśāstra,³⁶³ has connections with the medical science.³⁶⁴

Contents

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The work is arranged in three chapters (prakaraṇa), consisting of verses composed in various metres. Each chapter begins with a maṅgala addressed to Śiva. The maṅgala of chapter one also praises Gaṇeśa, Sarasvatī, and a tutelary deity called Gaṇdhayakṣa.³⁶⁶

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The contents suggest that the Gandhasāra was intended for use at royal courts.³⁶⁷ Chapter one (paribhāṣāprakaraṇa; ninety-one verses) deals with techniques and technical rules; subjects covered are: the six basic techniques (ṣaṭkarman) employed in gandhaśāstra (6); the description of these techniques (bhāvana, 1.7; pācana, 1.8–2.20; bodha, 2.21–22; vedha, 2.23–25; dhūpana, 2.26–29; vāsana, 2.30), accompanied by various rules about vāsana and mixtures of fragrant substances (2.31–7.81); substitutes for particular ingredients (7.82–8.85); remarks about the effect of perfumes on one’s health, constitution, etc. (8.86–91).

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Chapter two (gandhodakādināgandhopayogiprakaraṇa; 392 verses) is concerned with gandhodaka (perfumed water; 12+6 verses); mukhavāsa (perfumes used to scent the mouth and the breath; 24 verses); pārijāta (special types of mukhavāsa, e.g., scented areca nuts, called pūgakaṇa; fragrant oils; 20+32 verses); udvartana (unguents and oils used for massage; 25 verses);³⁶⁸ snāna (scented water for bathing; 24 verses); jalavāsa (scented drinking water; 3+11 verses), followed by verses on fragrant unguents and paṭavāsa (perfumed powders for scenting clothes; 17 verses); mṛgarāja (the preparation of artificial musk; 2+10 verses); dhūpa (incenses; 64 verses); varti (incense sticks; 15 verses); dīpavarti (perfumed wicks for lamps; 12 verses); uddhūlana (scented powders; 7+8 verses); niryāsa (artificial resins; 7 verses); syanda (exudations; 11 verses); kusumādidruti (the extraction of oils, etc., from flowers, such as jātī, mallī, ketaki; 22 verses); gandhasaṃkramaṇa (the transmission of perfumes; 2 verses); kṛtrimadravyāṇi (the preparation of artificial perfumes, some of which with smells similar to those of natural products: artificial camphor, javādi, saffron, musk, guru, aguru, kuṣṭha; combinations and their numbers; 63 verses); dravyamelanaprakāra (mixtures of aromatic substances; 5 verses).

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Chapter three (dravyanighaṇṭus tatparīkṣā ca; 120 verses) consists of a nighaṇṭu, which gives, after four introductory verses, the names of aromatic substances with their synonyms.³⁶⁹ The substances dealt with are divided into a number of groups: leaves (pattravarga; 42.5–12); flowers (puṣpavarga; 42.12–44.28); fruits (phalavarga; 44.28–

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45.40); woody substances and rinds (kāṣṭhavarga; 45.41–46.56); roots (mūlavarga; 46.57–47.73); resinous substances (niryāsavarga; 47.74–48.82); substances derived from animals (jīvavarga; 48.83–49.91). The second part of the chapter is concerned with descriptions of substances and checks on their genuineness. The treatise ends with three concluding verses.

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The only source quoted is a work called Yogaraṅgālaya.³⁷⁰ The editor of the Gandhasāra, R.T. Vyas, remarks that one verse (19.10 on snāna) forms also part of Varāhamihira’s Bṛhatsaṃhitā (76.5),³⁷¹ and that four verses on snāna (20.21–24) are related to verses found in the same treatise (76.2–4). A number of other passages of the Gandhasāra may have been influenced by Varāhamihira’s chapter on gandhayukti,³⁷² or by the chapters on perfumes of the Agni- and Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa.³⁷³

Special features

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Six basic techniques of gandhaśāstra are distinguished and described: bhāvana: soaking the triturated ingredients in scented water and purifying the mixture five or six times; pācana: heating of the purified materials; bodha: reviving the scent by means of particular substances (bodhakadravya); vedha: penetration, effected by means of specific substances (candraka) or bodhakadravyas; dhūpana: fumigation; vāsana: transmission of the scent of particular flowers.³⁷⁴ Several varieties of pācana or pāka are described: puṭapāka, garṭapāka, veṇupāka, dolāpāka, kharparapāka, haṃsapāka, kālapāka, etc.³⁷⁵

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The aromatic substances are, for the purpose of combining them, divided into three classes: mitra (friendly), udāsīna (neutral), and śatru (hostile); equal quantities can be taken when the substances are mitra, half the quantity of an udāsīna substance, and a quarter of a śatru substance (6.62 and 70). Five types of gandhajala are distinguished: kalkāmbu, svarasa, kvātha, āsava, and kusumadruti (9.10–10.6). The author sometimes gives his own opinion on a disputed subject, after quoting various opinions (11.8–9). Many fragrant compounds have fanciful names. Names of pārijāta’s are: vidagdhadayita (12.8), madhukarasamtoṣa (13.9), tripuraharadāsavallabha (13.12). Names of dhūpas are: madanapaṭākā (25.10), dakṣiṇapavana (25.11), candrāmoda (25.12), ugraśaraśita (25.13), nārāca (25.18), tribhuvanasāra (27.33), kolāhala (27.41), citramṛgākṣa (28.54), etc. Names of vartis are: vasantatilaka (30.73) and māṇavakā (30.75). Some of the dhūpas are not only fragrant, but have special effects, such as: causing confusion (janamohana; 28.49), protecting pregnant women and young children (29.58), preventing possession by bhūtas and ḍākinīs (29.59), curing all kinds of fevers (29.60), and protection against noxious or poisonous insects, and wild animals (29.61–63).

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A characteristic feature of the Gandhasāra is the frequent use of names for vegetable and other substances that are not common in āyurvedic treatises. Notable too is a preference for short or abbreviated names, such as nāga and its synonyms for nāgakesara, madhu for madhuyaṣṭi. Unusual substances and those introduced at a later date are also rather frequent.³⁷⁶

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Noteworthy names³⁷⁷ are: ajā (37.22),³⁷⁸ amara (31.5),³⁷⁹ āruṇī (46.54),³⁸⁰ astra (3.23; 26.25),³⁸¹ bandhumūla (23.17),³⁸² barbara (7.71; 27.37; 48.77),³⁸³ barbaraka (15.25),³⁸⁴ bhramara (9.4 and 10; 18.4; 28.47; 32.1),³⁸⁵ bhūta (19.14; 21.6; 31.5),³⁸⁶ cala (3.23; 26.25 and 28; 40.56), 387 caṇḍalavaṅga (30.73), 388 carmapattrī (42.7), 389 caula (17.16), 390 chāga (5.51; 7.76), 391 dānava (9.1 and 5; 34.8), 392 danuja (9.4 and 8; 19.13), 393 dhārāputrī (17.16), 394 dhūṇaka (30.76), 395 dīna (47.68), 396 ditija (31.5), 397 ekāṅgī (47.70), 398 ghūṇaka (31.12), 399 gomayākhyavṛkṣa (37.25), 400 guru (5.56; 16.4; 23.1; 37.21), 401 harita (9.3), 402 hātaka (16.26), 403 jiṅgikā (23.17; 36.11), 404 jūhī (44.28), 405 kākatuṇḍa (7.50 and 74), 406 kāntā (9.8; 19.15; 21.2; 25.18; 26.20; 28.47; 30.41; 31.1), 407 kāntālaka (36.14; 44.26), 408 kapi (18.18), 409 karkaṭa (5.50; 38.38; 40.52; 51.117), 410 kathina (16.4; 19.13 and 14), 411 kauntī (7.79; 8.84; 19.16), 412 kavukā (22.6), 413 khadrā (8.85 and 86), 414 kīreṣṭa (11.11; 36.11), 415 kokāhva (45.50), 416 kolakarṇī (48.86), 417 koraṅgī (11.15), 418 kośa (15.20), 419 kukūraka (7.71), 420 kuṇṭala (15.25), 421 kuntī (16.28), 422 lakṣmī (38.37), 423 lālā (38.39), 424 lava (13.9 and 10; 21.1), 425 lāva (12.6; 22.8; 23.1; 43.13), 426 lavalī (4.34; 31.5), 427 mada (3.25; 8.83; 9.12; 25.10; 33.8), 428 mṛgamada (31.7; 37.20 and 21), 429 mṛganābhi (36.8), 430 nābhi (12.24; 34.9; 40.60), 431 nārī (25.17), 432 naṭī (16.28), 433 nṛpavaktrāhva (47.68), 434 pamarā (38.36; 50.110), 435 paraśucinna (35.16 and 17), 436 pati (3.22; 12.21), 437 piśuna (34.9), 438 pīvara (38.33), 439 priyā (7.82), 440 rāma (6.66), 441 raṇa (33.2; 40.52), 442 rātripuṣpī (43.21), 443 ravi (23.1; 24.3; 26.19; 27.32; 33.1), 444 sakhī (47.67), 445 saktu (29.61), 446 śalija (9.12; 24.9; 31.4; 34.8; 36.13; 37.22; 48.84), 447 śekhara (6.66; 38.36), 448 śitalikā (38.33), 449 śṛgāla (16.5), 450 strīpuṣpa (34.9), 451 sugandhibarbarī (7.74), 452 śuka (3.24; 12.21; 13.13; 19.12 and 16; 22.11; 23.1; 24.3 and 9; 27.33), 453 śukra (18.18), 454 śukrāhvā (7.75), 455 suvarcā (43.18), 456 suvarṇatālī (6.66), 457 suvarṇatālikā (42.5), 458 tanaya (38.38), 459 taṅkaṇa (35.15), 460 tuhinī (23.16), 461 turaṅgavadana (46.54), 462 turuṣka (22.6; 24.5; 25.7; 40.59), 463 vānīra (31.1; 46.57), 464 vanitā (26.21), 465 varṇikā (43.18), 466 veśākhyā (16.28), 467 veśyā (17.16), 468 vihaṅī (30.74; 45.39), 469 vṛndā (9.7 and 10; 33.7), 470 yāminī (12.21), 471 yati (38.36), 472 yavana (26.24 and 29), 473 yuvati (3.22). 474

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The author mentions his name, Gaṅgādhara, at the end of the work; the same name is found in the colophons. No particulars about him are known.

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Date The Gandhasāra is earlier than the Gandhavāda, which quotes some verses from it. The terminus post quem can only be deduced from the terminology employed, the substances mentioned as ingredients, and the possible sources of the work. R.T. Vyas, the editor of the text, places it in the eleventh or twelfth century, his main argument being that the Gandhavāda, assigned by him to the period A.D. 1250–1300, quotes it. P.K. Gode claimed that both the Gandhasāra and the Gandhavāda have been written in the period A.D. 1300–1600. 475 The resemblances between the contents of the Gandhasāra and Māhuka’s Haramekhala 476 suggest that both works do not differ much in date. The Gandhasāra, however, gives the impression of being later than Māhuka’s work. The data available so far suggest a date not far removed from the twelfth or thirteenth century.

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Gopalādāsa Kāyastha Gopalādāsa Kāyastha, son of Balabhadra, was the author of the Vaidyavilāsa. 477

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Gopalādāsa Gopalādāsa was the author of the Cikitsāmṛta, 478 a huge work on āyurveda, a large fragment of which has been preserved. 479 The names of many of its chapters are recorded at the beginning of the text. The chapter on śarīra is an extract from the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, and that on the names and properties of drugs, in which conflicting views found in the various koṣas are reconciled on the authority of reliable koṣas like the Śabdārṇava, etc., is said to be taken from the author’s own Sudhābindu. 480 Many local names are recorded in the chapter on drugs.

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In the introductory verses of his treatise, Gopalādāsa enumerates a long series of authors and works that were no longer accessible, and for that reason known to him by name only: Amṛtaghaṭa, 481 Amṛtavallikā, 482 Ārogyamañjarī, Bhiṣanmuṣṭi, 483 Bindusāra, Bhoja, Candraṭa, Cikitsākalikā, Puṭrotsavaloka, 484 Ravigupta, Siddhasāra, Tattvakalikā, 485 Tiṣaṭa, Vaidyapradīpa, 486 Vaidyaprasāraka, Vyagradīnaśubhaṃkara, Yogaratnaraṇḍaka, 487 and Yogaśata. As authors studied by him he mentions Vābhaṭa, Vaṅga (probably Vaṅgasena), Vṛnda, Cakra and Caṅga, 488 while he also refers to a Cakrakathā together with its Sārakalikā.

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The authorities and works quoted in the preserved part of the Cikitsāmṛta are: Amitaprabha, Aśvinīkumārasaṃhitā, Āyurvedasāra, Bhānumatī, Bhaṭṭāra, Bhavyadatta, Bhela, Bhoja, 489 Cakra, Candrikā, Cikitsākalikā, 490 Devipurāṇa, Dīpikā, Dṛḍhabala, Gadādhara, Gayadāsa, Govardhana, Guṇākara, Hārāvalī, 491 Hārīta, Jejjaḍa, Kauśika, Kusumāvalī, Mādhava, Madhukoṣa, Nāgārjuna, Niścalakara, Parāśara, Patañjali, Pavanakuṇḍa, 492 Ratnaprabhā, Ravigupta, 493 Śabdārṇava, 494 Śrīkaṇṭhadatta, Trivikramadeva, Vābhaṭa, Vābhaṭaṭīkā, Vaidyapradīpa, 495 Vakula, Vaṅgasena, Vāpyacandra, Vijayarakṣita, Viṣṇudharmottara, Vṛnda, Vṛṇḍaṭīkā (by Śrīkaṇṭhadatta), and Yogaratnākara.

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The authorities most commonly quoted are Śrīkaṇṭha (23 times) and Niścala (21 times); Gopalādāsa usually agrees with Niścala against Śrīkaṇṭha when, as often, their conflicting views are recorded.

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An unspecified Cikitsāmṛta is quoted in Govindasena’s Paribhāṣāpradīpa.

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The author Gopalādāsa was, according to the introductory verses of the Cikitsāmṛta, a son of Keśava. His wife, called Saṃtoṣā, bore him two sons, Kṛṣṇadāsa 496 and Gaṅgādhara, who may have revised their father’s work after his death. Copies of the Cikitsāmṛta were made public by Balabhadra and Bhava, who were probably pupils of Gopalādāsa. Some colophons of the treatise indicate that the author was an antaraṅga of Vindheśvara. Gopalādāsa probably belonged to Bengal, for he records local names of medicinal plants which are still current in Bengal and he quotes many authorities who lived there. Some verses from the *Cikitsāmṛta* prove that the author was a devotee of Viṣṇu.

Date

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Gopāladāsa’s date depends on that of his son Gaṅgādāsa, author of the *Chandomañjarī* and other works. 497 P.K. Gode fixed Gaṅgādāsa’s date within the period A.D. 1300–1500. 498 D.Ch. Bhattacharyya discovered additional evidence enabling him to narrow down these limits. The latter examined the MS of a commentary on the *Chandomañjarī* by Jagaṅnātha Sena Kavirāja, son of Jaṭādhara Kavirāja, the names of whose descendants up to the eighth generation were recorded by Bharatamallika in this *Candrapabhā*. As Bharatamallika composed this work about 1675, Jagaṅnātha Sena’s date falls late in the fifteenth century and Gaṅgādāsa cannot have lived later than about A.D. 1425. Moreover, Gaṅgādāsa quotes a verse from a play by Kavīśekhara Jyotirīśvarācārya, called *Dhūrtasamāgama*, 499 written during the reign of the Karṇāṭa king Narasimha of Mithilā, who ruled in the second quarter of the fourteenth century, which fixes the terminus post quem at about 1350. Thus Gaṅgādāsa must have written his works between 1350 and 1425. This is corroborated by a quotation from one of his treatises in Puṇḍarīkākṣa Vidyāsāgara’s *Kalāpadīpikā*, 500 a commentary on the *Bhaṭṭikāvya*, composed in the late fifteenth century.

Cites (24)