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A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c43.s9: The Siddhasāranighaṇṭu

A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c43.s9

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English

Contents

The Siddhasāranighaṇṭu

v3.c43.s9.1

The Siddhasāra is followed by the Siddhasāranighaṇṭu,670 which is known in two versions, one in verse671 and the other in the form of a list;672 both give synonyms of the vegetable and inorganic substances prescribed in the Siddhasāra. The versified nighaṇṭu and the list seem to have influenced each other.673

v3.c43.s9.2

The Siddhasāranighaṇṭu conforms to the old type of nighaṇṭu in giving only synonyms, and not adding the properties and actions of the medicinal substances as in nighaṇṭus of the later type.674 It is a work of great importance, since it may be the earliest nighaṇṭu we possess and the only one appended to a rather early medical text.675 The nighaṇṭu, though essential for a correct understanding of the Siddhasāra, has, to their disadvantage, not always been utilized by the translators.676

v3.c43.s9.3

Interesting is the occurrence of the word tulasī (105) in this early work, since this term was regarded as appearing for the first time in the Paryāyaratnamālā.677

v3.c43.s9.4

Interesting and rare synonyms are: jhaṣā = nāgabalā (7);678 kākolī = nākulī (27); kaṇṭakā = mahāśyāmā = vṛkṣabhāryā (123);679 kavuka = khapura (99);680 kulajā = surasī (109);681 laṅgaka = tripuṭā (180);682 muruṅgī = vāyasī (147);683 śaṅkhinī = tiktaviryā = akṣipīlukā (126);684 saptigandhā = aśvagandhikā (137);685 śaśvatkṣīrī = nandivṛkṣa (18);686 śvetaka = dhava (95);687 vasuvahā = rāsnā (28);688 yavatiktā = saptalā (125).689

Date

v3.c43.s9.t1.1

The date of the Siddhasāranighaṇṭu is difficult to determine.690 It may have been composed some time after the Siddhasāra itself. A terminus ante quem would be established if P.V. Sharma were right in claiming that Vṛnda (about A.D. 900) and Candraṭa (tenth century) have borrowed from it,691 but this assertion has not been substantiated.

v3.c43.s9.t1.2

Some medical treatises with titles containing the word Siddhasāra are recorded in MSS catalogues, but these texts have nothing in common with Ravigupta's work. These treatises are: the Siddhasāratantra by Niśācarabhaṭṭācārya,692 the Siddhasārasamgraha,693 and the Siddhasārasaṃhitā.694

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