A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c44.s8.t1.2

v3.c44.s8.t1.2

The opening verse is a maṅgala addressed to Gopāla, i.e., Kṛṣṇa. Chapter one (upodghātaprakaraṇa; forty verses) is about general principles of pathology and therapy. Chapter two (pṛthagjātaprakaraṇa; sixty-two verses) treats, as its title indicates, of fevers caused by one doṣa (44–51: anilajvara; 52–54: pittajvara; 55–56: kaphajvara).⁵⁴⁷ Apart from this, it is also concerned with fever in general, its nidāna, samprāpti, prodromes and symptoms (1–24), its number of types (25 and 32–35), and with irregular fevers (viṣamajvara: 36–43). Chapter three (dvandvajaprakaraṇa; twenty-five verses) has fevers by two doṣas for its subject. The fourth and longest chapter (tridoṣajaprakaraṇa; 241 verses) is about fevers by three doṣas. It distinguishes and describes prakṛtisamasamaveta types (2–15)⁵⁴⁸ and numerous vikṛtiṣamasamaveta types. After enumerating the symptoms of samnipāta fever in general (41cd–47),⁵⁴⁹ and those of the fever called abhinyāsa or hataujas (48–51ab),⁵⁵⁰ a verse is inserted about the swelling at the root of the ear which appears towards the end of a saṃnipāta fever (51cd–52ab),⁵⁵¹ whereupon the subject of abhinyāsa fever is continued, distinguishing several varieties of it (52cd–57ab). Then three series of thirteen saṃnipāta fevers of the vikṛtiviṣamasamaveta type are characterized: the first series (58–101ab) is said to be taken from the Bhālukitantra;⁵⁵² the second series (102–115) occurs, in a different order, in Śārṅgadhara’s Triśatī (175–187);⁵⁵³ the third series (119–138ab) is also found in that text.⁵⁵⁴ Chapter four includes descriptions of the fevers called madhara (139cd–142), pralepaka (143–144)⁵⁵⁵ and vātabalāsaka (145),⁵⁵⁶ the śitapūrva and dāhapūrva fevers, etc. (148cd–160),⁵⁵⁷ the irregular fevers together with their viparyaya types and their symptoms when they are located in the seven dhātus of the body (161–226), saumya and tīkṣṇa fevers (227–229), the stages of fever (230–236), and the signs of release from fever (237–241). Chapter five (āgantujaprakaraṇa; thirty-seven verses) deals with exogenous (āgantu) fevers (1–14), curability and incurability of fevers (15–17), and signs indicating the approach of death (18–33).