A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c46.1307

v3.c46.1307

Diseases due to vāta arise during the rainy season, those due to pitta in the autumn, those due to a combination in the winter, and those due to kapha in the summer. The tastes (rasa) to be preferred in one’s diet are therefore: snigdha (fatty), uṣṇa (heating), lavaṇa (salty) and sour (amla) during the rainy season; snigdha, madhura (sweet) and cooling (śītala) during the autumn; madhura, amla and snigdha during the winter; kaṣāya (astringent), uṣṇa and kaṭu (pungent) during the summer. Excitement of kapha occurs shortly after the ingestion of food, excitement of pitta during the digestive processes, excitement of vāta at the completion of digestion. Vāta can be counteracted by bṛṃhaṇa measures, 1461 pitta by purgatives (virecana), kapha by emetics (vamana).