A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c47.34

v3.c47.34

The chapter on horses deals, after a series of introductory verses, with the following subjects: the mythical origin of horses, their division into brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, and mixed classes (varṇa), followed by the story relating how horses with their wings (19–69);¹⁵⁷ the regions (āśraya) where horses are to be found (69–76); the fifty-four breeds (kula) of horses, named after these regions, together with their characteristics (77–211);¹⁵⁸ the characteristics of horses named after the four varṇas (212–248) and after mixed castes (249–267); the characters (sattva) of horses, divided into sāttvika, rājasa and tāmasa types, which correspond with the classes called bhadra, manda and mrga (268–283);¹⁵⁹ the seven varieties of śuddha sattva, six varieties of rā-