A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c47.9

v3.c47.9

The chapter on elephants deals with the mythical origin of elephants28 (4–8), the forests where wild elephants are to be found (9–16),29 the characteristics of elephants according to the forest where they have been captured (17–27ab), six types of elephants according to size (27cd-30),30 the types called bhadra, manda and mrga (31–39), nine types with regard to their amśa (44cd-70),31 the types of character (sattva; 71–82), breeds (anvaya; 83–90), elephants fit for employment, especially by the king (91–112), the elephant during rut (gandhahastin; 113–123ab), anatomy and related subjects (123cd-141), auspicious and inauspicious marks (142–202),32 the fluid that exudes from an elephant's temples when it is on must (mada; 203–204), the thrusts of an elephant with its tusks (dantāghāta; 205–212),33 auspicious characteristics of a female elephant (213–218ab), and the praise of elephants (218cd-225); the chapter ends with a summary of its contents (226–227ab).