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A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c49.s4.t2: Special features

A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c49.s4.t2

Language
English

Special features

v3.c49.s4.t2.1

Anuvāsana is not described as a separate saṃskāra.¹⁶

v3.c49.s4.t2.2

The metals enumerated are gold, silver, iron, copper, lead (uraga), tin (raṅga), ghana (= kāmṣya), vartula,¹⁷ and ghoṣa;¹⁸ the last three items of this series are called upaloha; iron is of three types: kānta, tīkṣṇa and muṇḍa (19). Zinc is not mentioned.¹⁹ The term dhātu is not employed for the metals.

v3.c49.s4.t2.3

The mahārasas are only six in number (38); the inclusion of capala and tuttha is noteworthy. Vaikrānta is of seven types, but only the black variety, used in alchemical operations, is taken into consideration (38).²⁰ The usual four varieties of mica are described (40). Śilājatu is of two types: acalodbhūta²¹ and uṣodbhava²² (44). Capala is of four varieties: white, black, yellow and red (46).²³ Tāpīja is of two types: vimalā²⁴ and mākṣika. Vimalā is of three varieties: hema-, tāra- and kāmṣyavimalā²⁵ (48). Mākṣika is of two varieties: svarṇa- and rajatamākṣika; some are said to distinguish a third variety, called kāmṣyamākṣika (49). Tuttha is of two varieties: mayūra- and kharparatuttha (51). The uparasas are only three in number: gandhaka, haritāla and manaḥśilā (55). Three varieties of sulphur (gandhaka) are described: yellow, red and white;²⁶ the white variety is sometimes called khaṭī;²⁷ names of the yellow variety are āmalakacchavi, dṛṣadgandhaka and lavaṇaka (55). The two usual varieties of haritāla are mentioned: pattrin and piṇḍa (57). Manaḥśilā is of two varieties: śyāmāṅgī and kaṇavīrikā (58).²⁸

v3.c49.s4.t2.4

The list of saṃskāras necessary to achieve vedha is short (59–74); mukhabandha is regarded as a distinct saṃskāra; the two types of druti are not mentioned.

v3.c49.s4.t2.5

The five blemishes of diamonds are: bindu, kākapada, yava, mala and rekhā (99–102ab).29 Eight regions are mentioned where diamond mines (khani) are or were found: Kośala and Kāliṅga in the Kṛtayuga, Vaṅga and Mālava in the Tretāyuga, Saurāṣṭra and Maṇipuṇḍraka in the Dvāparayuga, Sopāra30 and Vajrākara31 in the Kaliyuga.32 Pearl oysters are said to be found in the seas near Ādāya, Barbara,33 Āralāṭa, Siṃhala, Ūrmija and Pārasika (129).

v3.c49.s4.t2.6

The verses on the treatment of various diseases mention syphilis (phiraṅgavā-tajanitasphoṭa and phiraṅgābhidhavāta) and rasakarpūra, the drug preferentially prescribed against this disease (149).

v3.c49.s4.t2.7

Some of the rasayogas in the last part of the Rasapaddhati are not found in other treatises; examples are ātaṅkāntakarasa (154cd–155) and ekasūteśvararasa (173–174).34 The gaurīyantra is referred to (71; 80). A substance called lohakharpara is mentioned (13).35

v3.c49.s4.t2.8

Noteworthy plant names are jambha (18, 21, 23),36 jambhala (17),37 mānavī (8), nīravānīra (24),38 śitidhūrta (12), and sṛṣṭyambujā (8).

v3.c49.s4.t2.9

The author Bindu mentions his name in the introductory verse.

v3.c49.s4.t2.10

Date The references to syphilis and its treatment with rasakarpūra indicate that the Rasapaddhati is later than the Bhāvaprakāśa (second half sixteenth century), which describes phiraṅgaroga and its therapy for the first time in Indian medical literature. The Rasapaddhati may date from the first half of the seventeenth century, because it is one of the sources of the Āyurvedaprakāśa and since the earliest MS39 was completed in A.D. 1664.40

v3.c49.s4.t2.11

Commentary A commentary on the Rasapaddhati, reaching up to verse 186, was written by Mahādeva.

v3.c49.s4.t2.12

Authorities and works quoted or referred to in the commentary are: Amara (1, 6, 7, 8, 89, 90, 98, 104, 150, 152–153, 153–154), Aṣṭāṅgahṛdaya (1), Caraka (45cd), Rājamṛgāṅka (87), Rasarājalakṣmī (83), Rasaratnākara (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 58, 59–60ab, 61–62ab, 69–74, 80, 85–87), Rasaratnasamuccaya (9, 117–122, 129–132), Rasavāgbhaṭṭa (81–82), Somanātha (29–30), and Vāgbhaṭṭa (44–45ab, 45cd).

v3.c49.s4.t2.13

Many quotations are not referred to their source.41 Mahādeva quotes (ad 85–87) a list of divyauṣadhis from a source not mentioned by name.42 He enumerates the following uparatnas (ad 88): vaikrānta, sūryakānta, rājāvarta, lāla,43 and peroja.

v3.c49.s4.t2.14

The ṭīkā of the Rasapaddhati and its author are quoted in the commentaries of Gulrājśarmamiśra and Somadevaśarman on the Āyurvedaprakāśa and in the Rasakāmadhenu. The commentary on the Rasapaddhati is one of the sources of Harīśaraṇānanda’s Kūpīpakvarasanirūpaṇavijñāna and Mādhava’s Āyurvedaprakāśa. Mahādeva is quoted in Hazārīlāl Sukul’s commentary on the Rasaratnasamuccaya.

v3.c49.s4.t2.15

Mahādeva is regarded as the son of Bindu.44 Both father and son may have been residents of Mahārāṣṭra.45 Mahādeva is than Nityanātha, who wrote the

v3.c49.s4.t2.16

Rasaratnākara, and Vāgbhaṭa, to whom the Rasaratnasamuccaya is attributed, because the works of these authors are quoted by him; he is also posterior to Bindu, on whose treatise he commented. He is earlier than Mādhava, the author of the Āyurvedaprakāśa, who used Mahādeva’s work as one of his sources. This evidence establishes that Mahādeva lived, like Bindu, in the first half of the seventeenth century.

Cites (8)