A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c50.s4: Special features

A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c50.s4

Language: English

Special features

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Eight doṣas of mercury are distinguished: nāga, vaṅga, mala, vahni, cāñcalya, viṣa, giri, and asaḥyāgni (1.27–29ab), although seven kañcukas are also referred to (2.9).

Chapter two enumerates the plants, plant products and some other substances employed in the killing of mercury (māraṇauṣadhi): amṛtā, ardhacandrikā, arka, balā, bhṛṅgarāj, bhūkadamba, brahmaḍaṇḍī, cakramarda, caṇḍālīnī, citraka, devadālikā, gokṣura, hastīśuṇḍī, jātī, jayantī, kākamācī, kāṭakuṇḍikā, kaṇḍa, kanyā, kaṭutumbī, kośātakī, kuraṇṭaka, lajjālī, lākṣā, lāṅgalī, mehananādā, nīrakaṇḍa, paṭu, raktāgranirguṇḍī, ravipriyā, sahadevikā, śarapuṅkhikā, sarpākṣī, sunhī, śuṇṭhī, tṛṇamustikā, vajravallī, vārāhī, vastā, viṣamuṣṭī, and viṣṇukrāntā (2.15–20).

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Chapter three contains a list of the niyāmaka plants and substances: ahaskara, ākhuparṇikā, bhṛṅgarāj, brahmaḍaṇḍī, ciñcikā, citraka, dhattūra, grīṣmasundara, guḍūcī, haṃsapadī, haridrā, harītakī, hingu, indravāruṇī, kākajaṅghā, kākamācī, kañcukī, kokila, kṣīriṇī, kuñcī, kuraṇṭaka, mahārāṣṭrī, mākṣika, maṇḍūkaparṇī, matsyākṣī, mayaṅkā, mṛgadūrvā, muṇḍī, mūrvā, mūṣalī, padmaka, pāṭalī, pota, puṅkhā, raktacitraka, saindhava, sāmbhara, śarapuṅkhikā, sarpākṣī, śatāvarī, śigru, śikhīśikhā, somavallī, śūraṇa, svayambhūkusuma, śvetārka, śvetavarṣābhū, tagara, tilakarṇikā, triparṇikā, utpala, vajrakanda, vajralatā, vandhyā, varṣābhū, viṣṇukrāntā, vraṇaghni, vṛścikālī, vyāghrapādī, and yakṣalocana (3.34–41).

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Chapter ten mentions eight poisonous plants that may be used by a physician: kūrma, mustaka, saktuka, sarṣapāhvaya, śṛṅgī, śvetaśṛṅgī, vālaka, and vatsanābha; ten poisonous substances are to be avoided: dardura, granthi, hālāhala, hāridra, kālakūṭa, karkaṭa, keśava, markaṭa, meṣaśṛṅgī, and raktaśṛṅgaka. (10.38–40). The śālāsārādigaṇa, employed in bhāvanā, consists of aguru, arjuna, asana, the two types of candana, dhava, gardabhāṇḍa, kālīya, the two types of karañja, karkaṭa, khadira, the two types of lodhra, pūga, pūtika, the two types of śāla, and śirīṣa (10.69–71).

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Some noteworthy names of plants occurring in the Rasakhaṇḍa are: kākamañjarī (3.26), kāntamukha (5.37), kova (5.28), and nāgavandhyā (5.39).

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The Rasendrakhaṇḍa

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The arrangement of the diseases in the Rasendrakhaṇḍa largely agrees with the Mā- dhavanidāna, apart from the addition of jvaratīsāra, jaratpittaśūla, urograha, bradhna, snāyuka, somaroga, and rasājīrṇa to the list of Mādhava's diseases; separate chapters on pānātyaya, yonikanda⁹⁴ and mūdhagarbha are absent. The chapter on urograha is identical with the chapter on this disease in Vaṅgasena's Cikitsāsārasaṃgraha; the verses on somaroga are partly the same as those in Vaṅgasena's. The chapter on women's diseases has verses on the prognostic significance of the day of the week on which a woman begins to menstruate (38–45)⁹⁵ and on the development of the embryo (80–85); it contains specific recipes against śūla in each of the ten months of pregnancy (99–116) and verses on eight malpositions (126–127). The chapter on children's diseases mentions disorders called cora (16–19) and paścādruja (48). The chapter on poisoning enumerates twenty-five poisons of vegetable origin (19–28).

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Some noteworthy names of plants mentioned in the Rasendrakhaṇḍa and its glosses are: ābhā (bhagna 7), āhā (vātavyādhi 39), balāhaka (jvara 180; gloss: = mustaka), cā-raṭi (unmāda 22; gloss: = kumbhāḍu), celaka (vātavyādhi 135; gloss: = guvākatvac), coraka (unmāda 22; gloss: = corahelī),⁹⁶ dahanavitapī (nāsāroga 85; gloss: = lāṅgalī), gauraharidrā (śārīravraṇa 11; gloss: = dāruharidrā), kuthāraka (śārīravraṇa 20), lāṅgalī-dvaya (unmāda 23; gloss: = rāsnā and gandharāsnā), malapū (bhagandara 2; gloss: = kṛṣṇodumbara), pāṣāṇa (aśmarī 4; gloss: = kulattha), and suraṅgī (karṇaroga 3; gloss: = raktaśobhāñjana).

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⁹⁶ ...

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The Vādikhaṇḍa The Vādikhaṇḍa enumerates six substances called śakti: vajra, vaikrānta, vajrābhra, kāntapāṣāṇa, taṅkaṇa, and bhūnāga (1.56). The uparasas consist of: gandha, tālaka, kā-sīsa, (manaḥ)śilā, kaṅkuṣṭha, bhūkhaga, rājāvarta, and gairika (1.57).⁹⁷ The mahārasas are rasaka, vimalā, tāpya, capalā, tuttha, añjana, hinguḷa, and sasyaka (1.58–59ab).⁹⁸

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The names of the twenty-seven Rasasiddhas are: Bali, Bāṇasura, Candrasena, Carpati, Govinda,⁹⁹ Hara, Indradyumna,¹⁰⁰ Kāmalin,¹⁰¹ Kāpālika, Kapila, Khaṇḍa, Lampaṭa, Loka,¹⁰² Māṇḍavya, Nāgabuddhi, Nāgārjuna, Naravāhana, Ratnaghoṣa, Śambhu, Śārada, Subuddhi, Surānanda, Śūrāsenaka,¹⁰³ Tāttvika,¹⁰⁴ Vādava,¹⁰⁵ Vyā-lācārya, and Yaśodhara (1.66–70).¹⁰⁶

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The group of divine drugs (divyauṣadhi) is composed of agnidamani, ajakarṇī, ajāmārī, ākhukarṇī, aṅkola, apāmārga, arka, badarī, bākucī, balā, bhūkadamba, bhū-mipāṭalī, bilva, brahmadaṇḍī, brāhmī, bṛhatī, cakramarda, caṇā, cāṇḍālī, candralatā, cāṅgerī, the three kinds of citraka, devadālī, ekavīraka, eraṇḍa, garuḍī, ghanā, go-jihvā, gorambhā, guñjā, haṃsapādī, hastimūlikā,¹⁰⁷ hemavallī, hingu, indravāruṇī, jalakumbhī, jātī, kadalī, kākajaṅghā, kākamācī, kākaṭuṇḍikā, kālikā, kāñcānana, kaṅguṇī, kanyā, kāravallī, karavīra, kārpāsa, kaṭutumbī, khaṇḍajārī, kokilākṣa, kośātakī, kṛṣṇadhattūra, kṛṣṇajīrā, kṛṣṇatulasī, kṣīrakandaka, kukkuṭī, kumbhī, lajjārī, lākṣā, lakṣmaṇā, lāṅgalī, mahābalā, mahārāṣṭrī, maṇḍūkaparṇikā, mañjiṣṭhā, markaṭī, maruvaka, meghanāda, mesaśṛṅgī, mīnākṣī, muṇḍī, muśalī, nāgabalā, nā-gavallikā, nīlī, niśā, padmacāriṇī, palāśa, pāṭalāgaruḍī, pathyā, peṭārī, pīluka, pūgī,¹⁰⁸ śvetā and raktā punarnavā, puṅkhā, puṣkaramūlaka, raktasnuhi, rambhā, rudantī, sahadevikā, saindhava, śākavṛkṣa, śamī, śaṅkhapuṣpī, sarṣapa, sarpākṣī, śatāvarī, śikhīśikhā, sinduvārikā, snuhī, somalatā, śuṇṭhī, sūraṇa, sūryāvartaka, svarṇapuṣpī,

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śvetāparājitā, tilaparṇī, triparṇikā, udumbara, vacā, vajralatā, vāla,¹⁰⁹ vanarājaka, vanasūraṇa, vandhyākarkoṭakī, vartulapattrakā, vijayā, viṣamuṣṭi, viṣṇukrāntā, vṛścikālī, vyāghranakhī, yavacīñcī, all the kṣīravṛkṣas, and the various kinds of poisonous substances (2.14cd–28).

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The plants called siddhamūlikā, used in the jaraṇa of mica, are: agni, agnimathanī, bṛhatī, haṃsapādī, indravāruṇī, kadalī, khaṇḍajātī, kumārikā, lāṅgalī, maṇḍūkī, mūṣā, śaṅkhapuṣpīkā, sarpākṣī, vajrī, vandhyākarkoṭakī, and vyāghrapādī (12.53–54).

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A cakrayantra (6.75cd–76ab) and gaurīyantra (15.¹⁰³; 16.¹¹⁵) are referred to. (Anu)vāsana is regarded as a distinct saṃskāra (11.35). Eight varieties are described of mākṣikasattva: resembling guñjā (seeds),¹¹⁰ indragopa, a gem (maṇi), śukaṭuṇḍa (the beak of a parakeet), śulba (copper), kiṃśuka flowers, and lākṣā (lac), and, finally, a variety called dhauta (washed) (13.22–36). Two varieties of manaḥśilāsattva are distinguished: resembling guñjā and the rays of the sun in the early morning (13.37–41). Four varieties of capalā are mentioned: red, yellow, white, and black (16.90).

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Some interesting names of plants are: bhūmyapāmārga (12.45), karuṇī (6.70), kuḍuhuñjikā (4.33), mahindī (9.67), muruṇḍī (11.15), nāgakanyā (10.17), teṇṭū (8.45), vasantapuṣpikā (8.22), vasubhadra (20.¹¹²), vasubhaṭṭa (20.92), and vegī (17.30).

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The Rasāyanakhaṇḍa The Rasāyanakhaṇḍa describes in its first chapter dietary and behavioural rules to be observed prior to and during the use of mercurial preparations for rasāyana purposes. One of the requirements consists of the removal of loṇa- and amladoṇa, caused by the consumption of salty (lavaṇa) and sour (amla) articles of food (1.4–6ab). Paying homage to the Kumārīs¹¹¹ and Yoginīs¹¹² is also recommended (1.8).

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The ritual connected with the consumption of kālāntarasa prescribes sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman and the collection of the mixture of male and female procreatory fluids (rajobīja) that is called gagana (3.197cd–199ab).

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The consumption of fishes that can live on wet soil (vālukāmatsya, vālukāmīna, sthalamīna)¹¹³ is repeatedly recommended for their aphrodisiac properties (6.80; 7.38). They are found on the shore of the Western ocean, near the Amara-caṇḍeśvara temple (prose between 7.38 and 39). Pills in the form of leeches (jalaukā) are employed in order to suppress ejaculation during intercourse (7.39–55).

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Geographical names and names of deities connected with particular localities, mentioned in chapter eight, are: Acaleśa (154: a mountain), Acchataila (133: a mountain), Alampura (63, 64: a town),¹¹⁴ Amareśvaradeva (155),¹¹⁵ Āvartadeva (36), Bhīmapāduka (63: a village), Bhṛgupātana (129, 132), Brahmeśvareśvara (56), Caṇḍikā (58, 168), Candraguptaprākāra (135), Chelikā (122), Gaṇeśvara (108), Ghaṇṭāsiddheśvara (5, 9), Guṇḍiprabhā (144: probably a mountain), Guṭikāsiddhakeśvara (182), Hastīśilā (41),¹¹⁶ Hastīśiras (42), Ileśvara (153),¹¹⁷ Īśvara (71), Jāleśvara (33),¹¹⁸ Kadambeśvaradeva (116), Kākaleri (176: a forest), Kālavarṇeśvara (148), Kokilābila (24), Koṭīśvara (153),¹¹⁹ Kuṇḍaleśvara (38, 120),¹²⁰ Liṅgaparvata (166: a mountain),¹²¹ Mahānandeśvara (147), Maheśa (67), Mallikārjuna (2, 129, 135, 173),¹²² Mallinātha (5, 10),¹²³ Maṇipalli (20: a village), Maukalī (89: a Yakṣiṇī), Nandana (87, 94, 96, 98, 99, 100: a forest),¹²⁴ Nīlavana (142: a forest), Parameśvara (85), Paṭāhakarṇa (159), Piṇḍādevī (169), Puruṣeśvara (39), Puṣpagiri (121: a mountain), 125 Rāmeśvara (35), 126 Śaila (182), 127 Śailarāja (159), 128 Śambhu (1, 185), Sarveśvara (173), Śiva (43), Śrīgiri (185), 129 Śrīśaila (8, 14, 33, 56, 67, 140, 144, 147, 149, 158, 184), 130 Sureśvara (33), Svargapurī (29), Tambīpura (146), 131 Tripurāntakadeva (14, 19, 24, 29, 31), 132 Turaleśvara (149), Umāparvata (150: a mountain), and Yogeśvarī (64).

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The Rasāyanakhaṇḍa contains a rather large number of mantras. 133

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Some noteworthy names of plants are: īśvaraliṅgī (7.23), munimuṇḍikā (5.2), riṭṭhaka (8.40), and vajrakāpālīnī (5.5). An interesting substance is sābuṇa (5.29). 134

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The author mentions his name as Nityanātha (I.1.25). The colophons of the MSS and editions call him Nityanātha or Nityanāthasiddha, 135 son of Pārvatī. 136 More information is not available. 137

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The author refers to his teacher (II.1.22; III.19.140; 20.62) without disclosing his name.

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Nityanātha is regarded as one of the Rasasiddhas. 138

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Works ascribed to Nityanātha, apart from the Rasaratnākara, are: (1) Indrajālakautuka; 139 (2) Kakṣapuṭa; 140 (3) Kakṣapuṭavidyā; 141 (4) Kāmaratna; 142 (5) Kāmaratnatantra; 143 (6) Kautūhalavidyā; 144 (7) Mantrasāra; 145 (8) Nityanāthatantra; 146 (9) Nityanāthīya; 147 (10) Rasaratnamālā; 148 (11) Rasaratnasamuccaya; 149 (12) Śabaracintāmaṇi; 150 (13) Siddhasiddhāntapaddhati; 151 (14) Siddhisāvara; 152 (15) Tantrakoṣa; 153 (16) Vandhyāvalī; 154 (17) Yogasāra. 155 G. Hāldār 156 associates Nityanātha with the Aśvínīkumārasaṃhitā.

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Some formulae ascribed to Nityanātha are: gulmavajriṇīvaṭī 157 and kāmeśvaramodaka. 158

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An authority called Siddhanātha may be the same as Nityanātha. The Kāmaratna and Yogasāra are sometimes ascribed to him. Siddhanātha is quoted in the Aṣṭamahāmātrā. He is credited with some formulae: divyarasāyana, 159 lokanāyakarasa 160 and udayabhāskararasa. 161

Cites (3)

Mādhavanidāna (Rugviniścaya) — Mādhavakara, Sanskrit
Cikitsāsārasaṅgraha (Vaṅgasena) — Vaṅgasena, Sanskrit
Rasaratnākara — Sāḷva, Kannada