English
About one-fourth of an ounce of mercury, one-fourth of an ounce of Acacia catechu, half an ounce of ‘alcara-harabha' (Echinopea echinatus ?) and DISEASES 427 three-fourtlis of an ounce of honey pounded to¬ gether in a mortar should be made into seven pills. Syphilis is destroyed hy taking each of the pills every morning with water. After taking the pill, acids and sea-salt should he avoided. Fumigation : Mercury one ounce, sulphur one ounce and Embelia ribes one ounce should be pounded together and made into a paste, and seven pastils are to be made out of it. If the syphilitic is subjected to the fumigation for seven days, by putting a ball into fire each day, then syphilis is certainly cured. Inunction ; One-fourth of an ounce of mercury is to be rubbed over the body with the juice of Michelia champaka and Barleria pubiflora by hand, as long as mercury does not entirely disappear. The fomentation is to be applied (to facilitate absorption) and if thus avoiding acids and sea salt, inunction is applied for seven days, syphilis is cured.” Bhava-prahasa IV. 50. 1-20'^“. 176. I o5n5i5aff^f^iT|; II \ 428 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE %TrPT 1II ^m: fer: 5an'5?feg?^s^53r i ^sfe^t o V Vf ^’3^'“?i: ij^agT'^siq ^tr: n sqsfui' 4t2i^ si^r^tti fv: ii —< —^t3|f 5Tretvrft ^ ^ i ^%55t'?t- s%?gis' ^<fi II's —^f%w^ fltfT 591^ srHsit t '•!iii5(ii;^ ^risi: ii ^^i'; i sirat 5iiF4’:git^S5STsrrf^^5i; ii ?ffr i 3TI )—ftri;Tg'=g^‘ <151* i ^sisn’ ’j^ftfefi^t: ii F'l’sit ’W^’c- nisit I ^1 II 3Ttv?i^ ’a' v5 ev, ^^fWT37J f%:f^^cT ^<T ftrwii cTtT^ ^Tzm ^ i ti g^r ^ OTT fii^F I II ^vira^T|5^i^ ^PrttTOT. ii i—i ^ict 5g^Ke^Tra: i ^iRfu- ^i('9rew?^tf^ct: II zifq^iHTfT 'ms' ?i^ t ^'srt <T^ lisjTct ?tHs#iri^ I g gsit^T S “ '• ' vD wrTTm^ t% i Cs ?mr[: Ij^fer ^’55r^?7 ii cm\\ in^rfvn?^’ i ^ feFPfft ^ il ^ I II m\: I fqiw^ II VI—THEE-APEUTICS. “The asrent that normalises a diseased function O is called Hherapetitics’’ and the application of it is the duty of the physician. That the principles of the body remain normal and do not become abnormal, is the object of Hlisrapeutics” Charaka I. 16. 18''^. Disease is frequently caused directly and by certain states of the blood. If certain princi¬ ples in the blood are diminished, due either to faulty dietary or pathogenesis, as iron or thyroid secretion which are necessary ft>r metabolic processes, morbid conditions of health result from these causes, known as anemia ( oligochromemia, lacking sufficient iron for the formation of hemoglobin ), or myxedema (due to deficiency of thyroid secretion). They can be easily remedied by giving iron in an assimilable form as milk, meat or spinach, or thyroid glands or sea-weeds contain- 177. i ?ri ^ StcTin 11 ’’I I feiT II 430 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE ins iodine as utilis, Lainianria sacarina etc., so that the thyroid glands may manufacture the necessary colloids from them. The blood being faulty, the tissues are ill-nourished and lack tlie necessary resisting power against the invasion ,of patliogenic micro-organisms. (2) There may be also disorders due to the excess of substances in the blood as 'glucose' in glyco¬ suria, or uric acid in gouty diathesis. If diabetes is due to defective carbohydrate metabolism, it can be cured by withholding carbohydrates from the diet, if begun when the case is not too advanced. Colchicum seems to remove the pain symptoms of gout. (3) There may be foreign bodies in the blood and their abnormal secretions, as tlie germs of malaria {Plasmodium malarice), leprosy {Bacillus leprce) or syphilis (Spirocheta pallida). Quinine kills the malarial spores of plasmodia, chaulmoogra and its deri¬ vatives the lepra bacilli, and mercury the syphi¬ litic spirocheta. It is very likely that a majority of the drugs that have found place in the 'Materia Medica' of various countries, have very little positive value. They are more or less empirical. If they cure at all, it is but symptomatic, if not psycho-therapeutic, and can not be radical. DISEASES 431 Many people subconsciously, as in various other superstitions, feel assured against a disease, if they have taken some kind of medicine. Lack¬ ing faith in religion, they confide in pseudo¬ science, for the word ^science’ has a magic charm and the peojile are swayed by it, as by religion in the past, and the medicine-man is but a suc¬ cessor of the priest. That is why, the list of drugs has swelled in volume and a new drug is being added every day. The fact is that a medicine can not destroy the pathogenic germs lodged in the tissues or blood-corpuscles without destroying the tissues, or, the corpuscles. If the chemical is strong enough to kill the pathogenic micro-organisms, it might cure the disease, but it is apt to kill the patient. Of all medicines in all ‘Materia Medians', only quinine, chaulnioogra and mercury have proved to be of some value in the treatment of malaria, leprosy and syphilis. Yet the sequela of their treatment are many and are injurious to the organism. If the organism needs iron or phosphorus, it is not only useless, but harmful, to give inorganic ferric or phoshor- ic salts or compounds, for the body is incapable of assimilating them and they throw additional burden upon the over-worked kidney to elimi¬ nate them. ancient HINDU MEDICINE r lude ttat therapeutics is a . medication is ooneerned, it -s ^ bsolete, as the peop e a o .eeee. and learning reaetjons ,y iisease is being con i serum therapy, h^oiiene, prophylaxis, dietary, _ !;%he;py. surgery and antisepsis, • t TTindu Medicine was justified Ancient = “ ,,mU,e of hygiene and emphasizing tl rNcAase by promoting dielry in Uie ^'Jenahle it the resisting poujo Charaka to care itself ot P „£ drugs X'sfaZrisnr weli.knouna‘nd thoroughly tested :— .-Dlie organUin snflers “/^iJarfnot ,hose names, description •well-hnown, or i ctihility or over-dose). “;;T:fsoncan^ cine, rrhiie a good ^^^ation can (chemical incompa i mj^e^efore any intelli- Ije venomously injurious. gent person who wishes cure and lon THERAPEUTICS 433 •should not take an improper medicine. Charakco 1 . 1 . 48 "’*. “Medicines are derived from three sources— animals, minerals and vegetables.” Charaka, I. 1. 35 "’*. “Of animals, honey, milk and milk-products, bile, fat, hone-marrow, blood, flesh, excreta, urine, skin (including membrane), semen, bone, tendon, horn, claw, hoof, hair, down and gall-stone are used in medicine. Gold, five metals (silver, copper, tin, lead and iron) and their oxides, sand, carbonate of lime, arsenous disulphide, arsenous sulphide, precious stone (diamond), sea-salt, ferric carbonate of calcium and antimony ( are used in medicine of the minerals). Vegetable drugs are from four sources : ‘vanas- 178. 'Mbiv vFTrvrara* i wt3i’ I civiia fh'^511 i 179. 'a a ^>1, i 28 434 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE {gymnosperms), ‘vanaspatycC i.angiosperms\. ^osadhV (Aer6s) and ‘tfirudh* {archegoniates)^ Those who have fruits without flowers are called ‘vanasjMtV {gymnospei'ms). Those whose fi’uits develop from flowers, are called vanaspatya {angiosperms). Those who only persist for the development of seeds are called 'osadhi' (Jierbs). Those which expand {prataua, by climbing, as the fei’ii Lygodium palmatum) are called^ ‘‘Ciriidh’ (arcJiegoniates. ).” Charaka I. 1. 36 - 38 *®°. “Root {mJda), bark {tvcik), pith {sara), gum- resin {uiryyasa), culm (nada), juice (svarasa), leaves and flowering top (pallava), vegetable alkali (ksai-a), milky exudation {ks'ira), fruit (phala)^ flower <puspa), ash ( bhasma ), oil {taila), 180 . JilTHi: ftv ii fl^i: ii 5n('a' ii qi'flmqTT'cn". wctt; ii 'qw-’a'feiT, i THEEAPEOTICS 435 I thorn {kantaka, for opening superficial cutaneous abscess), leaf {patra\ flower-bud [miiga), rhizome and bulb (^ac?a), and bud undevelo¬ ped shoot) of plants are used as medicines.”^ Oharaha I. 1. 38*®'. - “The fluid that is extracted by pressing any (vegetable or animal) substance in a machine, n is called juice {svarasa). Anything that is beaten into semi-solid consistency in a mortar, is called paste (kcdka). The liquid preparation of any (vegetable) drug, obtained by boiling^ with water, is called by the therapeutists, Decoc¬ tion {srta). The preparation tliat comes out by steeping a (crude) drug in cold water, and passing it through a sieve after exposing it to the dew'- drops of the night (that is the crude drug is to be kept soaked in water at least for 12 hours), is called Infusion {sUa). If any ground drug is poured into boiling water, and the preparation is passed through a sieve, it is called, Tea {phauta).”' Charaka 1. 4. 8 ’ * ' 181 . i =gpi:r; i 182 . i era, ii 436 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE Cerebral Sedatives : ‘Tructus Acbyranthes aspera {.apamarga). Piper longum (pippalt), Piper nigrum {maricha), Erabelia ribes ( viclahga ), Moringa pterygosperma {sigt'a)^ Sinapis alba {sasa? 7 ^a), Xantboxylon alatum {tuinburu\ Nigella sativa {cijdj'i)^ Ocymum gratissimum {ajagandha\ Salvadora persica [pilu), Elletaria major (ete),Piper aurantiacum ( harenukd), cardamomi semina ( prthvika ), Ocimum basilicum (surasd) Olitoria ternatea (svetd), Ocimum sanctum (kiitJieraka) Ocimum villosum {phanijjhaka), fructus Albizzia lebbek ( sirisa), Allium sativum {lamna). Cur¬ cuma longa a,nd Berberis asiatica (haridrd and ddru-haridm), sodium chloride and rock-salt ( lavmia-dvaya ), Cardiospermum lialicacabum {jyotismati),>xn&. zingiber officinale {ndgara) these are Cerebral Sedatives. These are also used in migraine, cephalalgia, catarrh, helmet-headache, sypliilitic gumma {krhnivyddhiArxQtQvmX lesion ?