अथातो नेत्रबस्तिप्रमाणप्रविभागचिकित्सितं व्याख्यास्यामः ||१||
यथोवाच भगवान् धन्वन्तरिः ||२||
Meaning of the śloka
Now the chapter entitled ‘Treatment concerning the measurements and divisions of the netra and basti’ will be explained, as taught by the venerable Dhanvantari.
The commentary explains netra as the instrument or nozzle. Basti denotes the urinary bladder of animals such as the deer, and by extension also the substance held in it. The chapter concerns the measurements and classifications of both. It calls this subject cikitsita because it contains measures intended to counter disease.
Key terms
netra
The instrument or nozzle discussed in this chapter.
basti
The animal bladder used historically as a receptacle and, by extension, its contained material.
pramANa (pramāṇa)
Measurement or prescribed dimension.
pravibhAga (pravibhāga)
Division or classification.
cikitsita
The therapeutic subject described as countering disease.
Among procedures involving sneha and related measures, the teachers call basti therapy the foremost because they attribute many actions to it. According to the text, different combinations of substances allow basti to cleanse, calm, or restrain excessively moving doṣas. It is further credited with supporting sexual vigor when śukra is diminished, nourishing the thin, reducing the stout, pleasing the eyes, removing wrinkles and greying, and maintaining age. When properly employed, it is said to promote bodily development, complexion, strength, health, and longevity.
The commentary defines bastikarma as a procedure performed with a bladder-like receptacle and says that basti is a general term covering both nirūha and sneha basti. Although vamana and virecana are called principal therapies, basti is described as the most principal. Here saṅgrahaṇa means restraining doṣas that are moving excessively. The claim about diminished śukra is explained as vigor and exhilaration comparable to a horse; nourishing the thin indicates bodily increase; and maintaining age implies promotion of lifespan. The concluding verse is presented as further support for the text's claim that basti is foremost.
Key terms
bastikarma
The historical therapeutic procedure performed with a bladder-like receptacle.
nirUha (nirūha)
One category included under the general term basti.
snehabasti
An unctuous category included under the general term basti.
saMshodhana (saṃśodhana)
Cleansing, one of the actions historically attributed to basti.
sa~ggrahaNa (saṅgrahaṇa)
Restraint of doṣas described as moving excessively.
तथा ज्वरातीसारतिमिरप्रतिश्यायशिरोरोगाधिमन्थार्दिताक्षेपकपक्षाघातैकाङ्गसर्वाङ्गरोगाध्मानोदर- योनिशूलशर्कराशूलवृद्ध्युपदंशानाहमूत्रकृच्छ्रगुल्मवातशोणितवातमूत्रपुरीषोदावर्त- शुक्रार्तवस्तन्यनाशहृद्धनुमन्याग्रहशर्कराश्मरीमूढगर्भप्रभृतिषु चात्यर्थमुपयुज्यते ||५||
Meaning of the śloka
The text states that basti is extensively employed in a long range of conditions, including jvara, atīsāra, timira, pratiśyāya, disorders of the head and eyes, ardita, ākṣepaka, pakṣāghāta, disorders affecting one limb or the whole body, abdominal distension and abdominal disease, genital pain, urinary stones and pain, enlargement, upadaṃśa, retention, difficult urination, gulma, vāta associated with blood, upward obstruction of flatus, urine, or stool, loss of śukra, menstrual flow, or breast milk, stiffness of the heart, jaw, or neck, gravel, stone, and obstructed labor, among others.
The commentary says that this list demonstrates the claim that basti counters many diseases. It adds a qualification: for jvara and the other named conditions, only a particular stage or clinical state is considered an occasion for basti, and that state must be understood from the wider teaching. The list therefore does not say that basti applies indiscriminately at every stage.
Key terms
basti
The historical therapy said here to be used across many conditions.
avasthAvisheSha (avasthāviśeṣa)
The particular stage or clinical state that the commentary says determines suitability.
AkShepaka (ākṣepaka)
A condition named in the source involving convulsive or involuntary movements; no modern diagnosis is asserted.
pakShAghAta (pakṣāghāta)
A condition described as affecting one side of the body; no modern diagnostic equivalence is asserted.
mUDhagarbha (mūḍhagarbha)
Obstructed or difficult labor in the passage's historical list.
भवति चात्र- बस्तिर्वाते च पित्ते च कफे रक्ते च शस्यते |
संसर्गे सन्निपाते च बस्तिरेव हितः सदा ||६||
Meaning of the śloka
A verse states that basti is commended in conditions of vāta, pitta, kapha, and rakta, as well as in the combined aggravation of two doṣas and in sannipāta; the text presents basti as beneficial in these settings.
After describing basti in disorders such as jvara that are considered effects of doṣas, the commentary says this verse extends the claim of usefulness to the causative doṣas themselves. It defines saṃsarga as aggravation of two doṣas. Here sannipāta means aggravation of all three doṣas acting together in their natural proportions as causes of jvara and related disorders.
Key terms
vAta (vāta)
One of the doṣas named as a context for basti in the verse.
pitta
One of the doṣas named as a context for basti in the verse.
kapha
One of the doṣas named as a context for basti in the verse.
saMsarga (saṃsarga)
Aggravation of two doṣas, according to the commentary.
sannipAta (sannipāta)
Aggravation of all three doṣas acting together in the sense specified by the commentary.
The passage assigns different historical netra dimensions and āsthāpana quantities according to age. It gives successively larger instruments and quantities for one-year-old, eight-year-old, and sixteen-year-old patients, with dimensions described through aṅgula, finger girth, the position of a retaining flange, bird-feather shafts, and pulse-sized openings. For intervening ages, the text says the method should be increased after considering age, strength, and body. From twenty-five years onward it describes an adult instrument and twelve prasṛtas of material; after seventy, it retains that instrument size but returns to the quantity stated for age sixteen.
The commentary maps the three sets in order. For a one-year-old it explains a six-aṅgula instrument of little-finger girth, with its karṇikā at one and a half aṅgulas, a base compared with a kaṅka feather shaft, and an opening compared with mudga. For age eight it gives eight aṅgulas, ring-finger girth, a two-aṅgula karṇikā position, a śyena-feather comparison, and a māṣa-sized opening. For age sixteen it gives ten aṅgulas, middle-finger girth, a two-and-a-half-aṅgula karṇikā position, a peacock-feather comparison, and a kalāya-sized opening. It explains karṇikā as an umbrella-shaped stop intended to prevent excessive inward entry. For the corresponding quantities it preserves disagreement: Gayadāsa interprets prasṛta as the patient's cupped hand, whereas Jejjaṭa takes the patient's hand as indicating an average person's measure and equates that prasṛta with two palas. It says dimensions and quantity should be inferred and progressively adjusted through age twenty-five. For the adult form it explains the base by a vulture-feather comparison and the tip opening as the size of soaked kalāya, and says two basal flanges are separated by two aṅgulas for tying the receptacle.
Key terms
netra
The historical nozzle or instrument whose dimensions are classified here.
karNikA (karṇikā)
An umbrella-shaped retaining flange said to limit excessive inward entry.
a~ggula (aṅgula)
A traditional finger-based unit used for the stated dimensions.
prasRuta (prasṛta)
A quantity measure disputed here between a patient's cupped-hand measure and a fixed two-pala interpretation.
AsthApana (āsthāpana)
The basti category whose material quantity is classified by age.
The text says that a mild basti should be used particularly for children and older people, because a sharp or intense basti applied to them may harm their strength and lifespan.
The commentary first relates the reduced quantity of āsthāpana in children and older people to their limited strength, understood as reduced capacity for bodily development. It then says that the qualities of the basti, including sharpness, should likewise be reduced. A mild basti is one made from mild substances; a sharp basti is the opposite.
Key terms
mRudubasti (mṛdubasti)
A basti characterized by mild substances in the commentary.
tIkShNa (tīkṣṇa)
Sharp or intense in quality, contrasted with mṛdu.
bAla (bāla)
A child, identified as especially vulnerable in the passage.
vRuddha (vṛddha)
An older person, identified as especially vulnerable in the passage.
balAyuShI (balāyuṣī)
Strength and lifespan, which the verse says may be harmed by an intense basti.
The parenthetical passage describes a wound instrument as eight aṅgulas long with a channel compared in capacity to mudga, and says that sneha or kaṣāya is to be used as appropriate after examining the wound.
The commentary says that, because this treatise concerns śalyatantra, the passage states the dimensions of the instrument intended for a wound. It adds no further explanation of the substances or their selection.
Key terms
vraNanetra (vraṇanetra)
An instrument or nozzle described for use in relation to a wound.
aShTA~ggula (aṣṭāṅgula)
Eight aṅgulas, the traditional length stated for the instrument.
mudgavAhisrotas (mudgavāhisrotas)
A channel described through comparison with the capacity or size of mudga.
sneha
An unctuous substance mentioned as one historical option.
kaShAya (kaṣāya)
A decoction or astringent preparation mentioned as another historical option.
तत्र नेत्राणि सुवर्णरजतताम्रायोरीतिदन्तशृङ्गमणितरुसारमयानि श्लक्ष्णानि दृढानि गोपुच्छाकृतीन्यृजूनि गुटिकामुखानि च ||१२||
Meaning of the śloka
The text says that netra instruments may historically be made from gold, silver, copper, iron, brass, ivory, horn, stone or crystal-like material, or hardwood. They should be smooth, firm, straight, shaped like a cow's tail, and have a rounded, knob-like tip.
The commentary explains that the passage specifies both the materials and shape of the instruments. It identifies rīti as brass and maṇi as crystal and similar materials. Ślakṣṇa means free from roughness, dṛḍha means not fragile or decayed, and guṭikāmukha means that the tip is not sharp.
Key terms
netra
The historical nozzle or instrument described here by material and form.
rIti (rīti)
Brass, according to the commentary.
maNi (maṇi)
Crystal and similar material, according to the commentary.
The receptacles described for basti are to be from infertile animals, soft, neither excessively thick nor, according to another reading, excessively long, durable, and of suitable size; those of cattle, buffalo, boar, goat, or sheep are named. If the nozzle is unavailable, the text mentions a tube made from reed, bamboo, or bone. If the animal bladder is unavailable, it mentions fine hide or a dense woven cloth as substitutes.
The commentary explains the desired qualities of the historical basti receptacle. It interprets nātibahalā as not excessively thick or bulky, while preserving another interpretation, 'not excessively long.' It identifies tāntava as cloth.
Key terms
basti
Here, the historical animal-bladder receptacle used as part of a basti apparatus.
bandhyA (bandhyā)
Infertile, describing the animal source specified for the receptacle.
nAtibahalA (nātibahalā)
Not excessively thick or bulky; another interpretation preserved by the commentary is not excessively long.
netra
The nozzle or tube component of the historical apparatus.
tAntava (tāntava)
Made of woven material, identified by the commentary as cloth.
The text describes a historical basti receptacle as free from adhering material, cleaned, thoroughly wiped, soft, and neither oversized nor undersized, and repeatedly worked with an unctuous substance. It then describes joining it to the base of the nozzle, securing the downward-facing open end, sealing the junction with heated metal, turning the receptacle into position, tying it, and storing it protected. The assembled apparatus is said to be used for āsthāpana and oil administration in the prescribed manner.
The commentary presents this as the preparation and attachment method for a receptacle fit for use. Nirupadigdha means free from adhering flesh or similar matter; śuddha means treated or colored with an astringent decoction; and suparimārjita means thoroughly wiped clean. Anuddhatahīna means neither excessive nor deficient, indicating that receptacle size is selected with reference to the amount it is to contain. Pratiṣṭhāpya means joining, and nyubja means facing downward. It adds that cattle, buffalo, and other available bladders were assigned to the historical nirūha apparatus, whereas only goat or sheep bladders were assigned to the uttara-basti apparatus.
Key terms
nirupadigdha
Free from adhering flesh or similar residue, according to the commentary.
suparimArjita (suparimārjita)
Thoroughly wiped or cleaned.
anuddhatahIna (anuddhatahīna)
Neither excessive nor deficient in size for the intended volume.
AsthApana (āsthāpana)
A historical evacuative form of basti mentioned as one use of the apparatus.
uttarabasti (uttara-basti)
A distinct historical invasive basti procedure for which the commentary specifies a narrower choice of receptacle.
Basti is classified here into two broad types: nairūhika and snaihika. Āsthāpana and nirūha are treated as equivalent names; a variation is called mādhutailika, also known as yāpana, yuktaratha, or siddha-basti. Nirūha is explained as so called because it removes doṣas or, alternatively, because it is said to promote the body; āsthāpana is explained through its claimed support of age or lifespan. The text says that mādhutailika will be described later. The unctuous variation, anuvāsana, is defined according to its prescribed quantity and qualities and as reduced by a quarter in relation to the comparison being made. Its name is also explained by the claims that it remains without becoming harmful or can be given on successive days. A further reduced variation is called mātrā-basti and is described as not requiring avoidance.
The commentary says anarthāntara means that āsthāpana and nirūha have the same meaning. After the nairūhika type, the text introduces the snaihika or anuvāsana type. It reads the quarter reduction in relation to age-based āsthāpana quantities described later and gives a historical scale from one karṣa to six palas for anuvāsana, one quarter of the corresponding nirūha quantities. It also cites another work's three adult quantities: six, three, and one-and-a-half palas. On this reading, mātrā-basti is one quarter of a six-pala anuvāsana, namely one-and-a-half palas. Gayi preserves a different sequence: sneha-basti is one quarter of the prescribed basti quantity, anuvāsana is half of sneha-basti, and mātrā-basti is half of anuvāsana. For Gayi this produces quantities of six, three, and one-and-a-half palas respectively. These are alternative historical calculations, not a unified dosing rule.
Key terms
nirUha (nirūha)
A historical basti category, equated here with āsthāpana and explained through removal of doṣas or support of the body.
mAdhutailika (mādhutailika)
A variation of nirūha for which the passage lists yāpana, yuktaratha, and siddha-basti as synonymous names.
anuvAsana (anuvāsana)
The historical unctuous basti variation whose quantity and naming are discussed.
mAtrAbasti (mātrā-basti)
A further reduced basti variation, calculated differently within the explanations preserved by the commentary.
pAda (pāda)
A quarter; central to the commentary's disputed proportional calculations.
Adhikarana ੧੨ (੧੯) · Śloka ੧੯
ਨਿਰੂਹਃ ਸ਼ੋਧਨੋ ਲੇਖੀ ਸ੍ਨੈਹਿਕੋ ਬਂਹਣੋ ਮਤਃ |੧੯|
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निरूहः शोधनो लेखी स्नैहिको बृंहणो मतः |१९|
Meaning of the śloka
The verse characterizes nirūha as cleansing and reducing or scraping, and the unctuous type as nourishing or promoting bulk.
The commentary says the distinction is being shown through the claimed results of the two types. A nirūha combined with cleansing substances is called cleansing. It adds that these general properties belong to nirūha and anuvāsana, but particular substances may make a given effect stronger or weaker. Jejjaṭa reads the line differently as 'unctuous and nourishing are held' and consequently interprets all four actions—cleansing, reducing, uncting, and nourishing—as actions of nirūha. This variant interpretation is preserved rather than reconciled.
Key terms
shodhana (śodhana)
Cleansing, attributed here to nirūha combined with cleansing substances.
lekhI (lekhī)
Reducing or 'scraping' in the traditional functional classification.
snaihika
The unctuous category of basti in the main reading.
bRuMhaNa (bṛṃhaṇa)
Nourishing or promoting bodily bulk in the traditional account.
JejjaTa (Jejjaṭa)
The authority whose variant reading assigns the set of four actions to nirūha.
The text states that after the pathways have been cleansed by nirūha, the unctuous substance travels through them properly, like water flowing through channels from which obstructions have been removed. It is traditionally described as removing all doṣas and sustaining the body; therefore sneha-basti is prescribed for a person whose body has been purified.
The commentary says these verses explain the proper movement and action of sneha after the pathways have been cleansed by nirūha. It provides no further qualification of the traditional claims.
Key terms
nirUhashodhita (nirūha-śodhita)
Described as cleansed by the historical nirūha procedure.
mArga (mārga)
The pathways through which sneha is said to proceed.
sneha
An unctuous substance whose movement and action are described in the passage.
nADI (nāḍī)
A channel used in the verse's comparison with flowing water.
vishuddhadeha (viśuddha-deha)
A person described by the text as having a purified body.
तत्रोन्मादभयशोकपिपासारोचकाजीर्णार्शःपाण्डुरोगभ्रममदमूर्च्छाच्छर्दिकुष्ठमेहोदरस्थौल्य- श्वासकासकण्ठशोषशोफोपसृष्टक्षतक्षीणचतुस्त्रिमासगर्भिणीदुर्बलाग्न्यसहा बालवृद्धौ च वातरोगादृते क्षीणा नानुवास्या नास्थापयितव्याः ||२१||
Meaning of the śloka
The passage states that neither anuvāsana nor āsthāpana should be administered in a long list of conditions and states. These include mental disturbance, fear, grief, thirst, loss of appetite, indigestion, piles, pāṇḍu, vertigo, intoxication-like states, fainting, vomiting, kuṣṭha, meha, abdominal disorders, obesity, breathing difficulty, cough, dryness of the throat, swelling, chest injury, emaciation, pregnancy through the stated months, weak digestion, inability to tolerate the procedure, childhood, and old age. It also excludes severely depleted persons unless their depletion is associated with a vāta disorder.
The commentary defines bhrama as a spinning sensation, mada as an intoxication-like state, and mūrcchā as loss of consciousness. It applies 'affected by' across the listed conditions through swelling, interprets kṣata as chest injury and kṣīṇa as emaciation, and understands the pregnancy wording as extending through seven months, citing Vāgbhaṭa. Repetition of kṣīṇa is taken to mean that a person who is extremely emaciated should not receive anuvāsana except in a vāta disorder. Although the main statement is a general prohibition, some authorities give contextual exceptions: after recovery of awareness and prior cleansing in certain mental or consciousness disorders; in selected presentations of kuṣṭha or piles with obstructed vāta; in some but not all abdominal disorders; and they distinguish a ban on anuvāsana from one on nirūha in swelling or chest injury. The commentary also says even a mild basti is prohibited below one year and above ninety years, while otherwise referring to a stronger form. It closes with a principle that circumstances of place, time, strength, and condition can alter whether an ordinarily indicated or prohibited act is appropriate. These are contested and highly contextual historical exceptions.
Key terms
mUrcchA (mūrcchā)
Loss of consciousness, as defined by the commentary.
kShata (kṣata)
Interpreted here as injury of the chest.
kShINa (kṣīṇa)
Emaciated or severely depleted; the commentary treats its repeated occurrence as significant.
catustrimAsagarbhiNI (catus-trimāsa-garbhiṇī)
A difficult pregnancy expression interpreted by the commentary as pregnancy through seven months.
pratiprasava
A stated exception to a general prohibition, preserved here from some authorities.
उदरी च प्रमेही च कुष्ठी स्थूलश्च मानवः |
अवश्यं स्थापनीयास्ते नानुवास्याः कथञ्चन ||२२||
Meaning of the śloka
The verse states that persons with abdominal disease, prameha, kuṣṭha, or marked corpulence are, in the applicable circumstances, to receive the āsthāpana type and are never to receive anuvāsana.
The commentary treats this as a limited exception that applies only when the appropriate stage for āsthāpana is present. It says that stage must be inferred from other authoritative texts. For abdominal disease it cites Vāgbhaṭa: when distension recurs after thorough purgation, historical nirūha preparations described as unctuous, sour, and salty are advised. It says the appropriate āsthāpana stage in prameha and the other conditions should likewise be determined by consulting their treatment discussions. The citation is explanatory historical context, not a complete protocol.
Key terms
udarI (udarī)
A person with an abdominal disorder in the traditional disease category.
pramehI (pramehī)
A person affected by prameha, retained as a traditional diagnostic category.
kuShThI (kuṣṭhī)
A person affected by kuṣṭha, retained as the broad traditional category used by the text.
sthApanIya (sthāpanīya)
Considered for the historical āsthāpana type at an appropriate stage, according to the commentary.
anuvAsya (anuvāsya)
Eligible for anuvāsana; the verse denies such eligibility to the listed groups.
The verse warns that administering anuvāsana in the conditions just listed may make those disorders incurable; even if they do not become incurable, it says pronounced weakness or languor of the limbs may result.
The commentary identifies the listed disorders as the abdominal and other conditions in the preceding verse. It explains gātra-sadana as fatigue, weakness, or languor of the limbs. Its statement is a warning about the consequence of violating the preceding historical prohibition.
Key terms
asAdhyatA (asādhyatā)
A state described by the text as becoming incurable or no longer amenable to treatment.
anuvAsana (anuvāsana)
The historical unctuous basti procedure warned against in the preceding conditions.
vikAra (vikāra)
The disorders referred back to from the preceding verse.
gAtrasadana (gātra-sadana)
Weakness, fatigue, or languor of the limbs, according to the commentary.
When properly administered, basti is said to remain in the pakvāśaya, the pelvic region, and the areas below the navel. From the pakvāśaya its potency is described as spreading through the body's channels, like water poured at the root of a tree extending its effect through the tree.
The commentary first identifies the places in which a properly given basti is understood to remain. It then answers how an agent located chiefly in the pakvāśaya can affect the whole body, at times relieving weakness of all parts and at times removing or pacifying doṣas distributed throughout the body. Its vīrya is said to travel from the pakvāśaya through the srotas. Here vīrya, śakti, and prabhāva are treated as equivalent expressions for potency or effective power.
Key terms
pakvAshaya (pakvāśaya)
The lower digestive region identified as the principal location of basti in this passage.
basti
The historical rectally administered therapy discussed in the chapter.
vIrya (vīrya)
The potency or effective power attributed to the administered substance.
srotas
Channels through which the commentary says the potency spreads through the body.
prabhAva (prabhāva)
Effective influence or power, treated here as equivalent to vīrya and śakti.
स चापि सहसा बस्तिः केवलः समलोऽपि वा |
प्रत्येति वीर्यं त्वनिलैरपानाद्यैर्विनीयते ||२६||
Meaning of the śloka
The basti fluid, whether returning alone or together with fecal matter, comes back promptly; its potency, however, is said to be carried through the body by apāna and the other divisions of vāyu.
The commentary asks how basti can remain beneficial even after the administered material has come out. It explains pratyeti as 'returns' and vīrya as the qualities of the unctuous substance and related effects. The word 'other' in 'apāna and the others' includes udāna and the remaining divisions: apāna carries downward, udāna upward, and vyāna throughout the body. The passage thus distinguishes the returning material from the potency said to be distributed to bodily parts.
Key terms
pratyeti
Returns or comes back after administration.
vIrya (vīrya)
The potency or effective qualities said to persist beyond the return of the material.
apAna (apāna)
The division of vāyu described here as carrying downward.
udAna (udāna)
The division of vāyu described by the commentary as carrying upward.
vyAna (vyāna)
The division of vāyu described as distributing throughout the body.
Though situated in the pakvāśaya, a properly applied basti is said through its potency to draw doṣas from the feet to the head, as the sun in the sky draws moisture from the earth. By stirring the accumulations located in the waist, back, and internal cavity and loosening them from their roots, it is said to remove them.
The commentary says that the verses use a comparison to explain how basti, while remaining in one location, is held to remove doṣas distributed through all parts of the body. It also records a textual disagreement: some authorities do not read this verse or these verses at this point.
Key terms
bastivIrya (bastivīrya)
The potency attributed to basti in the passage's explanation of action beyond its location.
doSha (doṣa)
The bodily factors said here to be drawn out or removed.
pakvAshaya (pakvāśaya)
The location in which basti is described as remaining.
sa~jcaya (sañcaya)
An accumulation said to be stirred and uprooted by the therapy's potency.
sAdhuyojita (sādhuyojita)
Properly or suitably applied in the terms of the source.
Because vāyu is described as governing the aggravation of all three doṣas, no other measure is said to withstand the force of greatly increased vāyu as basti does, just as the shoreline contains the sea when its waters are driven by wind. When properly employed, basti is said to promote bodily development, complexion, strength, health, and longevity.
The commentary explains the simile: udadhi means the ocean; its water is driven or bent by wind; and velā is the boundary formed by the shore. Just as that boundary especially withstands the force of the wind-driven sea, the passage presents basti as resisting the force of aggravated vāyu.
Key terms
vAyu (vāyu)
The doṣa described here as governing the aggravation of all three doṣas.
doShatraya (doṣatraya)
The three doṣas considered together.
basti
The historical therapy praised in the verse as opposing aggravated vāyu.
velA (velā)
The shore or coastal boundary in the verse's simile.
samyagupAsita (samyagupāsita)
Properly employed or attended to, as qualified by the source.
The text next classifies complications of basti. It lists six faults of introducing the nozzle, eleven faults of the nozzle itself, five faults of the bag or reservoir, four faults in compression, eleven faults of the medicinal material, and seven faults of patient positioning—forty-four complications attributed to the practitioner. Fifteen attributed to the patient are said to be described elsewhere. It also lists reasons why an unctuous basti may be retained and fail to return, and names nine further complications connected with practitioner-related causes, including inadequate action, distension, cutting pain, discharge, straining with discharge, involvement of the heart, stiffness of the limbs, excessive action, and passage of blood.
The commentary explains the listed technical faults without turning them into a method. Among introduction faults, it distinguishes shaking, twisting after entry, lateral pressure, excessive upward direction, downward sinking, and oblique placement. It glosses disputed or difficult nozzle features: sūkṣmāticchidra is explained as a very small mouth but is also stated to mean a large mouth, and asrimat is taken as having an edge or rim, while others interpret it as having a sharp edge. For the reservoir, bahalatā is explained as excessive fleshy thickness, though others understand breadth, and prastīrṇatā as a network-like spread of sinews. It distinguishes slight delay caused by weak compression from a major departure from proper timing. Āma means uncooked or unprocessed oil, and the eleven material faults may concern oil basti, nirūha basti, or both as applicable. The seven posture faults are attributed figuratively to the bed but actually concern the patient's position. Finally, the commentary says that some complications belong to nirūha, some to anuvāsana, and some to both.
Key terms
praNidhAnadoSha (praṇidhānadoṣa)
A fault in placing or introducing the basti nozzle.
netradoSha (netradoṣa)
A fault of the basti nozzle or instrument itself.
bastidoSha (bastidoṣa)
A defect of the historical bag or reservoir used in the apparatus.
dravyadoSha (dravyadoṣa)
A fault in the administered material, such as amount, temperature, sharpness, unctuousness, dryness, or consistency.
shayyAdoSha (śayyādoṣa)
A fault connected with patient position, expressed figuratively as a fault of the bed.
nirUha (nirūha)
One category of basti to which some listed complications are assigned.
anuvAsana (anuvāsana)
The unctuous category of basti to which some listed complications are assigned.
In summary, seventy-six complications have been stated. The text says that their distinguishing signs and, afterward, their treatment will be explained.
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ਵਿਜ੍ਞਾਨਂ ਲਕ੍ਸਣਮ੍| ਸਿਦ੍ਧਿਂ ਚਿਕਿਤ੍ਸਿਤਮ੍||੩੩||
Meaning of the commentary
The commentary glosses vijñāna as the signs or characteristics by which the complications are recognized, and siddhi as their treatment.
Key terms
ShaTsaptati (ṣaṭsaptati)
Seventy-six, the total number of complications stated in summary.
vyApad (vyāpad)
A complication or adverse outcome.
vij~jAna (vijñāna)
The identifying signs or characteristics, according to the commentary.
siddhi
Treatment in the commentary's explanation of this passage.
इति सुश्रुतसंहितायां चिकित्सास्थाने नेत्रबस्तिप्रमाणप्रविभागचिकित्सितं नाम पञ्चत्रिंशोऽध्यायः ||३५||
Meaning of the śloka
Thus ends the thirty-fifth chapter of the Cikitsāsthāna in the Suśruta Saṃhitā, entitled Netrabastipramāṇapravibhāgacikitsita, concerning the classification of measurements for the basti nozzle and apparatus.
The commentary's colophon states that the thirty-fifth chapter of the Cikitsāsthāna is complete in Dalhaṇa's Suśruta commentary entitled Nibandhasaṅgraha. The supplied text preserves a spelling variation in the commentator's name, Dalhaṇa/Dalhlaṇa.