The commentary explains svedāvacāraṇa as the application or employment of sveda. As in earlier chapter openings, the chapter is named for the subject it treats.
Key terms
svedāvacāraṇa
The therapeutic application or employment of sveda.
sveda
Sudation or a heat-based therapeutic measure in this chapter.
Dhanvantari
The authoritative teacher to whom the instruction is attributed.
Sveda is of four kinds: tāpasveda, heat applied through warm or heated objects; ūṣmasveda, steam or vapour sudation; upanāhasveda, sudation through a bound application; and dravasveda, sudation using liquids. All specific varieties of sveda are included within these four categories.
The commentary derives tāpa from heating, explains ūṣman as vapour, interprets upanāha as a binding or bandaged application, and describes drava as a flowing liquid such as a decoction or milk. It says that the thirteen forms described by Caraka, beginning with saṅkara, can all be placed within these four classes. Jentāka, karṣū, kuṭī, kūpa, and holaka are included under tāpasveda; saṅkara, prastara, aśmaghana, nāḍī, kumbhī, and bhūsveda under ūṣmasveda; and pariṣeka and avagāha under dravasveda.
Key terms
tāpasveda
The class of sveda based on applied heat.
ūṣmasveda
The class of sveda employing steam or vapour.
upanāhasveda
The class of sveda involving a bound or bandaged application.
dravasveda
The class of sveda employing flowing or liquid media.
pariṣeka
A form involving pouring or streaming liquid, classified here under dravasveda.
avagāha
Immersion or bathing, classified here under dravasveda.
Tāpasveda is described as being applied with the hand, a bronze object, a heated utensil, an earthen fragment, sand, or cloth. For a person lying down, repeated warming of body regions is also described with embers of khadira wood.
Introducing the materials used for the methods, the commentary explains kanduka as a vessel used for cooking cakes and kapāla as a fragment or earthen piece heated by flame.
Key terms
tāpasveda
Sudation through direct or mediated application of heat.
kāṃsya
A bronze object named as a medium for applying warmth.
kanduka
Interpreted by the commentary as a vessel used in cooking cakes.
kapāla
An earthen fragment or similar piece heated by flame.
khadirāṅgāra
Embers from khadira wood, mentioned as a heat source.
For ūṣmasveda, the text describes heated earthen pieces, stones, bricks, or iron balls being sprinkled with water or an acidic liquid and used, with a moist covering, to warm a body region. It also describes taking steam from a covered vessel containing meat broth, milk, curd, sneha, fermented grain liquid, or a decoction of leaves regarded as vāta-reducing. Another arrangement conducts steam from a vessel through a curved tube shaped like an elephant's trunk. A person affected by vāta is described as seated comfortably, well anointed, and covered with a heavy covering while receiving this steam; the method is said to reach the whole body without causing distress. The tube is described as approximately one vyāma or half a vyāma in length, bent three times, elephant-trunk shaped, and made from materials used for matting.
The commentary says that glowing-hot earthen pieces and the other heated objects are sprinkled with water or another liquid, covered with moist cloth, and used for regional sudation. It preserves Jejjaṭa's reading ārdralaktakapariveṣṭitam, which he treats as qualifying the body region, rather than the reading that refers to a moist cloth covering the heated objects. A vessel containing the listed liquids is covered, for example with a blanket, to moderate its heat; the vāta-reducing leaves are explained as young leaves of plants such as eraṇḍa. For the tube method, steam leaving a side opening is directed through a hollow, tapering tube made from kuśa, kāśa, or related materials. Three bends are said to reduce the force of the steam. Svabhyakta means thoroughly anointed, while the heavy covering is explained as limiting excessive heating. The commentary preserves uncertainty over the tube's length: the expression may mean one vyāma or half a vyāma; a vyāma is the span between both hands when the arms are fully extended. Kailiñjī describes an object made from materials used for woven matting.
Key terms
ūṣmasveda
Sudation employing steam or vapour.
nāḍī
A hollow tube used in the described apparatus to conduct steam.
hastiśuṇḍikā
The elephant-trunk-shaped steam-conducting tube.
vātaghna patrabhaṅga
Young leafy material regarded in the text as reducing vāta.
vyāma
The distance between the hands with both arms fully extended; the commentary records uncertainty about whether the tube is one or half this measure.
kailiñjī
Made from grasses or similar materials used for woven matting.
ārdralaktakapariveṣṭitam
A variant reading preserved by Jejjaṭa and interpreted as qualifying the body region.
The text describes excavating a ground area approximately the length of a person, heating it by burning khadira wood, sprinkling it with milk, fermented grain liquid, or water, and covering it with leafy branches. A person lying there is then subjected to sveda.
After describing nāḍīsveda within the steam methods, the commentary presents bhūsveda as another form of steam sudation. It explains āyāma as length, utkīrya as digging or excavating, and abhyukṣya as sprinkling. The leafy covering is identified as vāta-reducing young leaves, such as those of eraṇḍa.
Key terms
bhūsveda
A ground-based form of steam or heat sudation.
puruṣāyāma
A length measured approximately by the length of a person in this description.
khadira
The wood specified as the fuel in the historical description.
dhānyāmla
A fermented sour grain liquid used here for sprinkling.
patrabhaṅga
Leafy branches or young leaves used as a covering.
The commentary identifies this as aśmasveda within the steam-based methods. It explains that the stone surface is heated and the ash is removed; the word sphoṭayitvā is also supplied in explaining the preparation of the surface, but its precise practical sense here requires verification.
Key terms
aśmasveda
Sudation associated with a heated stone surface.
śilā
The stone or stone surface heated in the historical method.
bhasmāpohya
After removing or clearing away the ash.
pūrvavat
In the same general manner as the preceding description.
पूर्ववत् कुटीं वा चतुर्द्वारां कृत्वा तस्यामुपविष्टस्यान्तश्चतुर्द्वारेऽङ्गारानुपसन्धाय तं स्वेदयेत् ||१०||
Meaning of the śloka
The text also describes a hut with four doorways. A seated person is placed inside, embers are arranged at the four doorways, and sveda is applied in the manner previously described.
The commentary presents this kuṭīsveda as another steam-based method and connects it with the preceding heated-stone arrangement. Aṅgārān upasandhāya is explained as placing embers. By pūrvavat, it understands that the surface is heated, the ash is removed, and liquid is sprinkled; steam then enters from the door openings while the person remains at the centre of the hut.
Key terms
kuṭīsveda
A hut-based form of sudation described in the commentary.
caturdvāra
Having four doorways or openings.
aṅgāra
Embers placed near the openings in the historical description.
pūrvavat
As in the preceding heated-surface method, according to the commentary.
कोशधान्यानि वा सम्यगुपस्वेद्यास्तीर्य किलिञ्जेऽन्यस्मिन् वा तत्प्रतिरूपके शयानं प्रावृत्य स्वेदयेत्; एवं पांशुगोशकृत्तुषबुसपलालोष्मभिः स्वेदयेत् ||११||
Meaning of the śloka
For prastara-sveda, kośa-dhānyas are properly warmed and spread over a mat or a similar support. The person lies upon them, is covered, and is made to perspire. The verse likewise describes producing warmth with heated sand, dried cow dung, husks, chaff, or straw.
The commentary treats prastara-sveda, sweating on a warmed spread, as a form of bāṣpa-sveda. It explains kośa-dhānyas as śamī-dhānyas, pulse grains such as māṣa.
Key terms
prastarasveda (prastara-sveda)
A sweating method using a warmed material spread on which the person lies.
bAShpasveda (bāṣpa-sveda)
The broader steam or heat-based category under which the commentary places this method.
koshadhAnyAni (kośa-dhānyāni)
Pulse grains, explained as śamī-dhānyas such as māṣa.
tuSha (tuṣa)
Grain husk used here as a source of retained warmth.
In upanāha-sveda, pastes of roots regarded as vāta-reducing are ground with a sour liquid, made strongly saline and unctuous, and applied comfortably warm to produce sweating. The verse also lists preparations from the Kākolyādi, Elādi, and Surasādi groups; pastes of sesame, flax, or mustard; kṛśarā, pāyasa, utkārikā, veśavāra, or a sālvana preparation. These are bound in a thin cloth for the application.
The commentary identifies this as the third method, upanāha-sveda, and explains the sour liquid as kāñjika. It also includes saṅkara-sveda here: the named materials may be tied into a small bundle. It points to the separately listed Kākolyādi, Elādi, and Surasādi groups, and defines kṛśarā as gruel made with sesame, rice, and māṣa; pāyasa as rice cooked in milk; utkārikā as lapsikā; and veśavāra by the vernacular term caṭanī. Sālvana is the preparation taught for vāta disorders, while tanuvastrāvanaddha means bound in fine cloth. The commentary differentiates the selections within its doṣa framework: Kākolyādi when vāta is associated with pitta; Elādi and Surasādi when it is associated with kapha; and sesame, flax, kṛśarā and the other listed preparations when vāta is acting alone. It derives upanāha from the verbal root meaning 'to bind,' so upanāha denotes binding.
Key terms
upanAhasveda (upanāha-sveda)
A bound, warm application intended to produce sweating.
kA~jjika (kāñjika)
The sour liquid identified by the commentary for grinding the paste.
sa~gkarasveda (saṅkara-sveda)
A bundled sweating method included by the commentary under upanāha-sveda.
kRusharA (kṛśarā)
A gruel described here as made from sesame, rice, and māṣa.
Drava-sveda is described by immersing the person in a comfortably warm vessel or tub filled with a decoction of vāta-reducing substances. The verse similarly names milk, meat broth, pulse soup, oil, fermented grain liquid, ghee, animal fat, and urine as immersion media. The same comfortably warm liquids, as well as decoctions, may instead be poured over the body.
The commentary presents drava-sveda as the fourth sweating method. It explains pariṣiñcet as performing pariṣeka, pouring liquid over the body. The word 'and' after decoctions also carries forward the previously listed media beginning with milk and meat broth.
Key terms
dravasveda (drava-sveda)
A sweating method using warmed liquids by immersion or pouring.
avagAhya (avagāhya)
Having the person immerse in the warmed liquid.
pariShi~jcet (pariṣiñcet)
One should pour or sprinkle the warmed liquid over the body.
pariSheka (pariṣeka)
The procedure of pouring liquid over the body.
dhAnyAmla (dhānyāmla)
A sour or fermented grain liquid listed as one of the media.
Within the text's doṣa framework, tāpa-sveda and ūṣma-sveda are especially directed against śleṣman; upanāha-sveda is directed against vāta; and drava-sveda is used when either of those is associated with pitta.
When vāyu is accompanied by kapha and medas, the verse says that sweating may be produced without direct fire by staying in a windless sunny place, using heavy coverings, wrestling, walking, exercise, carrying loads, or anger.
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અથ નિરગ્નિકં સ્વેદમાહ- કફેત્યાદિ||૧૫||
Meaning of the commentary
The commentary states that this verse introduces niragnika-sveda, sweating produced without the direct use of fire.
Key terms
kaphamedonvite vAyau (kapha-medonvite vāyau)
Vāyu described as accompanied by kapha and medas.
niragnika sveda (niragnika-sveda)
Sweating produced without direct fire.
nivAtAtapa (nivātātapa)
Exposure to sunshine in a place sheltered from wind.
guruprAvaraNa (guru-prāvaraṇa)
Heavy covering used here to retain heat.
bhAraharaNa (bhāra-haraṇa)
Carrying a load as a means of producing exertional sweating.
The commentary notes that taking 'the whole body' without qualification would conflict with another authoritative text, which says that the testes, heart region, and eyes should be heated only mildly or not at all. It therefore interprets the word 'all' in a restricted sense that excludes or protects those areas.
Key terms
caturvidha sveda
The four categories of sweating described earlier in the chapter.
sarvasmin dehe
Application to the body generally, restricted by the commentary's stated exceptions.
dehasya avayava
A particular part or region of the body.
sa~gkucitavRutti (saṅkucita-vṛtti)
A restricted or narrowed interpretation of a word's scope.
येषां नस्यं विधातव्यं बस्तिश्चैव हि देहिनाम् |
शोधनीयाश्च ये केचित् पूर्वं स्वेद्यास्तु ते मताः ||१७||
पश्चात् स्वेद्या हृते शल्ये मूढगर्भाऽनुपद्रवा |
सम्यक् प्रजाता काले या पश्चात् स्वेद्या विजानता ||१८||
स्वेद्यः पूर्वं च पश्चाच्च भगन्दर्यर्शसस्तथा |
अश्मर्या चातुरो जन्तुः शेषाञ्छास्त्रे प्रचक्ष्महे ||१९||
Meaning of the śloka
The verses say that persons who are to receive nasya, basti, or another cleansing procedure are first subjected to sveda. After a foreign body has been removed, sveda is applied afterward. A woman with obstructed labour who has no complication, and a woman who has delivered properly at the expected time, are also described as receiving it afterward under knowledgeable care. A person with bhagandara, arśas, or aśmarī is described as receiving sveda both before and after the relevant intervention; other instances are said to be taught elsewhere in the treatise.
The commentary says that these verses distinguish how sveda is placed before, after, or on both sides of another measure according to the particular disorder or circumstance. It also preserves a textual disagreement: some teachers do not read this passage because they regard it as non-authoritative or not belonging to the original ṛṣi text. The commentator nevertheless accepts it because Gayadāsa accepted it.
Key terms
nasya
A nasal procedure for which sveda is placed beforehand in the verse.
basti
A therapeutic procedure for which sveda is placed beforehand in the verse.
mUDhagarbhA (mūḍhagarbhā)
A woman with obstructed or difficult labour in the passage's context.
bhagandara
A condition for which the text places sveda both before and after another intervention.
arshas (arśas)
A condition likewise assigned sveda before and after an intervention.
anArShagrantha (anārṣa-grantha)
A passage regarded by some teachers as not belonging to the authoritative original text.
gayadAsa (Gayadāsa)
The authority whose acceptance supports the commentator's inclusion of these verses.
Those knowledgeable about sveda should never apply it to a person who has not received external oiling or whose body has not been internally oleated. The text compares this with dry wood, which quickly breaks when subjected to heating or steaming measures.
The commentary presents oleation as the preparatory measure for sveda. Abhyaṅga supplies the external sneha preparation, while snigdhatā of the body refers to prior internal oleation. To illustrate the harm of applying sveda without sneha, it says that just as dry wood disintegrates when heated or steamed, an unoleated body may be harmed by sveda.
Key terms
abhyaṅga
External application of sneha described as preparation before sveda.
snigdhadeha
A body made unctuous through the internal sneha preparation discussed by the commentary.
sveda
Therapeutic sweating or heating measures in this chapter.
asnigdha
Not oleated; compared here with dry wood exposed to heat.
स्नेहक्लिन्ना धातुसंस्थाश्च दोषाः स्वस्थानस्था ये च मार्गेषु लीनाः |
सम्यक् स्वेदैर्योजितैस्ते द्रवत्वं प्राप्ताः कोष्ठं शोधनैर्यान्त्यशेषम् ||२१||
Meaning of the śloka
According to the text, doṣas situated in the dhātus, remaining in their own locations, or lodged in the pathways are first softened by sneha. When suitable sveda makes them fluid, they move to the koṣṭha and are then said to be removed completely by śodhana.
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સ્નેહપૂર્વકમેવ દોષાણાં કોષ્ઠશાખાશ્રયાણાં શોધનં ન પુનરન્યથેત્યાહ- સ્નેહક્લિન્ના ઇત્યાદિ| સ્વેદૈર્દ્રવત્વં પ્રાપ્ય દ્રવત્વાત્ કોષ્ઠં પ્રાપ્તાઃ શોધનૈર્નિઃશેષં યાન્તિ બહિર્નિઃસરન્તીત્યર્થઃ||૨૧||
Meaning of the commentary
The commentary states that doṣas located in the koṣṭha or peripheral tissues should be subjected to śodhana only after prior sneha, not otherwise. Sveda is said to liquefy them; because of this fluidity they reach the koṣṭha, from which śodhana expels them outward without remainder within the text's therapeutic model.
Key terms
snehaklinna
Softened or moistened by sneha as preparation for the subsequent measures.
dhātusaṃstha
Situated in the dhātus or bodily tissues in the text's framework.
koṣṭha
The central internal tract to which the text says liquefied doṣas move.
śodhana
Eliminative therapy said here to expel doṣas after sneha and sveda.
When suitably applied, sveda is said to kindle agni, produce softness and clarity of the skin, encourage desire for food, clear the srotases, remove sleepiness and torpor, and quickly restore movement to stiff joints.
The commentary introduces these as the qualities of sveda and preserves the view of some teachers that sveda is of two kinds: saṃśamanīya, used for pacification, and that which serves as a component of śodhana. For disorders associated with sāma, they say pacificatory sveda should be dry, with the benefits listed in this verse. Sveda used as part of śodhana should instead follow sneha, and its effect is the liquefaction described in the preceding verse. These are distinct applications in the commentators' account.
Key terms
agner dīpti
Kindling of digestive capacity as a benefit attributed to sveda.
srotasāṃ nirmalatva
Clarity of the channels within the text's conceptual framework.
saṃśamanīya
The pacificatory type of sveda described by some teachers.
saṃśodhanāṅgabhūta
Sveda serving as a preparatory component of eliminative therapy.
sāma
A state qualified by āma in which the cited teachers prescribe dry pacificatory sveda.
The signs described for proper sveda are sweating, reduction of the disorder, lightness, a desire for coolness, and softness of the patient. With inadequate sveda, the opposite signs occur. Excessive sveda is said to cause joint pain, burning, blisters, aggravation of pitta and rakta, fainting, disorientation, heat and thirst, and exhaustion; the text directs that cooling measures then be used promptly.
The commentary explains that the verses distinguish proper application, inadequate application, and excessive application, together with a response to excess. It glosses mithyāsvinna as inadequately sweated and identifies its signs as worsening of the disorder, heaviness of the body, desire for warmth, and bodily stiffness—the opposites of the signs of proper sveda.
Key terms
samyaksvinna
A state regarded as properly sweated according to the listed traditional signs.
mithyāsvinna
Inadequately sweated, interpreted through signs opposite to proper application.
sphoṭotpatti
Development of blisters, listed as a sign of excessive heat exposure.
mūrcchā
Fainting or loss of consciousness associated here with excessive sveda.
śīta vidhāna
Cooling management directed by the text after excessive sveda.
The text excludes from sveda persons described as pāṇḍu, mehī, pittaraktī, affected by kṣaya, emaciated, suffering from indigestion or abdominal disease, affected by poison, afflicted by thirst or vomiting, pregnant, having consumed alcohol, or experiencing atisāra. It warns that sveda may gravely harm them and make their disorders difficult to treat. The final supplied line appears to introduce an exception involving a weak person or one whose food remains undigested when the disease is considered treatable by sveda, but its wording and numbering are incomplete and require review.
The commentary says that the renewed prohibition for a person with meha reinforces a rule already stated earlier. It then identifies the next line as a pratiprasava, or exception, for a sveda-treatable disorder in a weak person or one with undigested food, and glosses syātām as 'the two may be.' Because the supplied commentary ends abruptly after verse 25 and the verse text marked 26 is incomplete, the precise construction of the exception cannot be established confidently here.
Key terms
pāṇḍu
A named disorder or condition listed as a contraindication to sveda.
mehī
A person with meha, whose exclusion is repeated here as a firm rule.
garbhiṇī
A pregnant person, listed among those not to receive sveda.
atisārī
A person experiencing atisāra or excessive loose evacuation.
pratiprasava
An exception to a general prohibition, which the commentary says the incomplete final line introduces.
एतेषां स्वेदसाध्या ये व्याधयस्तेषु बुद्धिमान् |
मृदून् स्वेदान् प्रयुञ्जीत तथा हृन्मुष्कदृष्टिषु ||२६||
सर्वान् स्वेदान्निवाते च जीर्णान्नस्यावचारयेत् |
स्नेहाभ्यक्तशरीरस्य शीतैराच्छाद्य चक्षुषी ||२७||
स्विद्यमानस्य च मुहुर्हृदयं शीतलैः स्पृशेत् |
सम्यक्स्विन्नं विमृदितं स्नातमुष्णाम्बुभिः शनैः ||२८||
स्वभ्यक्तं प्रावृताङ्गं च निवातशरणस्थितम् |
भोजयेदनभिष्यन्दि सर्वं चाचारमादिशेत् ||२९||
Meaning of the śloka
When a disorder in one of the previously excluded persons is nevertheless regarded as responsive to sveda, the knowledgeable practitioner is told to use only mild sveda. Mild application is likewise directed around the heart, testes, and eyes. Sveda is to be performed in a windless place after the previous meal has digested, on a body anointed with sneha, with the eyes covered by cool materials and the heart repeatedly touched with something cool. After proper sweating, the person is described as being gently rubbed, gradually bathed with warm water, anointed, covered, kept in a windless shelter, and given food considered anabhiṣyandi, along with the prescribed conduct.
The commentary treats the opening as an exception for an urgent disorder considered treatable by sveda among the previously excluded groups. It explains why the requirement that food be digested is repeated: the earlier rule about not approaching heat immediately after eating concerned a healthy person, whereas this rule concerns a patient. It defines abhiṣyandi as a substance that immediately produces a condition conducive to disease or coats the srotases; anabhiṣyandi means the opposite. The passage is descriptive of a historical supervised sequence and does not provide safe modern operating parameters.
Key terms
mṛdu sveda
Mild sweating or heat exposure prescribed for the named vulnerable contexts.
hṛd
The heart region, which the text directs should receive protection and cooling.
muṣka
The testes, named with the heart and eyes as requiring mild exposure.
nivāta
A place protected from wind, specified during and after the procedure.
anabhiṣyandi
Food described as opposite to that which promotes disease or coats the srotases.
Adhikarana પુષ્પિકા · Śloka ૩૨
ઇતિ સુશ્રુતસંહિતાયાં ચિકિત્સાસ્થાને સ્વેદાવચારણીયં ચિકિત્સિતં નામ દ્વાત્રિંશોઽધ્યાયઃ ||૩૨||
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इति सुश्रुतसंहितायां चिकित्सास्थाने स्वेदावचारणीयं चिकित्सितं नाम द्वात्रिंशोऽध्यायः ||३२||
Meaning of the śloka
Thus ends the thirty-second chapter of the Cikitsāsthāna in the Suśruta Saṃhitā, entitled Svedāvacāraṇīyacikitsita.
Thus ends the thirty-second chapter of the Cikitsāsthāna in the Nibandhasaṅgraha commentary on Suśruta composed by Śrī Dalhaṇa. The supplied text preserves the spelling-order variant Dalha(hla)ṇa in the commentator's name.