৬. দুন্দুভিস্বনীযকল্পঃ

Meaning of the śloka

Now the chapter called Dundubhisvanīya Kalpa, concerning the sound of the drum, will be explained, as taught by the revered Dhanvantari.

Key terms

dundubhisvanīya

Pertaining to the sound or resonance of a dundubhi drum.

kalpa

The chapter or prescribed account being introduced.

Dhanvantari

The revered teacher to whom the instruction is attributed.

Meaning of the śloka

The passage directs that ashes from a very large group of specified trees and plants be collected, filtered repeatedly with cow urine according to the method for preparing alkali, and cooked. Powders of another extensive group of substances, together with equal portions of available metals, are then added, and the mixture is cooked to the prescribed consistency and stored in an iron vessel. This preparation is to be applied to a dundubhi drum, banners, and gateways. The text claims that hearing the drum, seeing the banners or gateways, or touching treated objects releases a person from poison. Named Kṣārāgada, it is also claimed for urinary gravel or stones, hemorrhoids, vāta-type abdominal masses, cough, pain, abdominal disorders, indigestion, grahaṇī disorder, severe aversion to food, swelling, pervasive diarrhea, and severe dyspnea. It is presented as broadly usable for those afflicted by poison and as restraining even leading serpents such as Takṣaka.

Key terms

Kṣārāgada

The name of the historical alkaline antidotal preparation described here.

dundubhi

A drum coated with the preparation and credited by the text with protective sound.

kṣārakalpa

The stated classical method of preparing and filtering an alkaline substance.

nāgadantī

Identified as a type of indravāruṇī, while Jejjaṭa interprets it as dantī.

Takṣaka

A prominent serpent invoked to express the preparation's claimed power.

Meaning of the śloka

The passage lists viḍaṅga, triphalā, dantī, bhadradāru, hareṇu, tālīśapatra, mañjiṣṭhā, keśara, utpala, padmaka, pomegranate, mālatī flower, the two rajanīs, the two sārivās, the two sthirās, priyaṅgu, tagara, kuṣṭha, the two bṛhatīs, elavāluka, sandalwood, and gavākṣī. Ghee prepared with these is called Kalyāṇaka and is claimed to counter poison. The text also attributes to it benefits in graha and apasmāra, pāṇḍu disorder, artificial poison, dyspnea, weak digestion, fever, cough, wasting, diminished semen, and infertility.

Key terms

Kalyāṇaka Ghṛta

The medicated ghee named in the commentary and credited with numerous effects in the verse.

viṣāpaha

Described by the text as countering poison.

gara

A classical category of deliberately combined or artificial poison in this context.

Bhūtavidyā

The section where the commentary says this preparation is also taught.

Meaning of the śloka

The seeds of apāmārga and the seed-like fruits of śirīṣa, together with the two white varieties and kākamācī, are to be ground with cow urine. Ghee prepared with these substances is called Amṛta; the text praises it as a supreme means of calming poison and even claims that it can revive one who is dead.

Key terms

apāmārga

A plant whose seeds are included in the historical preparation.

śvete dve

The ‘two white’ ingredients, identified in the commentary in two alternative ways.

Amṛta

The name given to this historical poison-countering ghee preparation.

viṣasaṃśamana

Calming or counteracting poison, as claimed by the passage.

Meaning of the śloka

The passage gives a long collection of aromatic, plant, mineral, salt, resin, and flower substances. Their fine powders are to be combined with cow bile, honey, and ghee and stored in a horn. The resulting eighty-five-part preparation is named Mahāsugandhi and called the foremost or king of antidotes. It is claimed to restore a person who appears near death, forcibly overcome even the fierce poison attributed to the serpent king Vāsuki, protect food and drink touched by a king who carries it, and make a king who bathes and anoints himself with it attractive, radiant, and secure even among enemies.

Key terms

Mahāsugandhi

The name of this historical eighty-five-part aromatic antidotal preparation.

agada

An antidotal preparation in the classical account.

śilāpuṣpa

An uncertain ingredient explained as manaḥśilā together with puṣpakāsīsa; an alternative reading gives tilapuṣpa.

vaśīkaraṇa

Influence or attraction over others, which the commentary associates with bathing and anointing.

Meaning of the śloka

A knowledgeable practitioner should generally avoid heating measures in a person affected by poison. The text excepts poison attributed to insects, stating that this type becomes aggravated by cold.

Key terms

uṣṇavarjya

The instruction to avoid heating measures.

kīṭaviṣa

Poison attributed to insects, treated as an exception in this passage.

sveda

Sudation or fomentation, which the commentary says is generally withheld here.

śodhana

A cleansing or evacuative therapeutic approach for which sudation might otherwise be an adjunct.

Meaning of the śloka

After determining from the dietary rules what is beneficial and harmful, the beneficial items should be given to a person affected by poison and incompatible items should be withheld. The text specifically directs avoidance of phāṇita, śigru, sauvīra, eating during indigestion or eating again before the previous meal is digested, and the group beginning with newly harvested grain. It also directs avoidance of daytime sleep, sexual intercourse, exercise, anger, exposure to the sun, alcoholic drink, sesame, and kulattha.

Key terms

śubhāśubha

What is beneficial and harmful in the dietary context, according to the commentary.

ajīrṇa

A state of indigestion, during which eating is prohibited here.

adhyaśana

Eating again before the preceding food has been digested.

navadhānya

Newly harvested grain, heading a broader group to be avoided in this regimen.

kulattha

A food item specifically included among those to be avoided.

Meaning of the śloka

The physician should recognize a person as free from poison when the doṣas are settled, the dhātus remain in their natural condition, there is a desire for food, the tongue functions in accord with the mind, and the person's complexion, senses, mental state, and actions are clear and normal.

Key terms

prasannadoṣa

Having vāta and the other doṣas settled in their normal condition.

prakṛtisthadhātu

Having the bodily constituents and wastes in their natural state, as interpreted by the commentary.

annābhikāṅkṣa

Desiring food, taken here as an indication of balanced agni.

samasūtrajihva

A tongue said to function in coordination with the mind and perceive taste normally.

samamūtraviṭka

A variant reading referring to normal urine and feces.

Meaning of the śloka

Thus ends the sixth chapter of the Kalpasthāna in the Suśruta Saṃhitā, entitled Dundubhisvanīya Kalpa.

Key terms

Kalpasthāna

The section of the Suśruta Saṃhitā in which this chapter occurs.

Dundubhisvanīya Kalpa

The title of the sixth chapter concluded by this colophon.

Nibandhasaṅgraha

The title given to Dalhaṇa's commentary on the Suśruta Saṃhitā.