अथातो जङ्गमविषविज्ञानीयं कल्पं व्याख्यास्यामः ||१||
यथोवाच भगवान् धन्वन्तरिः ||२||
Meaning of the śloka
Now the chapter called Jaṅgamaviṣavijñānīya Kalpa, concerning the recognition of poisons associated with living creatures, will be explained, as taught by Bhagavān Dhanvantari.
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அதாத இத்யாதி||௧-௨||
Meaning of the commentary
The commentary only marks the conventional opening words, ‘Now, therefore,’ and the two introductory verses; it adds no further interpretation.
Key terms
jaṅgamaviṣa
Poison associated in this chapter with living or moving creatures.
vijñānīya
That which is to be recognized or understood.
kalpa
A section presenting the subject and its traditional management.
Dhanvantari
The authoritative teacher to whom the instruction is attributed.
The text says that sixteen sites or means through which jaṅgama poison may be conveyed were previously stated briefly and will now be described in detail: sight, exhalation, fangs, nails, urine, faeces, semen, saliva, menstrual blood, the mouth or bite, an offensive anal sound or discharge, a beak, bone, bile, bristles, and a dead body.
The commentary explains niḥśvāsa as a forceful exhalation or hissing breath, viśardhita as an objectionable sound produced from the anus, śūka as the hair or bristle of an insect, and śava as the lifeless body of an insect or snake. It also preserves Vṛddha Vāgbhaṭa’s different reading: in place of ‘beak’ and ‘viśardhita,’ he reads āla/āra and blood. These are historical categories and variant readings, not reliable means for identifying a present-day toxic exposure.
Key terms
adhiṣṭhāna
A site or vehicle through which poison is described as acting or being conveyed.
niḥśvāsa
Exhalation, glossed here as a forceful breath or hiss.
viśardhita
An offensive anal sound or emission according to the commentary.
The passage assigns different animals and small creatures to numerous traditional poison-bearing sites. Celestial snakes are said to act through sight and breath, while terrestrial snakes act through their fangs. Cats, dogs, monkeys, makara, frogs, certain fish, monitor lizards, snails, household lizards, four-footed insects, and others are associated with fangs or nails. Other named insects are assigned to urine or faeces; mice to semen; lūtā to saliva, urine, faeces, biting mouth, nails, semen, and menstrual blood; and scorpions and several aquatic or insect forms to a sting or similar structure. Further groups are associated with a biting mouth and other emissions, bones, bile, bristles or beaks, or the lifeless body. Creatures not specifically named are to be included among those whose poison acts through a bite or mouth-contact mechanism.
The commentary says that ‘celestial’ means dwelling above and ‘terrestrial’ dwelling on the ground, but cautions that this division is only general because all snakes possess poison at the bite site. It quotes another source listing many supposed poisonous parts or secretions. Mention of the cat is taken to include predatory beasts such as tigers. Several creature names are disputed: makara is variously understood as an aquatic animal, a makara-shaped insect listed among āgneya insects, or a crab-like scorpion; pāka-matsya is treated as a particular insect; godhā is identified by some as kṛṣṇagodhā because they infer an omitted word; and pracalāka is another particular insect. The commentary supplies local descriptions for household lizard and various insects but says several regional names must be learned from local usage. Āra is explained as the spine on a scorpion’s tail or a similar structure, although its thick bristle-like form could place it under śūka. Gayadāsa instead reads ālālaviṣa and glosses ālāla as saliva. Another textual variation treats varakī-matsya and varaṭī-matsya as a single name. Gatāsava means lifeless. All these identifications and variants remain distinct and uncertain.
Key terms
divya / bhauma
The traditional distinction between creatures dwelling above and those on the ground, described as only a general rule.
daṃṣṭrāviṣa
Poison described as conveyed through fangs or a bite.
lūtā
A category of small poisonous creature assigned multiple supposed poison-bearing secretions and structures.
āra
A sting or spine, explained here with reference to a scorpion’s tail.
The passage says that enemies may contaminate grass or fodder, water, roads, food, smoke, and air with poison in hostile territory. After recognizing severe contamination through the signs described subsequently, one should undertake purification.
The commentary explains that enemies may contaminate these things even for a king who has entered hostile territory. Food is repeated here, although discussed earlier under food protection, because the present context concerns contaminated places and related exposures. Śvasana means air, and ‘these signs’ refers to the signs that the text will describe next.
Key terms
arideśa
Hostile or enemy territory in the passage’s political setting.
sandūṣayanti
They contaminate or thoroughly pollute.
śvasana
Air, according to the commentary.
liṅga
A sign by which contamination is to be recognized.
Water described as poisoned is said to become slimy, strongly odorous, foamy, and covered with streaks. Frogs and fish die, while birds and creatures of marshy habitats wander as if intoxicated. People, horses, or elephants entering such water are said to develop vomiting, impaired awareness, fever, burning, and swelling. The text then directs that their disturbed doṣas be removed and that an effort be made to purify the water.
The commentary specifies that the streaks are dark. It explains that birds, together with animals inhabiting marshy places, wander in an intoxicated state under the force of poison. Ṛcchanti means ‘they attain or experience,’ and yateta means ‘one should make an effort.’ It adds no method of treatment or purification in this passage.
Key terms
duṣṭa jala
Water regarded in the passage as contaminated or poisoned.
rāji
A streak or line, specified by the commentary as dark.
sānūpacara
Together with creatures that inhabit marshy or wet environments.
moha
Impairment of awareness or confusion among the described symptoms.
The text lists dhava, aśvakarṇa, asana, pāribhadra, pāṭalā, siddhaka, mokṣaka, rājadruma, and somavalka. It says they are to be burned, the ash cooled and distributed in bodies of water; it also describes placing a handful of ash in a vessel to purify the desired quantity of water.
The commentary identifies this as a proposed agent for purifying contaminated water. It identifies aśvakarṇa with a tree locally known in the eastern region as gandhamuṇḍa and resembling aśvattha, asana with bījaka, pāribhadra with a thorny, red-flowered tree called phalabhadra, rājadruma with kiramālaka, and somavalka with kaṭvala. Vitaret means ‘one should cast or distribute it.’ The plural ‘in lakes’ is said also to indicate non-flowing water, because contamination of flowing water is considered difficult. After describing purification of a reservoir for the public, the passage is interpreted as addressing drawn water for particular persons: one añjali, explained as four pala, is placed in a ghaṭa containing a droṇa of water. Jejjaṭa, however, understands ghaṭa as a gargarī vessel. These historical plant identifications and measures are not independently established here.
Key terms
aśvakarṇa
A listed tree identified by the commentary with the eastern-region name gandhamuṇḍa.
pāribhadra
A listed tree described as thorny, red-flowered, and also called phalabhadra.
saras
A lake or reservoir, extended by the commentary to non-flowing water.
añjali
A traditional measure glossed here as four pala.
ghaṭa / gargarī
The water vessel, with Jejjaṭa preserving gargarī as the interpretation.
The passage describes poisoned ground, a stone surface, a river landing, or barren ground. When cattle, horses, elephants, camels, donkeys, or people touch such a place with any body part, that part is said to swell and burn, while hair and nails deteriorate. It then describes grinding anantā with aromatic substances and alcoholic preparations and sprinkling the route, or using milk mixed with earth, or water containing viḍaṅga, pāṭhā, and kaṭabhī.
The commentary explains tīrtha as a landing or bank at a river and īriṇa as saline or barren ground. It construes the prescription as combining anantā with aromatic substances, grinding them with surā, and sprinkling the route. Because surā is plural, it is interpreted as alcoholic preparations made from honey, jaggery, or flour. Anantā is identified as utpalasārivā, and ‘all aromatics’ refers to the group beginning with elā. Payas means milk. One reading describes sprinkling milk mixed with earth, or alternatively water containing viḍaṅga and the other listed substances; the earth is understood especially as dark earth. Another version reads a longer line that adds vacā, surā, and earth-mixed water when no other route is available. Some read ‘earth from an anthill’ instead of simply ‘earth-mixed,’ attributing an antipoison property to anthill soil. These variant procedures and ingredients should remain separate.
Key terms
tīrtha
A river landing, bank, or access place in this context.
īriṇa
Barren or saline ground.
anantā
A listed plant identified by the commentary as utpalasārivā.
surā
An alcoholic preparation; the plural is interpreted as preparations made from several substrates.
valmīkamṛd
Anthill earth preserved in an alternative reading.
When grass or food has been contaminated, some people become weak, faint, or vomit; others develop diarrhoea or die. The text says they should receive the treatment described for their respective condition. It also describes coating various musical instruments with antipoison preparations and sounding them. A further coating is said to contain equal portions of tāra, sutāra, surendra, gopā, and kuruvinda, combined with bile from a tawny animal; the text claims that the sound of such an instrument destroys even severe poisons.
The commentary explains sīdanti as bodily exhaustion and says that treatment already prescribed for weakness and related signs should be given together with substances regarded as counteracting poison. The agadas used to coat drums and other instruments are identified with those taught in the Dundubhisvanīya context. It then explains tāra as silver and sutāra as mercury. Surendra is interpreted as gold, although some identify it as kuṭaja; gopā is identified as sārivā. Kuruvinda is identified variously as mustā, niśānapāṣāṇa, or a superior red gemstone. These alternatives remain distinct. The proposed effect of the instrument's sound is a historical claim, not a reliable method for detecting or treating poisoning.
Key terms
sīdanti
They become weak or experience exhaustion of the limbs.
agada
A traditional preparation regarded in the passage as counteracting poison.
tāra / sutāra
Ingredients identified by the commentary as silver and mercury, respectively.
kuruvinda
An ingredient variously identified as mustā, niśānapāṣāṇa, or a superior red gemstone.
When smoke or air has been contaminated with poison, birds are described as becoming exhausted and falling to the ground, while people develop severe cough, nasal symptoms, headache, and eye disorders. The text lists lākṣā, haridrā, ativiṣā, abhayā, abda, hareṇukā, elā, dala, vakra, kuṣṭha, and priyaṅgukā, and describes placing them on a fire to purify the smoke and air.
The commentary says that the substances beginning with lākṣā are placed in fire for the proposed purification of smoke, while their powder is scattered into the air for the proposed purification of air. Some read madhūlikā instead of priyaṅgukā and explain that reading as guḍūcikā. The textual variant and its interpretation should be retained. These are historical environmental-poison measures and do not establish that smoke, air, or an unknown toxin has been made safe.
Key terms
viṣasamprayukta
Contaminated or combined with poison in the passage's description of smoke or air.
khaga
Birds, whose collapse is presented here as a sign of dangerous contamination.
priyaṅgukā
A listed ingredient for which madhūlikā is preserved as a variant reading.
madhūlikā / guḍūcikā
A variant reading and the commentary's associated explanation.
The passage gives a mythic account of poison's origin. While Brahmā, whose source is the Self, was creating living beings, the proud asura Kaiṭabha obstructed him. From the mouth of the angered Brahmā, described as a reservoir of radiance, terrible anger took bodily form. This figure burned the roaring and powerful Kaiṭabha, but its radiance increased after the asura was killed. Seeing it, the gods became distressed; because it produced viṣāda, it was called viṣa. After creating living beings, the Lord placed the remaining anger among both stationary and moving beings.
The commentary introduces this narrative as the embodied form of poison relevant to the therapeutic discussion. It explains Ātmayoni as one whose cause is the supreme Self and takes this to assert Brahmā's self-origin rather than an origin from another lord; kila signals agreement with received tradition. Vigrahavān means having a body, and the personified anger is said to burn Kaiṭabha to ashes. The radiance mentioned afterward belongs to that embodied anger. Viṣāda is explained as dejection or impairment of speech, body, and mind. Vinyastavān means that this remaining anger was deposited among beings. The passage offers a traditional etymological and cosmological account, not a toxicological mechanism.
Key terms
Ātmayoni
An epithet explained as having the supreme Self as one's source or cause.
vigrahavān krodha
Anger described as taking an embodied or personified form.
viṣāda
Distress or dejection, explained as impairment of speech, body, and mind.
viṣa
Poison; its name is connected in this narrative with producing viṣāda.
Just as water, whose taste is initially indistinct, falls from the sky to the earth and assumes a particular taste in different regions, poison likewise pervades whatever substance contains it and, by its nature, follows the taste of that substance.
The commentary offers this comparison to explain why poison may display varied potency or character. Although water is described as having a single taste, after falling from the sky it takes on a definite taste according to the differing qualities that predominate in each place. In the same way, poison is said to occupy a substance and conform naturally to that substance's taste. This analogy belongs to the source's explanatory framework and is not a dependable sensory method for detecting poison.
Key terms
avyaktarasa
Having an indistinct or unmanifest taste.
rasa
Taste, here used in the comparison between water, a containing substance, and poison.
vyāpya avatiṣṭhate
Pervades and remains within the substance.
svabhāva
Inherent nature, invoked to explain poison's conformity to its medium.
Because the qualities of poison are generally described as sharp and rapidly acting, every poison is said to aggravate all the doṣas. When vāta, pitta, and kapha are disturbed and afflicted by poison, they abandon their normal functions. The poison then does not undergo digestion and obstructs the vital processes. When the respiratory pathway is enveloped by kapha, breathing is obstructed, and the person remains unconscious even while life persists.
The commentary explains that the qualities of poison oppose all bodily dhātus and therefore act sharply and quickly; it connects this characterization with poison's fiery and anger-like nature. The aggravated doṣas are then said to lose their respective functions: vāta's movement, pitta's coloration and digestion, and kapha's binding of the joints, among others. Because pitta no longer performs digestion, the poison remains unprocessed and obstructs prāṇa. Kapha mixed with poison is described as blocking respiration, leaving a living person visaṃjña, without proper awareness. This is the commentator's traditional physiological reasoning.
Key terms
tīkṣṇa
Sharp or intense, here characterizing the rapid action attributed to poison.
sarvadoṣaprakopaṇa
Causing aggravation of all three doṣas in the source's framework.
prāṇān ruṇaddhi
Obstructs the vital processes, especially respiration in this context.
The text says that venom is present throughout the body of every snake, like reproductive fluid, and that when snakes become enraged it comes from their limbs, just as reproductive fluid arises through stimulation. Their fangs are compared to fishhooks, and the venom reaching them adheres there. The passage adds that snakes do not release venom while the fangs remain unturned or unengaged.
The commentary reiterates that snake venom is distributed throughout the snake's body and says that in an angered snake it comes from its bodily parts. The comparison with reproductive fluid is explained through stimulation. Baḍiśa is a fish-catching hook, and sajjati means that the venom becomes attached or connected to the fangs. Anudvṛtta is explained as not engaged or not displaced; the note relates the downward orientation of the fangs to their reversal through pulling. This is a historical account of venom delivery and snake anatomy, and the wording around anudvṛtta is interpretive rather than a reliable basis for judging whether venom was injected.
Key terms
sarpa
A snake in the passage's general account of venom and fangs.
viṣa
Venom in this context.
baḍiśa
A fishhook, used as the comparison for a snake's fang.
anudvṛtta
Explained as not engaged, displaced, or turned; the exact anatomical implication requires review.
यस्मादत्यर्थमुष्णं च तीक्ष्णं च पठितं विषम् |
अतः सर्वविषेषूक्तः परिषेकस्तु शीतलः ||३०||
मन्दं कीटेषु नात्युष्णं बहुवातकफं विषम् |
अतः कीटविषे चापि स्वेदो न प्रतिषिध्यते ||३१||
कीटैर्दष्टानुग्रविषैः सर्पवत् समुपाचरेत् |३२|
Meaning of the śloka
Because poison is described as extremely hot and sharp, the text generally prescribes cooling sprinkling for all poisons. It describes the poison of insects as milder, not excessively hot, and associated predominantly with vāta and kapha; therefore fomentation is not entirely prohibited for insect poison. A person bitten by an insect possessing severe poison is to be treated in the same manner as for snakebite.
The commentary explains that insect poison is considered mild, not very hot, and rich in vāta and kapha. It qualifies the statement permitting fomentation: the word 'also' indicates that some insects have severe poison, and in those cases fomentation is not used; cooling treatment is prescribed instead. It cites the following instruction that bites from severely poisonous insects are managed like snakebites. The distinction is historical and cannot reliably determine species, venom severity, or safe treatment.
Key terms
pariṣeka
Sprinkling or pouring liquid over the body, described here as cooling.
sveda
Fomentation or induced heating, conditionally discussed for insect poison.
kīṭaviṣa
Poison or venom attributed to insects or similar small creatures.
ugraviṣa
Severe or powerful venom, prompting comparison with snakebite management.
The text states that poison remains naturally at the site of a blow or bite. In an animal struck by a poisoned weapon or bitten by a snake, however, it spreads throughout the body. A person who, out of greed, eats the flesh of either immediately after death suffers according to the poison involved and may even die. Such flesh is therefore declared unfit to eat at that time; after one muhūrta it may be taken only after excluding the flesh around the wound or bite.
The commentary says that the passage specifies both the flesh that must be avoided around the injury or bite and the interval after which the remainder was historically regarded as usable. It supplies 'living creatures' as the understood noun. Digdha-viddha means an animal injured by a poison-smeared arrow or similar weapon, while ahi-daṣṭa means one bitten by a snake. Yathāviṣam means that the resulting disorder corresponds to the particular poison. This is a historical claim and does not establish that flesh from a poisoned or envenomated animal becomes safe after any interval.
Key terms
digdha-viddha
A creature wounded by a poison-smeared arrow or similar weapon.
ahi-daṣṭa
A creature bitten by a snake.
yathāviṣam
In accordance with the particular poison involved.
muhūrta
A traditional unit of time used here as a waiting interval.
A person who passes stool with gas, resembling household smoke, who is greatly distended, has very warm tears, altered colour, profound weakness, and then vomits foam is to be recognized as having taken poison. The text further states that even fire does not burn the poison-pervaded heart of such a person, because poison naturally spreads through and remains in the heart, which it calls the seat of consciousness.
The commentary presents these as signs of a person dying from ingested poison and of one already dead. Asra here means tears; vivarṇa is explained as an intense blackish, dark, or yellow discoloration; and sāda as bodily exhaustion. It assigns discoloration specifically as a sign in the dead and the remaining features as signs in the dying. It then repeats the text's historical explanation that the heart of a person who died after drinking poison cannot be burned because poison occupies the heart, understood as the seat of consciousness. This post-mortem assertion should be preserved as the commentator's view rather than treated as an established test.
Key terms
viṣapīta
A person described as having ingested poison.
vivarṇa
Marked alteration of colour, explained as blackish, dark, or yellow.
sāda
Profound bodily weakness or exhaustion.
cetanāsthāna
The seat of consciousness, identified here with the heart.
अश्वत्थदेवायतनश्मशानवल्मीकसन्ध्यासु चतुष्पथेषु |
याम्ये सपित्र्ये परिवर्जनीया ऋक्षे नरा मर्मसु ये च दष्टाः ||३८||
Meaning of the śloka
The passage lists as persons to be abandoned those bitten at an aśvattha tree, a shrine, a cremation ground, an anthill, twilight, or a crossroads; those bitten under the Yāmya or Pitrya lunar asterisms; and those bitten on vital points of the body.
Continuing the discussion of bites or injuries considered unsuitable for treatment, the commentary explains Yāmya as the Bharaṇī lunar asterism and Pitrya as Maghā; ṛkṣa means a lunar asterism. It does not provide a physiological explanation for these place- and time-based prognostic exclusions.
Key terms
marma
A vital point of the body mentioned as a grave bite site.
Yāmya
Explained by the commentary as the Bharaṇī lunar asterism.
Pitrya
Explained by the commentary as the Maghā lunar asterism.
The poison of darvīkara snakes is described as rapidly fatal. The text says that poisons become twice as powerful in heat and also in people troubled by indigestion, aggravated pitta, or sun exposure; in children, people with prameha, and pregnant women; and in older, ill, depleted, hungry, dry, or fearful persons, as well as during bad weather.
The commentary identifies darvīkaras as hooded snakes and explains sarvāṇi as all poisons. Under its main reading, uṣṇe means in hot weather and the poisons are said to have double strength then. It preserves an alternative reading, 'all become doubled upward,' interpreted as referring to an upper region or higher location. The following list is likewise said to describe circumstances in which the poison's force is doubled. These are historical assertions, and the alternative reading remains unresolved.
Key terms
darvīkara
A class of hooded snakes in the source's classification.
āśughāti
Described as acting or killing rapidly.
uṣṇe
In heat or hot weather under the principal reading.
ūrdhvam
An alternative reading interpreted by the commentary as an upper region or higher location.
शस्त्रक्षते यस्य न रक्तमेति राज्यो लताभिश्च न सम्भवन्ति ||४०||
शीताभिरद्भिश्च न रोमहर्षो विषाभिभूतं परिवर्जयेत्तम् |
जिह्वा सिता यस्य च केशशातो नासावभङ्गश्च सकण्ठभङ्गः ||४१||
कृष्णः सरक्तः श्वयथुश्च दंशे हन्वोः स्थिरत्वं च स वर्जनीयः |
वर्तिर्घना यस्य निरेति वक्त्राद्रक्तं स्रवेदूर्ध्वमधश्च यस्य ||४२||
दंष्ट्रानिपाताः सकलाश्च यस्य तं चापि वैद्यः परिवर्जयेत्तु |
उन्मत्तमत्यर्थमुपद्रुतं वा हीनस्वरं वाऽप्यथवा विवर्णम् ||४३||
सारिष्टमत्यर्थमवेगिनं च जह्यान्नरं तत्र न कर्म कुर्यात् ||४४||
Meaning of the śloka
The text gives grave prognostic signs in a poison-afflicted person: no bleeding from an incision, no raised lines after striking the skin with creepers, and no horripilation with cold water; a white or black tongue, loss of hair, impaired nasal function, a broken or weak voice, and dark swelling mixed with redness at the bite, with fixed jaws; discharge of a dense plug from the mouth, bleeding upward and downward, and complete fang impressions; or extreme derangement, many complications, a faint voice, altered colour, signs of approaching death, and absence of the expected waves of poisoning. It directs the physician to abandon such a person and undertake no procedure.
The commentary explains that rājyaḥ are lines that fail to rise on a limb struck with creepers. Sitā means white, while the wording is also understood to allow a black tongue. Keśaśāta is hair loss. Nāsāvabhaṅga is impairment of the nasal passages, recognized by nasal speech, and kaṇṭhabhaṅga is weakness of voice. Daṃśa is the bitten site; stability of the two jaws means inability to move the jaw joints. Varti is interpreted as a plug of kapha. Unmatta means mentally deranged, atyartham upadrutam means burdened by many complications, sāriṣṭa means accompanied by signs of death, and avegin means lacking the characteristic waves. Jahyāt is glossed as 'should abandon.' These are historical prognostic judgments, not grounds for withholding current emergency treatment.
Key terms
nāsāvabhaṅga
Impairment of the nasal passages, inferred here from nasal speech.
kaṇṭhabhaṅga
Weakening or failure of the voice.
hanvoḥ sthiratva
Fixity or inability to move the jaw joints.
sāriṣṭa
Accompanied by signs interpreted as indicating approaching death.
The commentary's colophon states that the third chapter of the Kalpasthāna is complete in Dalhaṇa's explanation of the Suśruta Saṃhitā called the Nibandhasaṅgraha. The source preserves a spelling variation in Dalhaṇa's name.
Key terms
Kalpasthāna
The section of the Suśruta Saṃhitā in which this chapter occurs.
Jaṅgamaviṣavijñānīya
The chapter title, concerning knowledge of poison from mobile or animal sources.
Nibandhasaṅgraha
The title of Dalhaṇa's commentary on the Suśruta Saṃhitā.
Dalhaṇa
The commentator named in the colophon, with a spelling variant preserved in the source.