For a person bitten on a limb by any snake, the text directs that an ariṣṭā band be tied four finger-breadths above the bite. It describes using a soft strip of cloth, a piece of hide, or bark, and states that poison is thereby prevented from passing into the body.
The commentary divides snakebite treatment into general and specific measures and introduces the general measures first. Śākhā means a hand or foot. Ariṣṭā is explained as a band made from cloth or similar material and accompanied by mantra. Plota means cloth, carmānta a piece of hide, and valka the bark of a tree; one soft material among these is intended.
Key terms
ariṣṭā
A constricting band described in the historical treatment.
Where a band cannot be applied, the text recommends cutting around the bite and cauterizing it. It praises suction, incision, and cautery as measures applicable generally.
After discussing ariṣṭā, the commentary turns to cautery. Utkṛtya means cutting or excising. It supplies an exception: the direction to cauterize excludes a bite attributed to a maṇḍalin snake. ‘Where it cannot be done’ means where bandaging is not possible, and ‘everywhere’ means on any part of the body. The repeated mention of cautery indicates that the text allows it even without prior cutting.
Key terms
utkṛtya
After cutting or excising.
ācūṣaṇa
Suction of the bite in the historical procedure.
cheda
Incision or cutting.
dāha
Cauterization.
Adhikarana ४ (६) · Śloka ६
प्रतिपूर्य मुखं वस्त्रैर्हितमाचूषणं भवेत् |
स दष्टव्योऽथवा सर्पो लोष्टो वाऽपि हि तत्क्षणम् ||६||
Meaning of the śloka
The passage says that suction is considered beneficial after filling the mouth with cloth. Alternatively, it directs the bitten person immediately to bite the snake or, if that is unavailable, a lump of earth.
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प्रतिपूर्येत्यादि| वस्त्रैरित्युपलक्षणं, तेन कृष्णवल्मीकमृत्पांशुनाऽपि प्रतिपूर्याचूषणं हितं, विषहरत्वाद्वल्मीकस्य| स दष्टव्य इत्यादि| दष्टेन पुरुषेण हस्ताभ्यामुपसङ्गृह्य पुच्छे वक्त्रे च सर्पः सम्यग् दष्टव्यः, तदभावे लोष्टो वा दष्टव्यः| तद्भक्षणं तु तत्रैव सङ्क्रमणहेतुरित्यर्थः||६||
Meaning of the commentary
The commentary treats ‘cloth’ as illustrative and also mentions dark anthill soil, which it regards as counteracting poison. It explains the alternative as grasping the snake by its tail and mouth and biting it; if there is no snake, a lump of earth is to be bitten. It adds that eating it would cause the poison to pass there, according to the text's reasoning.
Key terms
ācūṣaṇa
Suction described as a historical bite treatment.
valmīkamṛt
Anthill earth mentioned by the commentary.
loṣṭa
A lump of earth.
Adhikarana ५ (७) · Śloka ७
अथ मण्डलिना दष्टं न कथञ्चन दाहयेत् |
स पित्तबाहुल्यविषाद्दंशो दाहाद्विसर्पते ||७||
Meaning of the śloka
The text says that a bite attributed to a maṇḍalin snake should never be cauterized, because its poison is understood as predominantly pitta and the bite spreads further with burning.
The verse says that a person skilled in mantra should establish the ariṣṭā with mantras. It also regards an ariṣṭā tied with rope or similar material, even without mantra, as a means of counteracting poison.
The commentary says ariṣṭā is not limited to bands made from cloth and related materials. A mantra-knower may establish it through mantra alone, while a band tied with rope or similar material is also considered effective without mantra. It therefore presents both mantra and a physical method as countermeasures within the text's framework.
Key terms
mantrakovida
A person knowledgeable in mantra.
ariṣṭā
The protective or constricting measure discussed here.
The text attributes mantras to divine and Brahmarṣi authorities and describes them as formed of truth and ascetic power. It claims that properly applied, radiant mantras rapidly overcome difficult poison more effectively than medicines.
The commentary explains one reading in which mantras are truth-filled because they were set forth by divine seers and ascetic-power-filled because they were set forth by Brahmarṣis. They are said to have been spoken rather than created, because mantras are regarded as eternal. It preserves another reading, ‘formed of truth, brahman, and tapas,’ and distributes these qualities among gods, Brahmā, and three kinds of ṛṣis. It notes that mantras such as Kurukullā and Bheruṇḍā are taught in other works and are not given here.
Key terms
satyatapas
Truth and ascetic power attributed to the mantras.
Brahmarṣi (brahmarṣi)
A Brahmanical seer associated with the transmission of mantra.
nityatva
The asserted eternality of mantras in the commentary.
Kurukullā-Bheruṇḍā
Examples of mantras said to be taught in other texts.
For receiving or learning mantras, the text prescribes abstaining from sexual activity, meat, and madhu, eating in moderation, maintaining purity, and sleeping on a bed of kuśa grass. For mantra accomplishment, it directs careful worship of deities with fragrances, garlands, offerings, bali, recitation, and fire offerings.
The commentary says madhu here includes both alcoholic drink and honey. Regulated diet is explained as a single meal of sacrificially suitable food. Purity includes both outward and inward purity. Mālya is a garland; upahāra includes worship materials such as incense and lamps; and bali is an offering of food, here described as involving an animal. The conjunction with homa is understood also to include meditation.
Key terms
mantragrahaṇa
Receiving or learning a mantra.
madhu
Interpreted here as both alcohol and honey.
upahāra
Materials offered in worship, such as incense and lamps.
japahoma (japa-homa)
Recitation and fire offering.
Adhikarana ९ (१३) · Śloka १३
मन्त्रास्त्वविधिना प्रोक्ता हीना वा स्वरवर्णतः |
यस्मान्न सिद्धिमायान्ति तस्माद्योज्योऽगदक्रमः ||१३||
Meaning of the śloka
The verse says that mantras spoken without the prescribed method, or defective in accent or syllables, do not attain effectiveness; therefore, the sequence of agada remedies should be employed.
The commentary states that when a mantra has been learned without the proper discipline or is defective in accent and related features, and therefore does not succeed, the agada regimen is to be used. ‘Without method’ refers to omission of disciplines such as abstaining from sexual activity, meat, and madhu. It supplies ‘by the teacher’ as understood after ‘spoken.’
Key terms
svaravarṇa (svara-varṇa)
Accent and syllabic form of a mantra.
avidhi
Without the prescribed method or discipline.
agadakrama
The sequence of antidotal remedies described by the text.
The text directs a skilled physician to puncture veins around the bite and, once poison has spread, at the extremity of the limb or the forehead. It claims that removal of blood removes the poison and therefore presents bloodletting as the principal procedure. It then directs scarifying the bite, applying agada preparations around it, and sprinkling it with water containing sandalwood and uśīra.
The commentary reasons that poison produces disorder after reaching the blood and therefore recommends extracting it. Samantataḥ means all around, and ‘or’ is taken cumulatively. Visṛta means spread. It explains that agadas such as Mahāgada are applied to calm poison believed to remain after bloodletting. One interpretation takes the final liquid as a decoction of sandalwood and uśīra; another understands water mixed with their paste, and both readings are preserved.
Key terms
sirāvyadha
Puncturing a vein for bloodletting.
visrāvaṇa
Letting or draining blood.
pracchana
Scarification or repeated superficial cutting.
uśīra
An aromatic plant ingredient paired with sandalwood.
The passage directs giving various agadas with milk, honey, ghee, or similar substances. If these are unavailable, it considers dark anthill earth beneficial, or says that kovidāra, śirīṣa, arka, or kaṭabhī may be eaten.
The commentary places this before bloodletting and says agadas such as Mahāgada, measured at an akṣa, are given with milk and related vehicles according to doṣa, with the purpose of covering or protecting the heart. ‘And so forth’ includes curd and buttermilk. It identifies kovidāra as kāñcanāra and kaṭabhī as śvetasyanda. The source commentary ends incompletely after verse 17.
Key terms
agada
A traditional antidotal preparation.
hṛdayāvaraṇa
The text's intended covering or protection of the heart.
kovidāra
Identified by the commentary as kāñcanāra.
kaṭabhī
Identified by the commentary as śvetasyanda.
Adhikarana १२ (१८-१९) · Śloka १९
न पिबेत्तैलकौलत्थमद्यसौवीरकाणि च ||१८||
द्रवमन्यत्तु यत्किञ्चित् पीत्वा पीत्वा तदुद्वमेत् |
प्रायो हि वमनेनैव सुखं निर्ह्रियते विषम् ||१९||
Meaning of the śloka
The passage advises avoiding oil, horse-gram broth, alcohol, and sauvīraka. It directs that any other liquid taken should repeatedly be vomited, asserting that poison is generally removed readily through vomiting.
The commentary introduces a list of liquids excluded in poisoning. It explains kaulattha as broth made from horse gram and sauvīraka as kāñjika, a fermented sour liquid.
Key terms
kaulattha
Horse-gram broth.
sauvīraka
A fermented sour preparation identified as kāñjika.
For successive poison waves attributed to phaṇin snakes, the text prescribes blood removal in the first; agada with honey and ghee in the second; nasal treatment and collyrium in the third; emesis followed by a previously described yavāgū in the fourth; cooling measures, strong purification, and yavāgū in the fifth and sixth; and, in the seventh, strong nasal evacuation, strong collyrium, an incision shaped like a crow's foot on the head, and placement of skin or flesh with blood.
The commentary begins the treatments specific to the successive waves of darvīkara and other snake classes. Blood may be removed through a vein, scarification, or a horn instrument. The agada is one specified for darvīkara poison. Vomiting is produced with general-purpose agadas, and the earlier yavāgū prepared with kośātakī and related substances is given to restore diet after purification. The same dietary purpose applies after purification in the fifth and sixth waves. It says that seventh-wave measures are undertaken only after the case has been declared grave or without assurance of cure. The commentary supplied here ends before explaining the final half-verse.
Key terms
viṣavega
A successive wave of poison in the historical model.
nasya
Administration through the nose.
avapīḍa
A pressed nasal preparation used for evacuation.
kākapada
A crow's-foot-shaped incision described on the head.
yavāgū
A thin gruel prescribed after purificatory procedures.
For the first poison wave attributed to maṇḍalin snakes, the text directs treatment as for darvīkara. In the second it prescribes agada with honey and ghee, followed by vomiting and the previously described yavāgū. In the third it prescribes strong purification followed by suitable yavāgū; in the fourth and fifth, treatment as for darvīkara; in the sixth, the Kākolyādi group and a mild or sweet agada; and in the seventh, a poison-destroying agada as an avapīḍa.
The commentary specifies that ‘as for darvīkara’ in the first wave means bloodletting with leeches. The agada should be one indicated for maṇḍalin poison. Vomiting is induced with a decoction of emetic substances, while śodhita in the third means purged with strong purgatives. The conjunction in the sixth also includes strong purification. ‘Sweet agada’ means a preparation such as Mahāgada that is not pungently strong. Seventh-wave treatment is undertaken after declaring the poor prognosis and uses an opposing agada through the nose.
Key terms
maṇḍalin
A traditional snake class addressed by this regimen.
jalaukā
Leeches specified for blood removal.
śodhana
Purificatory evacuation, here including strong purgation.
Kākolyādi
A traditional group of substances recommended in the sixth wave.
For the first poison wave attributed to rājimat snakes, the text directs removal of blood with gourd instruments and administration of agada combined with honey and ghee. In the second, after vomiting, it prescribes a poison-destroying agada. For the third through fifth it applies the darvīkara regimen. In the sixth it prescribes the strongest collyrium and in the seventh an avapīḍa nasal preparation.
The commentary states that the avapīḍa is made with a general-purpose agada. The conjunction after avapīḍa is said also to indicate the procedure for loss of consciousness that will be described later. The supplied commentary is abbreviated and ends after verses 28–29.
Key terms
rājimat
A traditional snake class addressed here.
alābu
A gourd instrument used historically for drawing blood.
añjana
A collyrium applied to the eyes.
naṣṭasaṃjña
Loss of consciousness, whose treatment is foreshadowed by the commentary.
For pregnant people, children, and older adults affected by poison, the text recommends the previously described regimen in a mild form while excluding puncture of veins.
The passage assigns different quantities of bloodletting and collyrium for different animals. It says that the quantity for goats and sheep is the same as for a human, three times that amount for a buffalo and camel, twice that amount for cattle and horses, and four times that amount for elephants. The source is incomplete at the transition into the next passage.
After describing differences in the poison waves of animals, the commentary introduces differences in treatment quantity. It states that the larger quantity for bloodletting is one prastha, understood here as thirteen and a half pala. The supplied commentary explains only the verse numbered 31, while the transmitted passage continues fragmentarily toward verse 33.
Key terms
raktāvaseka
Bloodletting or discharge of blood in the historical treatment account.
añjana
A medicinal collyrium applied to the eye.
prastha
A traditional measure that the commentary equates here with thirteen and a half pala.
Adhikarana १८ (३२-३३) · Śloka ३३
...केवलं सर्वपक्षिणाम् ||३२||
परिषेकान् प्रदेहांश्च सुशीतानवचारयेत् |
माषकं त्वञ्जनस्येष्टं द्विगुणं नस्यतो हितम् |
पाने चतुर्गुणं पथ्यं वमनेऽष्टगुणं पुनः ||३३||
Meaning of the śloka
For birds, the text prescribes only very cooling sprinkling and external applications. It then gives graduated quantities for certain medicines: one māṣaka for collyrium, twice that for nasal administration, four times that for drinking, and eight times that for emesis.
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पक्षिणां चिकित्सितमुद्दिशन्नाह- केवलमित्यादि| परिषेकप्रदेहौ केवलं नरविषहरद्रव्येण कार्यौ, नतु रक्तावसेकाञ्जनानीत्यर्थः| अञ्जनादीनां प्रमाणमाह- माषकमित्यादि| इदमञ्जनादिप्रमाणं गयदासजेज्जटाभ्यामङ्गीकृतम्| वयं तु वृद्धवाग्भटोक्तसुश्रुतोक्तवाक्यदर्शनादञ्जनादिषु विषविषये महतीं मात्रां मन्यामहे| तथा च तयोर्वाक्यम्,- “गुल्मोदावर्तवीसर्पसर्पदंशाभिपीडितैः| उन्मत्तैः कृच्छ्रमूत्रैश्च महती शीघ्रमेव सा”- इति; सुश्रुते च,- “अहोरात्रादसन्दुष्टा या मात्रा परिजीर्यति| सा च कुष्ठविषोन्मादग्रहापस्मारनाशिनी”- इति; तन्त्रान्तरेऽपि- “विषजुष्टहता ये च कासश्वासहताश्च ये| तरुणा बलवन्तश्च वामयेदुत्तमेन तान्”- इति| एतदुद्देशेन कल्कादीनां महत्या मात्रयाऽत्र युक्तिरवसीयते| महत्या मात्रया च कल्कमोदकचूर्णानां पलं मात्राप्रमाणम्| तथा च,- कल्कमोदकचूर्णानां कर्ष(पल)मद्याच्च लेहतः| कर्षद्वयं पलं वाऽपि वयोरोगाग्न्यपेक्षया”- इति| क्वाथस्य पलचतुष्टयं प्रमाणं; तथा च- “क्वाथद्रव्यपले वारि द्विरष्टगुणमिष्यते| चतुर्भागावशेषं तु पेयं पलचतुष्टयम्”- इति| वमनविषये क्वाथस्य नव प्रस्थाः प्रमाणं; तथा च, “नव प्रस्था तु ज्येष्ठा स्यान्मध्यमा षट् प्रकीर्तिता| निष्क्वाथस्य त्रयः प्रस्था मागधास्तु कनीयसी”- इति| वमनविषये कल्कस्य पलत्रयं प्रमाणम्| तथा च,- “त्रिपलं ज्येष्ठमाख्यातं कनीयस्तु पलं भवेत्| मध्यमं द्वे पले विद्यादिति मे निश्चिता मतिः”- इति| नस्याञ्जनयोश्च मात्रा नस्याञ्जनविधावेव या महती प्रतिपादितेति||३२-३३||
Meaning of the commentary
The commentary explains that birds are to receive sprinkling and external paste made from substances used against human poisoning, but not bloodletting or collyrium. It says Gayadāsa and Jejjaṭa accept the stated quantities for collyrium and the other routes. Dalhaṇa disagrees, reasoning from passages attributed to Vṛddha-Vāgbhaṭa, Suśruta, and another tantra that large quantities are suitable in poisoning. He cites separate large measures for pastes, pills, powders, decoctions, emetic decoctions, emetic pastes, nasal medicines, and collyria, with adjustment for age, disease, and digestive power. The two dosage positions are preserved as a disagreement rather than resolved.
Key terms
pariṣeka
Sprinkling or pouring a liquid over the body.
pradeha
An external medicinal application or paste.
māṣaka
A traditional unit used for the stated collyrium quantity.
mahatī mātrā
The larger dose advocated by Dalhaṇa on the basis of other textual authorities.
The text instructs the physician to assess carefully the place, constitution, habituation, season, the force of the poison's progression, and the relative strength of the poison and patient, and only then undertake treatment with skilled judgment.
The commentary interprets deśa in two ways: the external locality, such as a sacred fig tree, shrine, or cremation ground, and the bodily site, especially a vital point. Prakṛti likewise includes both bodily constitution, formed by vāta and the other doṣas, and mental constitution arising from sattva and the other qualities. Pradhārya means having considered these matters, after which treatment is to be performed with discerning intelligence.
Key terms
deśa
Both the external locality and the affected bodily site.
prakṛti
Bodily and mental constitution in the commentary's analysis.
viṣavega
The force or progression of poisoning in the text's model.
balābala
The comparative strength and weakness of the poison and patient.
The text says that treatment intended to destroy poison has so far been explained according to the sequence of its waves. It now announces treatment according to particular clinical states for both kinds of poison.
The commentary glosses vegānupūrvyā as according to the successive order of the poison waves. It explains 'both' as referring to poisons of plant or mineral origin (sthāvara) and poisons of animal origin (jaṅgama).
Key terms
vegānupūrvyā
According to the successive order of poison waves.
karmāvasthā
A particular condition or stage used to organize treatment.
sthāvara
Plant- or mineral-origin poison in the commentary's division.
jaṅgama
Animal-origin poison in the commentary's division.
For a hungry poisoned patient whose condition is predominantly associated with anila, the text advises carefully giving meat broth, ghee, fermented sour liquid, honey, and curd.
The commentary interprets this as a patient distressed by poisoning with predominant vāta-type pain. It says the drinks beginning with meat broth are given after a poison wave has arisen so that vomiting may occur more easily.
Key terms
anilaprāya
Predominantly associated with vāta or anila.
rasa
Meat broth in the commentary's explanation.
śukta
A fermented sour preparation.
vamana
Vomiting, which the commentary says the drinks were intended to facilitate.
For a person of pitta constitution affected by a pitta-producing poison, with thirst, burning, heat, or loss of consciousness, the text recommends cooling touch, bathing, and external applications.
The commentary explains gharma as the hot season and sammoha as fainting. Paitta describes a person of pitta constitution, while paitta viṣa means poison that produces pitta. Saṃvāhana is a soothing touch, and pradeha is an external paste or coating.
Key terms
sammoha
Fainting or loss of consciousness.
paitta
Associated with pitta, applied here to both constitution and poison.
In cold conditions, for a person of kapha constitution afflicted by a kapha-producing poison, coldness, and cold discharge, the text directs the use of strong emetics. It gives the same direction when faintness or intoxication-like impairment is present.
The commentary introduces this as treatment for a person affected by kapha-type poisoning. It explains śīte as the cold season and ślaiṣmika as a person of kapha constitution.
Key terms
śītapraseka
A cold discharge or excessive cold salivation in context.
ślaiṣmika
A person of kapha constitution.
vamana
Therapeutically induced vomiting in the historical instruction.
For a poisoned person with abdominal burning, pain, distension, urinary obstruction and pain, obstruction of stool or vāyu, and a pitta-associated condition, the text directs purgative treatment.
The commentary first notes that emesis was prescribed for kapha situated in the stomach. Here it says that the term virecana can indicate both purgation for pitta undergoing digestion and enema treatment for vāta located in the lower digestive tract. In the specific setting of abdominal burning and the related signs, however, virecana means purgation itself.
Key terms
koṣṭhadāha
Burning in the abdominal or digestive region.
mūtrasaṅga
Obstruction or retention of urine.
virecana
Purgation here, though the commentary says the term may also encompass enema treatment in another context.
basti
Enema treatment mentioned in the commentary's broader explanation of virecana.
For a patient with swelling around the eyes, drowsiness, discolored and clouded eyes, or altered color vision, the text recommends treatment with collyria.
The commentary explains akṣikūṭa as the area below the eyebrows. Āvila means made dirty or clouded by ocular discharge, and vivarṇa in relation to vision means seeing objects in varied or abnormal colors.
For head pain, heaviness, lethargy, jaw stiffness, throat obstruction, or severe neck stiffness, the text prescribes rapid nasal evacuation. For a poisoned person who is unconscious, has eyes turned away, and a collapsed neck, it describes strong insufflated powders, striking vessels in the limbs and forehead, making a crow's-foot-shaped incision on the scalp if those vessels do not bleed, placing blood-bearing skin or flesh or a tree-derived preparation on the head, and sounding antidote-coated drums nearby. After consciousness returns, it directs upward and downward cleansing to remove the poison fully. It warns that even a small residue may produce another wave or lead to weakness, discoloration, fever, cough, headache, swelling, wasting, nasal disorder, dim vision, loss of appetite, and related complications, which are to be treated according to the doṣa and their particular nature.
The commentary glosses vivṛtākṣa as eyes turned or rolled away. It states that blood-bearing flesh or similar material placed on the head was believed to draw or transfer the poison. Carmavṛkṣa is identified as a tree called nauvṛkṣa in the eastern region, and kaṣāya here means its exudate; this too is described as promoting transfer of poison. Dundubhi means resonant drums. The reasoning for attempting complete removal is that even a small remainder is said to cause a renewed wave. Sāda means bodily exhaustion. Jejjaṭa reads staimitya, immobility, where the received text reads pratiśyāya, nasal catarrh; the variant is preserved.
Key terms
śirovirecana
Nasal evacuation or cleansing of the head in the historical treatment system.
pradhamana
Insufflation of powdered medicine into the nose.
kākapadākāra
Crow's-foot-shaped, describing the proposed scalp incision.
staimitya
Immobility, preserved by Jejjaṭa as a variant reading for pratiśyāya.
The text directs that the ariṣṭā binding be removed promptly, the area marked by it be incised, and medicine applied there. It says that otherwise poison congealed at that site may give rise to another wave.
The commentary presents this after the preceding use of an ariṣṭā binding, blood affected by poison, and treatments opposed to both the affected tissue and poison. It explains that after removing the binding, the marked area is to be incised and smeared with antidotal preparations, a word supplied from context. Without this, poison believed to have become congealed or thickened at the site is said to reappear as another wave.
Key terms
ariṣṭā
A binding or ligature used in the preceding historical procedure.
pracchana
Incising or scarifying the marked site.
skanna viṣa
Poison described as congealed or thickened at the site.
agada
An antidotal preparation supplied by the commentary as the intended application.
After the harmful qualities of poison have been removed through medicines, mantras, and therapeutic measures, the text says that any subsequently aggravated doṣa should be treated separately. Displaced pavana is treated with oleation and related measures while avoiding oil, fish, kulattha, and sour substances and using poison-countering preparations. Pitta is treated with measures used for pitta fever, astringent preparations, oleation, and basti. Kapha is treated with the Āragvadhādi group combined with honey, kapha-reducing antidotes, and bitter, dry foods.
The commentary identifies the medicines as those previously described, such as Mahāgada, and the mantras as those such as Kurukullā. External measures include removing affected blood, cleansing, sprinkling, and applications; internal cleansing includes emesis, purgation, therapeutic enema, and nasal evacuation. 'Poison deprived of its qualities' means that its sharp and related poison-producing qualities have been removed. Udvṛtta describes a doṣa displaced into another location. Measures beginning with oleation also include mild cleansing, sweet food, and massage. The instruction to treat pitta and kapha continues grammatically through the remaining phrases.
Key terms
hṛtaguṇa viṣa
Poison described as having had its harmful qualities removed.
udvṛtta pavana
Vāta understood as displaced from its normal location.
antaḥparimārjana
Internal cleansing measures listed by the commentary.
Āragvadhādi gaṇa
A named group of substances directed here toward kapha.
Adhikarana ३० (५५) · Śloka ५५
वृक्षप्रपातविषमपतितं मृतमम्भसि |
उद्बद्धं च मृतं सद्यश्चिकित्सेन्नष्टसञ्ज्ञवत् ||५५||
Meaning of the śloka
The text says that a person who has fallen from a tree, cliff, or uneven place, has nearly died in water, or has been suspended by hanging should be treated immediately in the same manner as a person who has lost consciousness.
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वृक्षेत्यादि| प्रपातो नदीतटादिः, विषमो निम्नोन्नतप्रदेशः, वृक्षादिपतितं प्राणिनं; मृतमम्भसि अम्भसि मृतं, उद्बद्धमुल्लम्बितं च मृतं, सद्यो झटिति, नष्टसञ्ज्ञवच्चिकित्सेत्| तत्र मृतशब्दो मृत्युसमीपे वर्तमानो गृह्यते; न पुनर्मृत एव, तस्य निष्फलचिकित्सितत्वात्| केचिदाचार्या अमुं पाठं न मन्यन्ते, ये तु मन्यन्ते तन्मतानुसारेण लिखितोऽयमित्यदोषः||५५||
Meaning of the commentary
The commentary explains prapāta as a precipice such as a riverbank and viṣama as uneven ground. It reads mṛta here as a person near death rather than one already dead, because treatment of someone truly dead would be fruitless. Some teachers reject this passage; it is included according to those who accept it, and that disagreement is explicitly preserved.
Key terms
prapāta
A precipice or steep fall, exemplified by a riverbank.
mṛta
Interpreted by the commentary here as near death, not irreversibly dead.
When a limb has been bound tightly with an ariṣṭā, incised, or treated with strong applications that remain on the body, and the swollen area becomes wet, severely foul-smelling, and putrefied, the text identifies the flesh as pūti and describes the condition as difficult to cure.
The commentary explains that this applies after tight binding with ariṣṭā or incision, or when strong applications of that kind remain unremoved on the body. Flesh that is moist and extremely foul from the poison is termed pūti, and the condition is regarded as difficult to treat.
Key terms
gāḍhabandha
Tight binding, identified as part of the preceding intervention.
pracchita
Incised or scarified.
pūti māṃsa
Putrid or necrotic flesh marked by moisture and severe foul odor.
The text says that a wound made by a poison-smeared weapon immediately discharges dark blood, suppurates, and repeatedly burns. The flesh becomes black, wet, intensely foul, and broken down, with continuous discharge from the wound. Thirst, fainting, confusion, burning, and fever are given as additional signs by which such a poisoned wound is recognized.
The commentary explains abhīkṣṇam as repeatedly, klinna as wet, atyartha-pūti as extremely foul-smelling, śīrṇa as disintegrated, and ajasram as continuous. Bhrānti is misperception of objects. A person with these signs is to be understood as having been struck by a weapon or arrow coated with poison.
Key terms
digdhaviddha
Wounded by a weapon or arrow smeared with poison.
kṛṣṇarakta
Dark blood described as immediately issuing from the wound.
The passage says that wounds heavily affected by poison deliberately applied by enemies show all the signs described earlier. It adds that wounds caused by a lūtā bite, by a poisoned or smeared weapon, or by other poisons commonly contain putrefying flesh.
The commentary explains that a person whose wounds are intensely affected by poison administered by enemies displays the full set of previously stated signs. It interprets the next line as giving the reason: wounds from lūtā bites, poisoned weapons, and similar causes generally develop putrid flesh.
Key terms
lūtādaṣṭa
A wound caused by the bite of a lūtā, a term whose precise creature identification requires review.
digdhaviddha
A wound inflicted by a weapon smeared or treated with poison.
For such wounds, the text directs that putrid flesh be removed as appropriate, blood be withdrawn with leeches, and the doṣas be expelled promptly upward and downward. It then prescribes washing with decoctions of the bark of latex-bearing trees, placing cloth within the wound, and applying cool, poison-countering substances mixed with ghee.
The commentary identifies vāryokas here as leeches. The latex-bearing trees are listed as nyagrodha, udumbara, aśvattha, plakṣa, and gardabhāṇḍa. The cool substances are explained as cool in potency and touch and as the poison-countering substances stated in the treatment of pitta-visarpa; the ghee mixture is understood as including hundred-times-washed ghee.
Key terms
vāryokas
Interpreted by the commentary as leeches.
kṣīrin
Latex-bearing trees whose bark decoctions are prescribed here.
antarvastra
Cloth placed within the wound in the historical regimen.
śatadhauta-ghṛta
Ghee described as washed one hundred times.
Adhikarana ३५ (६१) · Śloka ६१
भिन्ने त्वस्थ्ना दुष्टजातेन कार्यः पूर्वो मार्गः पैत्तिके यो विषे च |६१|
Meaning of the śloka
When an injury has been made by a contaminated bone or similar harmful source, the text directs use of the previously described course that applies to pitta-type poison.
The commentary understands the wording as referring to the bone or horn of a harmful creature and extends it by implication to wounds caused by similar contact with feces, urine, semen, flatus, anal structures, bony spikes, corpses, poisonous thorns, and scorpion stings. It says that the immediately preceding wound regimen beginning with removal of putrid flesh should be used for these wounds as well.
Key terms
duṣṭajāta
Arising from or belonging to a harmful or contaminated creature, as explained here.
pūrva mārga
The previously stated course of wound treatment.
paittika viṣa
Poison understood within the text as having a pitta pattern.
The passage lists trivṛt, viśalyā, madhuka, the two haridrās, raktā, narendra, salts, and trikaṭu. Finely powdered and combined with honey, they are to be stored in a horn. The resulting preparation, called Mahāgada, is said to counter poison when used through drinking, collyrium, anointing, or nasal administration; its power is described as irresistible and capable of stopping waves of poison.
The commentary begins the account of a collection of antidotal preparations. It identifies viśalyā as kāṣṭhapāṭalā, raktā as mañjiṣṭhā, and narendra as kiramālaka, and glosses avāryavīrya as having unobstructed or irresistible power.
Key terms
agada
An antidotal preparation in the classical account.
Mahāgada
The name given to this historical compound.
viśalyā
Identified by the commentary as kāṣṭhapāṭalā.
avāryavīrya
Described as possessing power that cannot be checked.
The text lists viḍaṅga, pāṭhā, triphalā, ajamodā, hiṅgu, vakra, trikaṭu, all salts, and citraka. It says the very fine powders are combined with honey, placed in a cow's horn, covered with a horn lid, and left for a fortnight. This preparation is named Ajita and is claimed to overcome poisons of plant and animal origin.
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विडङ्गपाठेत्यादि| वक्रं तगरम्||६३-६४||-
Meaning of the commentary
The commentary identifies vakra as tagara. It otherwise leaves the list, storage method, name, and broad poison-countering claim as stated in the verse.
Key terms
sthāvara
Plant-derived or immobile-source poison in the text's classification.
jaṅgama
Animal-derived or mobile-source poison in the text's classification.
The passage gives an extensive list of substances including prapauṇḍarīka, suradāru, mustā, kālānusāryā, kaṭurohiṇī, sthauṇeyaka, dhyāmaka, guggulu, punnāga, tālīśa, suvarcikā, kuṭannaṭa, elā, white sindhuvāra, śaileya, kuṣṭha, tagara, priyaṅgu, rodhra, jala, kāñcana-gairika, magadhā, candana, and saindhava. Equal fine powders are combined with honey and stored in a horn. The preparation is called Tārkṣya and is said to counter even the poison of Takṣaka.
The commentary notes kālānusāryā also as kālānusārivā, identifies dhyāmaka as kattṛṇa, kuṭannaṭa as śyonāka, and white sindhuvāra as white-flowered nirguṇḍī. It does not further resolve the numerous other ingredient identities.
Key terms
Tārkṣya
The name assigned to this historical antidotal preparation.
Takṣaka
A renowned serpent invoked to express the preparation's claimed potency.
kālānusāryā
An ingredient for which the commentary records the form kālānusārivā.
The passage lists many plant substances and then animal bile attributed to boar, monitor lizard, peacock, porcupine, cat, spotted deer, and mongoose. It directs that equal fine powders be stored in a horn with these biles and honey. The preparation is called Ṛṣabha. The text claims that snakes and insects avoid a house where it is properly kept, that poison loses its force there, and that drums, banners, and similar objects treated with it neutralize poison through sound or sight.
The commentary supplies several ingredient identifications while preserving alternatives: muraṅgī is śobhāñjanaka; raktā latā is mañjiṣṭhā; sugandhikā is sarpagandhikā; kiṇihī is kaṭabhī; mṛgādanī is karkaṭikā, though others take it as the fruit of indravāruṇī; pura is guggulu; pālindī is trivṛt, while others give kālavallī; kramuka is areca fruit, though another reading rubuka is identified as eraṇḍa; surasā flower is tulasī flower; śikhī is peacock, while others say cock; and pārṣata belongs to the spotted deer. It explains that Ṛṣabha is the preparation's name and that the passage addresses a king, but does not qualify the extraordinary protective claims.
Key terms
Ṛṣabha
The name of this historical antidotal and protective preparation.
mṛgādanī
An ingredient identified differently as karkaṭikā or indravāruṇī fruit.
kramuka
Read as areca fruit; an alternative reading rubuka is identified as eraṇḍa.
śikhī
Interpreted as peacock, with cock preserved as an alternative.
The text lists lākṣā, hareṇu, nalada, priyaṅgu, two kinds of śigru, yaṣṭika, pṛthvikā, and rajanī. It describes their powder combined with ghee and honey, stored and covered in a cow's horn, and used as collyrium, nasal administration, and drink. Named Sañjīvana, the preparation is claimed to revive people who appear nearly lifeless.
The commentary identifies pṛthvikā as elā, while noting that others understand it as hiṅgupatrikā. It explains that the container is closed with a cow-horn lid as described previously.
Key terms
Sañjīvana
The name of the preparation, associated in the verse with reviving the nearly lifeless.
pṛthvikā
Identified as elā, with hiṅgupatrikā recorded as an alternative.
The passage lists śleṣmātakī, kaṭphala, mātuluṅgī, white girihvā, kiṇihī, sugar, and taṇḍulīya. It describes this antidotal preparation as especially important for poisons attributed to darvīkara and rājila snakes.
The commentary identifies śleṣmātakī by the common name bahuvāra, kaṭphala as kāśmarī, mātuluṅga as bījapūraka, white girihvā as white syandā, kiṇihī as blue syandā, and sitā as sugar. It states that the preparation is for poisoning after bites attributed to darvīkara and rājila snakes.
Key terms
darvīkara
A traditional snake class for which this preparation is claimed.
rājila
A traditional snake class for which this preparation is claimed.
The passage combines equal parts of drākṣā, sugandhā, nagavṛttikā, white syandā, and samaṅgā; twice those amounts of surasā leaf, kapittha, bilva, and pomegranate; and half-portions of white sindhuvāra, aṅkoṭha root, and gairika. Mixed with honey, the antidotal preparation is said to counter poison generally and especially poison attributed to maṇḍalin snakes.
The commentary identifies sugandhā as sarpasugandhā or nākulī, nagavṛttikā as śallakī, and white as white syanda. It explains the half-portion as half a pala for sindhuvāra and the following items. Some instead read 'fragrant mountain earth' for sugandhā nagamṛttikā and understand it as pleasantly scented soil from a mountain, considered generally poison-countering. The preparation is described as broadly antidotal but especially directed to maṇḍalin poison and is named Maṇḍaliviṣahara.
Key terms
Maṇḍaliviṣahara
The name of the preparation, said to counter maṇḍalin poison.
sugandhā
Identified as sarpasugandhā or nākulī in one reading.
nagamṛttikā
An alternative reading interpreted as fragrant mountain earth.
maṇḍalin
A traditional snake class emphasized in the efficacy claim.
Adhikarana ४३ (७८-८०) · Śloka ८०
वंशत्वगार्द्राऽऽमलकं कपित्थं कटुत्रिकं हैमवती सकुष्ठा ||७८||
करञ्जबीजं तगरं शिरीषपुष्पं च गोपित्तयुतं निहन्ति |
विषाणि लूतोन्दुरपन्नगानां कैटं च लेपाञ्जननस्यपानैः ||७९||
पुरीषमूत्रानिलगर्भसङ्गान्निहन्ति वर्त्यञ्जननाभिलेपैः |
काचार्मकोथान् पटलांश्च घोरान् पुष्पं च हन्त्यञ्जननस्ययोगैः ||८०||
Meaning of the śloka
The text combines fresh bamboo bark, āmalaka, kapittha, trikaṭu, haimavatī, kuṣṭha, karañja seed, tagara, and śirīṣa flower with cow bile. Through applications described as paste, collyrium, nasal administration, and drinking, it claims effects against poisons of lūtā, rodents, snakes, and insects. It further attributes effects on retention of stool, urine, flatus, or a fetus and on severe eye disorders through wicks, collyrium, nasal use, and external application.
The commentary explains the first ingredient as fresh bamboo bark and identifies haimavatī as vacā. It defines kotha as a putrefactive condition, including in moist eyelids, and calls the preparation sārvakārmika, meaning intended for many uses.
Key terms
sārvakārmika agada
A broadly purposed antidotal preparation in the source.
haimavatī
Identified by the commentary as vacā.
kotha
Putrefaction or decay, including a moist eyelid condition in the commentary.
The verse describes a decoction made from the root, flower, shoot, bark, and seed of śirīṣa, strongly combined with trikaṭu, salts, and honey, and taken by mouth. It is claimed especially to counter insect poison.
The commentary explains aṅkura as a new leaf shoot or pravāla and salāvaṇa as accompanied by the group of salts. It preserves an alternative reading that calls for the bark, leaves, flowers, fruit, and root of śirīṣa to be ground with trikaṭu, salts, and honey and licked. The preparation is named Pañcaśirīṣa.
Key terms
Pañcaśirīṣa
The name of the historical preparation based on five parts of śirīṣa.
aṅkura
A new leaf shoot, also described as pravāla.
salāvaṇa
Combined with the group of salts.
kīṭaviṣa
Poison attributed to insects in this passage.
Adhikarana ४५ (८२-८३) · Śloka ८३
कुष्ठं त्रिकटुकं दार्वी मधुकं लवणद्वयम् |
मालती नागपुष्पं च सर्वाणि मधुराणि च ||८२||
कपित्थरसपिष्टोऽयं शर्कराक्षौद्रसंयुतः |
विषं हन्त्यगदः सर्वं मूषिकाणां विशेषतः ||८३||
Meaning of the śloka
The passage lists kuṣṭha, trikaṭu, dārvī, madhuka, two salts, mālatī, nāgapuṣpa, and the group of sweet substances. Ground with kapittha juice and combined with sugar and honey, the antidotal preparation is said to counter poisons generally and rodent poison especially.
The commentary identifies the two salts as saindhava and sauvarcala, mālatī as jātī, and nāgapuṣpa as nāgakeśara. It explains the sweet substances as kākolī and related drugs and names this preparation Sārvakāmika.
Key terms
Sārvakāmika
The name of this broadly claimed antidotal preparation.
lavaṇadvaya
The two salts, identified as saindhava and sauvarcala.
nāgapuṣpa
Identified by the commentary as nāgakeśara.
mūṣikaviṣa
Poison associated with rodents, emphasized in the claim.
The passage enumerates a group called Ekasara: the fruit and flower of somarājī, kaṭabhī, sindhuvāraka, coraka, varuṇa, kuṣṭha, sarpagandhā, saptalā, punarnavā, flowers of śirīṣa, āragvadha, and arka, śyāmā, ambaṣṭhā, viḍaṅga, mango and aśmantaka, earth, and kurabaka. It says one, two, or three members of the group may be used and claims that they counter poison.
The commentary identifies somarājī as bākucī, sindhuvāra as white-flowered nirguṇḍī, coraka by resemblance to granthiparṇā, sarpagandhā as nākulī, saptalā as a variety of yavatiktā, ambaṣṭhā as pāṭhā, earth as black soil, and kurabaka as a known plant with oily leaves and white flowers. It gives śyāmā as śyāmalatā while preserving priyaṅgu as another view, and describes aśmantaka as a tree resembling amloṭaka. Ekasara is the name of the drug group; the final line is explained as using its members singly, in pairs, or in threes.
Key terms
Ekasara
The name assigned to this group of poison-countering substances.
śyāmā
Identified as śyāmalatā, while priyaṅgu is preserved as another interpretation.
bhūmi
Interpreted by the commentary as black earth or soil.
kurabaka
Described as a known plant with oily leaves and white flowers.
Adhikarana पुष्पिका · Śloka ५
इति सुश्रुतसंहितायां कल्पस्थाने सर्पदष्टविषचिकित्सितं नाम पञ्चमोऽध्यायः ||५||
Meaning of the śloka
Thus ends the fifth chapter of the Kalpasthāna in the Suśruta Saṃhitā, entitled 'Treatment of Poison in a Person Bitten by a Snake.'
The commentary's colophon states that the fifth 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 appears.
Sarpadaṣṭaviṣacikitsita
The chapter title concerning treatment of poison after snakebite.
Nibandhasaṅgraha
The title of Dalhaṇa's commentary.
Dalhaṇa
The commentator named in the colophon, with a spelling variant in the source.