There are one hundred and one yantras. Among them, understand the hand to be the foremost, because the actions of instruments depend upon it. The parenthetical wording asks why this is so and explains that instruments do not function without the hand.
Ekottara ordinarily means one more, giving a count of one hundred and one. Others interpret shata as innumerable and uttara as foremost: on that interpretation, instruments are innumerable, but one is foremost. The passage identifies that foremost instrument as the hand. Pradhanatama means pre-eminent to the highest degree, and avagaccha means understand. Although the kankamukha instrument is later called foremost, this does not contradict the hand's primacy, since the hand is described in the superlative. Instrumental actions depend on the hand. Another textual reading includes the explicit question and answer that instruments do not operate without the hand, since their actions depend on it.
Key terms
ekottaram
One more, ordinarily establishing a total of one hundred and one here.
pradhAnatamam (pradhānatamam)
Foremost to the highest degree, describing the hand.
Prakara can mean a division or a resemblance. Thus the six are either six divisions beginning with svastika, or six groups identified through resemblance to the forms named. The commentator describes a svastika as a four-limbed figure fashioned from dough. Instruments resembling that figure and having four parts are called svastika-yantras. The forms of the remaining groups are likewise to be understood from their names.
Key terms
svastikayantrANi (svastikayantrāṇi)
Four-part instruments named for resemblance to a svastika figure.
prakAro (prakāraḥ)
A division or a resemblance, the two explanations of the classification here.
There are twenty-four svastika-yantras, two sandamsha-yantras, exactly two tala-yantras, twenty nadi-yantras, twenty-eight shalakas and twenty-five upayantras.
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Show commentary
tatra caturviṁśatirityādi| dvē ēva tālayantrē iti, nanu ēvaśabdaṁ vinā'pi dvē tālayantrē labdhē, tat kimēvaśabdēna? ucyatē- ēvaśabdō'yaṁ svastikādiṣu nirdiṣṭāṁ saṅkhyāṁ vyabhicārayati, tēna śalyākr̥timavēkṣya svastikādīni yantrāṇyadhikānyapi kāryāṇi, tālayantrē dvē ēva, ēvaṁ sati na dōṣaḥ||6||
Meaning of the commentary
The commentator asks why eva, exactly or only, is added specifically to the number of tala-yantras, since the number two would otherwise already be clear. Its purpose is to permit departure from the stated counts in categories such as svastika: additional instruments may be fashioned after considering the form of the shalya to be extracted. Tala-yantras, however, remain exactly two. This resolves the apparent redundancy.
Key terms
eva
Exactly or only; restricts the tala-yantras to two while allowing additional forms in other categories.
shalyAkRutim (śalyākṛtim)
The shape of the shalya, to be considered when fashioning instruments.
The passage addresses the materials from which instruments should be made. The commentator takes loha to include five metals beginning with gold; instruments made from these are called lauha. If metal is unavailable, corresponding substitutes may be used. These are explained as tusk or tooth, horn and wood, identified as materials for instruments. A parenthetical statement further lists metal, bamboo, wood, thread, horn, bark, grasses, bands of sinew and stones as materials from which instruments are fashioned.
Key terms
lauhAni (lauhāni)
Made of metal; the commentary uses loha broadly for five metals beginning with gold.
tatpratirUpakANi (tatpratirūpakāṇi)
Corresponding substitutes when metal is unavailable.
The working mouths of instruments generally resemble the mouths of various fierce animals, beasts and birds. They should therefore be fashioned with regard to those resemblances, authoritative teaching, instruction, inspection of other instruments and reasoned consideration.
The forms of instruments are described concisely through resemblance to familiar things. The mouths of instruments resemble those of different kinds of fierce beasts and birds. Beasts include animals such as lions, and birds include crows and others. Some interpreters restrict the qualifier vyala, fierce, to the beasts alone, rather than applying it to birds as well. Tatsarupya means resemblance to the mouths of these animals and birds. Agama means the textual teaching, exemplified by the statement that svastika-yantras measure eighteen angulas. Upadesha means instruction given by experienced physicians. Yukti means considering the intended purpose and distinctions such as the person's age and the body part concerned.
Key terms
AgamAt (āgamāt)
On the basis of authoritative textual teaching.
upadeshAt (upadeśāt)
On the basis of instruction from experienced physicians.
yuktitashca (yuktitaś ca)
Through reasoned consideration of purpose, age, body part and related distinctions.
Adhikarana 8 (9) · Śloka 9
samāhitāni yantrāṇi kharaślakṣṇamukhāni ca |
sudr̥ḍhāni surūpāṇi sugrahāṇi ca kārayēt ||9||
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समाहितानि यन्त्राणि खरश्लक्ष्णमुखानि च |
सुदृढानि सुरूपाणि सुग्रहाणि च कारयेत् ||९||
Meaning of the śloka
The instruments should be made with proper proportions, firm and smooth working ends, a strong overall construction, a good shape and handles that are easy to grasp.
The verse sums up the preceding prose. Samahita means free from deficient or excessive measurements. Khara-shlakshna mouths are explained as firm and smooth. Others understand this differently: depending on their work, some instruments have rough working ends and others smooth ones; kanka-mukha and similar instruments illustrate the former, and simha-mukha and similar instruments the latter. Sudridha refers to the strength of the instrument as a whole. Sugraha means that its handles are well made for grasping.
Key terms
samAhitAni (samāhitāni)
Properly proportioned, without deficient or excessive dimensions.
Svastika instruments measure eighteen angulas. Their working ends resemble the mouths of simha, vyaghra, vrika, tarakshu, riksha, dvipi, marjara, mrigairvaruka, kaka, kanka, kurara, chasa, bhasa, shashaghati, uluka, chilli, shyena, gridhra, krauncha, bhringaraja, anjalikarna, avabhanjana and nandimukha. They are fastened with lentil-shaped pins and have handles curved like a hook at their base. The text assigns them to extracting foreign bodies embedded in bone.
The passage specifies the dimensions and shapes of svastika instruments. The commentator counts nine predatory or wild animals beginning with simha and fifteen birds beginning with kaka, producing twenty-four mouth shapes. Tarakshu is locally called jarakha. Riksha is a very hairy bear, locally rincha; dvipi is a spotted large cat, locally chitraka or chita; marjara is a cat; and mrigairvaruka is locally harinadru. Kanka is a large, long-beaked kankamalla, with another identification transmitted in uncertain wording. Kurara resembles chirilla and is described as raising fish by its call; its local name is kurala. Bhasa is a kind of vulture frequenting cattle herds. Shashaghati is locally shashari, chilli is chilla, and shyena is sinchana in the Garuda lineage. Gridhra is a large flesh-eating bird described as seeing a yojana away. Krauncha is locally kuranja or konchi. Bhringaraja is called kalachataka by people of Pariyatra and pengi by those of Kanyakubja. The commentator finds no synonyms for anjalikarna and avabhanjana in the commentaries on Sushruta, Charaka and related works, so says that regional usage must clarify them. Nandimukha is patrati. Lentil-shaped pins secure the instrument, with 'at the shoulder region' supplied to complete the sentence; others instead supply 'at the third part'. The handle is the grasping portion and bends like a hook at its base. Asthividashta means embedded in bone.
Key terms
svastikayantrANi (svastikayantrāṇi)
Instruments with animal- or bird-mouth-shaped working ends, assigned here to extracting foreign bodies from bone.
a~ggula (aṅgula)
The traditional length unit used for instrument dimensions.
There are two sandamsha instruments, one sanigraha and the other anigraha, each sixteen angulas long. The text assigns them to extracting foreign bodies lodged in skin, flesh, sira or snayu.
The two sandamshas are distinguished by their construction. Sanigraha is explained as having a handle, like the barber's instrument. Anigraha is unbound or unfastened, like the goldsmith's instrument. Others interpret sanigraha as fastened with a pin, like the blacksmith's tongs; this is a different explanation of the same term.
Key terms
sandaMshau (sandaṃśau)
The pair of grasping instruments distinguished here as sanigraha and anigraha.
sanigrahaH (sanigrahaḥ)
Explained as having a handle; alternatively, as joined by a pin.
anigraho
Unbound or unfastened, compared with a goldsmith's instrument.
sirAsnAyu (sirāsnāyu)
Sira and snayu, two source categories of structures in which foreign bodies may lodge.
The two tala instruments are twelve angulas long. They have one or two tala portions resembling those of a fish and are assigned to extracting foreign bodies from the passages of the ear and nose.
Both instruments named tala measure twelve angulas. In the first explanation, tala means a fish scale: their working ends are thin like a scale. In ekatala and dvitala, tala then denotes a portion, so the former has one thin, scale-like working portion and the latter two. Their girth is to permit entry into the ear and other relevant passages. Others read matsyatalukavat and explain a different analogy: the fish called bheduli has a mouth shaped like an iron talaka, a fitting that joins door leaves or similar structures. On that reading, ekatalaka resembles half of this fish's mouth and dvitalaka the entire mouth. Foreign material in the ear and nose includes accumulated waste or dirt and hair.
Key terms
ekatAlaM (ekatālam)
In the first interpretation, an instrument with one thin fish-scale-like working portion.
dvitAlam (dvitālam)
In the first interpretation, an instrument with two such working portions.
Nadi instruments have many forms and purposes, with an opening at one end or at both ends. Their stated uses are extracting foreign bodies from channels, viewing disease, suction and making procedures easier. Their girth corresponds to the channel opening, and their length suits the particular use. Instruments for bhagandara, arshas, wounds, basti, uttarabasti, mutravriddhi, dakodara, dhuma, niruddhaprakasha and sanniruddhaguda, together with alabu and shringa instruments, will be described later.
Nadi instruments are hollow in the middle like a tube. Examples classed as one-ended include alabu used for drawing blood and instruments for bhagandara and arshas; two-ended examples include basti, uttarabasti and dhuma instruments. For extraction from a channel, the commentator cites the text's example of a lac foreign body lodged in the throat, in which a tube is placed in the throat and a heated iron probe is used to draw it out. Viewing disease includes viewing internal arshas. Suction includes drawing out vayu lodged in bone, vitiated blood and breast milk. Facilitating procedures refers to making shastra, kshara and agni procedures easier in internal arshas and similar conditions. The instruments' rounded girth is to correspond to the channel opening. To reconcile the twelve named categories with the previously stated twenty instruments, the commentator enumerates two for bhagandara, with one and two apertures; two for arshas on the same distinction; one wound instrument matched to the opening's length and girth; four basti nozzles according to age, though others count three; two uttarabasti nozzles for males and females, though some count three; one each for draining mutravriddhi and dakodara; three dhuma nozzles, for vairechanika, snaihika and prayogika uses; and one each for niruddhaprakasha, sanniruddhaguda, alabu and shringa. This is the supplied explanation of the total of twenty.
Key terms
nADIyantrANi (nāḍīyantrāṇi)
Tubular instruments hollow in the middle, serving the different purposes enumerated here.
AcUShaNa (ācūṣaṇa)
Drawing out by suction.
kriyAsaukarya (kriyāsaukarya)
Making the specified procedure easier to perform.
srotodvAra (srotodvāra)
A channel opening to which the instrument's girth is matched.
Shalaka instruments likewise have different forms and purposes, with girth and length suited to their use. Two each have ends shaped like an earthworm, a snake's hood, an arrow's feathered end and a fishhook; these are assigned respectively to probing, lifting or arranging, moving, and extracting. Two have working ends the size of a split lentil with slightly bent tips, for extracting foreign bodies from channels. Six have cotton-wrapped tips for wiping. Three are spoon-shaped with recessed working faces, for placing kshara preparations or medicines. Another three have jambu-fruit-shaped ends and three have hook-shaped ends; these six are intended for agnikarma. One instrument for removing a nasal arbuda has an end the size of a split kola stone, with a recessed centre and a sharp rim. One for applying anjana is round like a kalaya pea and has bud-shaped tips at both ends. One for clearing the urinary passage is rounded and has the dimensions of the tip of a malati flower stalk.
Parinaha denotes roundness or girth. The word 'mouth' applies separately to earthworm, snake's hood, arrow's rear end and fishhook, with two instruments of each shape. Sharapunkha is the part of an arrow where it is fitted to the bowstring, and badisha is a fishhook. The four uses follow the same order. Eshana is searching for pus and similar material in deep suppuration and related conditions. Vyuhana is lifting upward, in connection with extracting a foreign body cut and made to protrude; some explain it as following along with the handle. A masuradala is a split, huskless portion of a lentil, and a slightly inclined tip is one bent a little. The six cotton-capped instruments have tips wrapped in cotton for wiping. Darvi is a wooden spoon, and khallamukha means a recessed working face. Jambava ends resemble the jambu fruit. The kola-stone comparison refers to the size of a split kernel of the badara stone; its centre is hollowed and its edge sharp. The anjana instrument is round with the measure of a kalaya pea and has a bud-like end at each extremity. Its length is eight angulas, as stated in Shalakya. Even when forms resemble one another, the use determines why two, six or another number of instruments are specified among the earthworm-ended through hook-ended shalakas.
Key terms
shalAkAyantrANi (śalākāyantrāṇi)
Rod- or probe-like instruments with working ends adapted to the listed purposes.
eShaNaM (eṣaṇam)
Probing or searching, exemplified by searching for pus in deep suppuration.
khallamukhAni (khallamukhāni)
Having recessed working faces.
pramArjana (pramārjana)
Wiping, using the cotton-wrapped tips described here.
उपयन्त्राण्यपि- रज्जुवेणिकापट्टचर्मान्तवल्कललतावस्त्राष्ठीलाश्ममुद्गरपाणिपादतलाङ्गुलिजिह्वा- दन्तनखमुखबालाश्वकटकशाखाष्ठीवनप्रवाहणहर्षायस्कान्तमयानि क्षाराग्निभेषजानि चेति ||१५||
एतानि देहे सर्वस्मिन् देहस्यावयवे तथा |
सन्धौ कोष्ठे धमन्यां च यथायोगं प्रयोजयेत् ||१६||
Meaning of the śloka
Auxiliary instruments include rope, a plaited cord, a band, a piece of hide, bark, a creeper, cloth, an ashthila stone, a mallet, the palms and soles, fingers, tongue, teeth, nails, mouth, hair, a horse's bridle fitting, a branch, spitting, expulsive effort, joy and a magnet, together with kshara, fire and medicines. These are to be applied as appropriate to the whole body or a particular part, a joint, the koshtha or a dhamani.
Upayantras are aids associated with instruments; others call them lesser instruments. Rajju is a cord made of munja or similar material, and venika is plaited from three strands. Charmanta is a piece of hide. Some instead read varmanta, where varma means armour. Valkala is bark such as that of palasha or udumbara, used in binding devices for fractures and similar conditions. Lata is a spreading creeper, locally veli, and vastra is cloth. Ashthila is explained as an elongated rounded stone. Others explain the term through a blacksmith's elongated rounded iron implement, with ashthilashma being a stone of that shape. The mallet, made of wood or similar material, is for moving a foreign body embedded in bone. Tala applies separately to the hand and foot. Ashvakataka is a horse's bridle or bit fitting, and shakha a tree branch; their uses are deferred to the chapter on removing foreign bodies. Spitting expels shleshma and similar material. Pravahana includes producing vomiting, purgation and tears, respectively in relation to kapha, pitta and foreign material such as dust in the eye. Harsha means satisfaction or joy. Ayaskanta is a special stone, divided into akarshaka, dravaka, chumbaka and bhramaka types. The concluding iti marks the end of the instrument list. Natural processes, ripening and wiping, which help remove unattached foreign bodies, are included under these auxiliary aids and therefore are not separately listed. For example, pravahana also encompasses tears, sneezing and related expulsive processes.
Key terms
upayantrANi (upayantrāṇi)
Auxiliary aids associated with instruments; alternatively explained as lesser instruments.
veNikA (veṇikā)
A cord plaited from three strands.
pravAhaNaM (pravāhaṇam)
Expulsive effort or processes, interpreted here to include vomiting, purgation, tears and sneezing.
ayaskAntaH (ayaskāntaḥ)
A magnetic stone, for which the commentary lists four traditional varieties.
The twenty-four functions of instruments are dislodging, filling, binding, separating or rearranging, making rounded, moving, turning, opening, pressing, clearing a passage, pulling free, bringing out, drawing slightly toward an opening, raising, lowering, breaking or crushing, stirring, suction, probing, splitting, straightening, washing, blowing in, and wiping.
Nirghatana is removal after moving something from side to side; some explain it as striking or jolting from side to side. Purana is filling with oil and similar substances through instruments such as a basti nozzle. Bandhana is tying with a cord or similar material. Vyuhana has already been explained in this chapter. Vartana makes something spread out into a rounded form. Chalana moves something from one place to another; others call it shaking a foreign body. Vivartana is turning back an object lodged in the ear when its removal is intended; others explain it as rotating an instrument, including within a cavity. Vivarana makes something accessible or visible; some explain it as creating room for an incision into flesh, while Lakshmana's annotation calls it spreading open. Pidana presses a wound with a finger or similar means to discharge pus and other material. Margavishodhana clears a passage when urine or stool is obstructed. Vikarshana is grasping and pulling; others explain it as freeing a foreign body caught in flesh or similar tissue. Aharana is bringing out, and anchana is drawing slightly toward the opening. Unnamana raises a downward-positioned arrow barb or similar object, whereas vinamana bends it downward. Bhanjana is crushing an arrow barb or similar object; others understand pressing it on all sides. Unmathana is stirring along the track of a lost foreign body with a probe or similar instrument. Achushana is suction with a horn, gourd or mouth in cases involving poisoned breast milk or blood. Eshana uses a worm-mouthed instrument to explore sinus tracts, wound recesses and foreign bodies. Darana splits an arrow barb or similar object in two. Rijukarana straightens a bent foreign body. Prakshalana washes wound recesses and similar sites with water or other fluids. Pradhamana introduces powder into the nose through a tube when shleshma or a foreign body causes obstruction. Pramarjana wipes away dust and similar foreign bodies from the eye using hair, a finger or cloth.
Key terms
yantrakarmANi (yantrakarmāṇi)
The functions performed by instruments.
nirghAtanam (nirghātanam)
Dislodging by movement from side to side, alternatively jolting or striking.
eShaNaM (eṣaṇam)
Exploration or probing of tracts, recesses and foreign bodies.
pramArjanaM (pramārjanam)
Wiping away material such as an ocular foreign body.
A discerning practitioner should also distinguish the functions of instruments using personal understanding, since the varieties of foreign bodies are innumerable; this is the established conclusion.
The twelve faults of instruments are excessive thickness, lack of soundness, excessive length, excessive shortness, failure to grasp, uneven grasping, crookedness, looseness, excessive projection, a weak pivot, a weak mouth, and a weak loop.
Lack of soundness refers to manufacture from impure metal or similar unsuitable material. Failure to grasp is associated with a malformed mouth, and uneven grasping means taking hold at only one part. Crooked means not straight. A loose instrument cannot exert pressure, while excessive projection refers to a raised pivot or similar part. A weak pivot is described as a weak pin. Some instead read the sequence as a single compound and connect kila, pivot, separately with crooked, loose, excessively projecting and weak: a crooked pivot, loose pivot, and so on. A weak loop is a thin loop. A weak mouth cannot withstand the pressure required to grasp a foreign body. These faults are to be understood chiefly in relation to svastika instruments.
The physician should recognize as suitable an instrument that is free from these faults and eighteen angulas long, and should employ such an instrument in procedures.
A visible foreign body should be removed gently with instruments such as the lion-mouthed type, and a concealed one with instruments headed by the kanka-mouthed type, with careful regard to the reasoning of the authoritative teaching.
The verse distinguishes the uses of svastika instruments. Visible means within sight, while concealed means not visible. In kankamukhadi, adi indicates the leading or principal member, so the phrase means instruments among which kankamukha is foremost. The commentator argues that otherwise the crow-mouthed instrument would not be included. Vyapeksha denotes consideration in various respects, or alternatively particularly careful consideration, of the reasoning provided by the teaching.
Key terms
gUDhaM (gūḍham)
A foreign body concealed from sight.
ka~gkamukha (kaṅkamukha)
The kanka-bird-mouthed instrument, treated here as foremost in its group.
Adhikarana 20 (22) · Śloka 22
ni(vi)vartatē sādhvavagāhatē ca śalyaṁ nigr̥hyōddharatē ca yasmāt |
yantrēṣvataḥ kaṅkamukhaṁ pradhānaṁ sthānēṣu sarvēṣvadhi(vi)kāri caiva ||22||
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नि(वि)वर्तते साध्ववगाहते च शल्यं निगृह्योद्धरते च यस्मात् |
यन्त्रेष्वतः कङ्कमुखं प्रधानं स्थानेषु सर्वेष्वधि(वि)कारि चैव ||२२||
Meaning of the śloka
Because the kankamukha instrument withdraws readily, enters effectively, and grasps and extracts a foreign body, it is foremost among instruments and has application in all locations.
Nivartate sadhu means that the instrument comes out promptly and readily, while avagahate means that it enters readily. Other instruments, such as the lion-mouthed type, have bulky mouths and do not enter and withdraw as readily. Others read vivartate and explain that its rounded form allows it to rotate inside. Nigrihya means grasping, and uddharate means drawing out. All locations includes joints, dhamanis and similar sites. Adhikari is explained as possessing an applicability that other instruments lack. Others read avikari instead, but the commentator says the intended purport remains the same.
Key terms
avagAhate (avagāhate)
Enters or penetrates into the site readily.
nigRuhya (nigṛhya)
After firmly grasping the foreign body.
adhi(vi)kAri
A supplied variant expression concerning the instrument's applicability, discussed through alternative readings in the commentary.