अथातः शिरोरोगप्रतिषेधं व्याख्यास्यामः ||१||
यथोवाच भगवान् धन्वन्तरिः ||२||
वातव्याधिविधिः कार्यः शिरोरोगेऽनिलात्मके |
पयोनुपानं सेवेत घृतं तैलमथापि वा ||३||
Meaning of the śloka
Now the treatment of diseases of the head will be explained, as taught by Bhagavān Dhanvantari. In a head disorder having the nature of aggravated vāta, the therapeutic approach prescribed for vāta disorders should be followed. Ghee or oil may be taken with milk as the accompanying drink.
The commentary says that the entire regimen for vāta disorders, both external and internal, is intended. External measures include oleation, sudation, massage, pouring, poultices, śirobasti, and nasya; internal measures include drinking unctuous substances, anuvāsana, and nirūha. It interprets ghee as appropriate when vāta is associated with pitta and oil when it is associated with kapha. Although use of ghee and oil already follows from the reference to vāta treatment, the statement may set a specific rule, establish milk as the accompanying drink, or prescribe this measure after completion of the other oleation procedures.
Key terms
shirorogapratiShedha (śirorogapratiṣedha)
Treatment or management of diseases of the head.
anilAtmaka (anilātmaka)
Having the nature of vāta.
pAyAnupAna (payānupāna)
Milk used as the accompanying drink.
shirobasti (śirobasti)
A classical external oil-retention procedure applied to the head.
At night one may eat mudga, kulattha, and māṣa by themselves, prepared with pungent and hot substances and with ghee, and afterward drink warm milk. Alternatively, a person may take oil with milk, or take a paste of those substances.
The commentary explains that mudga is used despite its vāta-increasing tendency and māṣa despite its kapha-increasing tendency because the combination is directed against the disorder and the specific action of a formulation cannot be reduced to the ordinary properties of each ingredient. ‘Pungent and hot’ means prepared with pungent, heating substances, and ‘with sarpis’ means with ghee. The oil is sesame oil. One interpretation takes the paste to be made from mudga and the other pulses; some understand it as sesame paste, but Gayī and Jejjaṭa do not accept that latter reading.
Key terms
mudga
A pulse included in the prescribed preparation.
kulattha
Horse gram, included among the prescribed pulses.
mASha (māṣa)
Black gram, included among the prescribed pulses.
yogashakti (yogaśakti)
The specific or composite action attributed to a formulation.
A comfortably warm stream of milk prepared with vāta-pacifying substances is to be poured over the head. The head may also be covered with comfortably warm milk-rice prepared with those substances, with cooked fish flesh, with kṛśara mixed with saindhava, or with finely ground candana, utpala, and kuṣṭha combined with magadhā. After oleation, oil prepared with kulīra juice is prescribed as nasya. Crushed drugs of the varuṇādi group are cooked with milk and half as much water until only the milk remains; after cooling and churning, its rich portion is collected. Ghee prepared from it with sweet-group substances is praised for nasya, and ghee cooked in that milk and mixed with sugar is to be taken. At the appropriate time, the physician may also employ an unctuous medicinal smoke.
Having described internal treatment, the commentary explains the external measures. Vāta-pacifying substances include bhadradāru and related drugs; seka is pouring in a continuous stream. The milk-rice is made from cow’s milk prepared with vāta-pacifying drugs, and ‘apply’ here means use as an upanāha. It identifies kṛśara as a gruel of sesame, rice, and māṣa, and describes the fish flesh and finely ground plant substances as head poultices. Oil cooked with four times its quantity of kulīra juice is used as nasya after oleation. For the varuṇādi preparation, the drugs are coarsely crushed; the commentary understands ghee to be cooked with four times the prepared milk and with kākolī-group substances, then taken with sugar. It also preserves another reading: ghee is cooked in both varuṇādi decoction and milk and then drunk with sugar. The unctuous smoke is described as smoke made with beeswax and other substances mixed with fats, selected according to the condition and time.
Key terms
seka
Pouring a stream of liquid over the head.
upanAha (upanāha)
A warm poultice or covering applied externally.
kulIra (kulīra)
The animal-derived juice specified for preparing the nasal oil.
snaihika dhUma (snaihika dhūma)
Unctuous medicinal smoke prepared with fatty substances.
The commentary identifies traivṛta as the preparation described in the treatment of apatānaka and balā oil as the preparation described in the treatment of obstructed labour.
Key terms
traivRuta (traivṛta)
A named medicinal preparation referenced from the treatment of apatānaka.
balAtaila (balātaila)
A named medicated oil referenced from another treatment chapter.
Head disorders arising from pitta and rakta are to be managed with head applications containing ghee and with cooling pours made from milk, sugarcane juice, dhānyāmla, mastu, honey, and sugar-water.
Because head disorders arising from pitta and rakta share the same treatment, the commentary says that a single concise treatment is given for both. Head applications are made with substances of the sweet group and related drugs, while cooling pours use milk, sugarcane juice, and the other liquids listed. It explains sitājala as water containing sugar.
Key terms
pittaraktasamutthAna (pittaraktasamutthāna)
Arising from pitta or rakta in the classical account.
shirolepa (śirolepa)
A medicinal application placed on the head.
dhAnyAmla (dhānyāmla)
A sour fermented grain liquid named for the cooling pour.
The head may be covered with ghee-containing applications made from nala, vañjula, kahlāra, candana, utpala, padmaka, vaṃśa, śaivala, yaṣṭyāhva, musta, and ambhoruha, or with comparable applications prescribed for visarpa. Sweet substances may be used for facial applications and for nasya.
The commentary identifies nala as the hollow-jointed plant known by that name, vañjula as vetasa, kahlāra as red lotus, candana here as red sandalwood, utpala as blue lotus, śaivala as dūrvā, and ambhoruha as lotus. The comparable applications are those described in the treatment of visarpa, containing uśīra, lāmajja, candana, srotoja, pearl, and gairika. ‘Comparable’ specifically refers to the applications for rakta- and pitta-type visarpa, not those for kapha- or vāta-type visarpa. The sweet substances are those of the kākolī group, and the nasya uses an unctuous medium prepared with sweet-group substances. The instruction remains connected to the treatment of pitta- and rakta-origin head disorders stated earlier.
Key terms
shiraHpralepa (śiraḥpralepa)
A medicinal paste or coating applied to the head.
vaisarpa pralepa
An application referenced from the classical treatment of visarpa.
madhura
Sweet; here indicating the kākolī group and similarly classified substances.
Appropriate āsthāpana, purgation, and unctuous basti procedures are prescribed. Ghee obtained from milk is considered suitable for nasya, as is good-quality fat from animals of the jāṅgala class.
For head disorders attributed to rakta and pitta, the commentary identifies four procedures while excluding emesis. It connects āsthāpana, purgation, and unctuous basti with the earlier instruction to manage these two disorders. The word pathya, meaning beneficial or appropriate, qualifies all three. Āsthāpana is to use the utpala-based preparation described next; purgation is prepared with sweet substances; and the unctuous bastis use sweet roots, milk, ghee, and related substances. Kṣīrasarpis here means ghee produced from butter obtained by churning milk.
Key terms
AsthApana (āsthāpana)
A decoction-based basti procedure in the classical regimen.
vireka
Therapeutic purgation.
snehabasti
An unctuous basti procedure.
jA~ggala vasA (jāṅgala vasā)
Fat from an animal of the dry-land class, proposed here for nasal use.
Adhikarana 9 (16-17) · Śloka 17
utpalādivipakvēna kṣīrēṇāsthāpanaṁ hitam ||16||
bhōjanaṁ jāṅgalarasaiḥ sarpiṣā cānuvāsanam |
madhuraiḥ kṣīrasarpistu snēhanē ca saśarkaram ||17||
An āsthāpana prepared with milk cooked with utpala and related substances is considered beneficial. Food is taken with the broth of jāṅgala animals, and ghee is used for anuvāsana. For oleation, milk-derived ghee prepared with sweet substances and mixed with sugar is prescribed.
The commentary says that the first statement gives the substances used for āsthāpana. It then explains the ghee prescribed for anuvāsana: sweet substances such as the kākolī group are to be cooked with it, with ‘cooked’ understood from context. Kṣīrasarpis means ghee obtained by churning milk; for the unctuous basti it is mixed with powdered white sugar. Another reading has, ‘milk-derived ghee cooked with sweet substances, mixed with sugar, for drinking,’ but Gayī does not accept that reading.
Key terms
utpalAdi (utpalādi)
Utpala and the related substances used in the milk preparation.
jA~ggalarasa (jāṅgalarasa)
Broth from animals classified as jāṅgala.
anuvAsana (anuvāsana)
An unctuous basti procedure.
kShIrasarpis (kṣīrasarpis)
Ghee derived from butter produced by churning milk.
The commentary explains this as a concise extension of treatment by reference: other drinking preparations, applications, nasya, and related measures previously prescribed against rakta and pitta are also applicable in this context.
Key terms
pittaraktaghna
Described in the classical framework as counteracting pitta and rakta.
atidesha (atideśa)
Extension of a rule or treatment by reference to what was prescribed elsewhere.
A head disorder arising from kapha is to be managed with kapha-reducing measures: śirovireka, emesis, strong gargles held in the mouth, drinking plain ghee, and repeated sudation. After oleating the head, the physician may induce evacuation through the head with the pith of madhūka, or with the bark of iṅguda or meṣaśṛṅga.
The commentary states that śirovireka, emesis, and the other listed measures are the kapha-reducing methods intended for a kapha-origin head disorder. Accha means plain or unmixed. Drinking ghee may be intended to control vāta aggravated after kapha has been reduced by emesis, or it may be a preparatory measure before emesis. Abhīkṣṇaśas means repeatedly.
Key terms
kaphotthita shiroroga (kaphotthita śiroroga)
A head disorder described as arising from kapha.
shirovireka (śirovireka)
A strong evacuative procedure through the nasal or head route.
gaNDUShadhAraNa (gaṇḍūṣadhāraṇa)
Holding a medicinal liquid in the mouth as a classical procedure.
A wick prepared from those same two substances is prescribed for medicated smoking. Powder of kaṭphala is to be inhaled, and gargles that reduce kapha are advised. A comfortably warm paste made from sarala, kuṣṭha, śārṅgeṣṭā, devakāṣṭha, and rohiṣa, ground with alkaline water and a small quantity of salt, is to be applied to the head.
The medicated smoke is described to pacify kapha left after cleansing of the head. ‘Those two’ refers to the barks of iṅgudī and meṣaśṛṅgī. Inhaling kaṭphala powder is explained as a particular form of pradhmana, or blowing powdered medicine into the nose. The gargles are prepared from kapha-reducing substances. The paste named in the next verse is ground with alkaline water and contains only a little salt.
Food prepared from barley or ṣaṣṭika rice, combined with vyoṣa and alkali, is to be taken in a measured quantity with liquid preparations of paṭola, mudga, or kulattha.
This states the dietary regimen. Vyoṣa means trikaṭu, and the alkali is yavakṣāra. Thus barley or ṣaṣṭika rice is made pungent with trikaṭu and seasoned with yavakṣāra, then eaten in a suitable quantity together with the soups of paṭola and the other named ingredients.
Key terms
vyoṣa
the three-pungent combination identified here as trikaṭu
yavakṣāra
alkaline preparation derived from barley
ṣaṣṭika
a type of rice named as a dietary grain
mātrāvat
in an appropriate or measured quantity
Adhikarana 14 (24) · Śloka 24
śirōrōgē tridōṣōtthē tridōṣaghnō vidhirhitaḥ |24|
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शिरोरोगे त्रिदोषोत्थे त्रिदोषघ्नो विधिर्हितः |२४|
Meaning of the śloka
For a disease of the head arising from all three doṣas, a regimen that counteracts all three doṣas is considered suitable.
The text now gives the general treatment of a tridoṣaja disorder of the head. The regimen that counters all three doṣas means the measures just described for head disorders arising respectively from vāta, pitta, and kapha.
Key terms
tridoṣottha
arising from the combined involvement of the three doṣas
tridoṣaghna
intended to counter all three doṣas
vidhi
the prescribed therapeutic regimen
Adhikarana 15 (24) · Śloka 24
sarpiḥpānaṁ viśēṣēṇa purāṇaṁ vā diśanti hi ||24||
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सर्पिःपानं विशेषेण पुराणं वा दिशन्ति हि ||२४||
Meaning of the śloka
In particular, drinking ghee—or, as authorities also prescribe, aged ghee—is advised.
After stating the general treatment, the text introduces a specific measure: drinking ghee. The commentator notes that earlier compilers discuss much more on this point, but he omits it to avoid excessive detail.
क्षयजे क्षयमासाद्य कर्तव्यो बृंहणो विधिः |
पाने नस्ये च सर्पिः स्याद्वातघ्नमधुरैः शृतम् ||२५||
क्षयकासापहं चात्र सर्पिः पथ्यतमं विदुः |२६|
Meaning of the śloka
In the head disorder attributed to depletion, the particular depletion should first be determined and a nourishing regimen adopted. For drinking and nasal administration, ghee cooked with sweet-tasting, vāta-reducing substances is prescribed. Ghee described as alleviating wasting and cough is regarded here as especially suitable.
For this depletion-related condition, one interpretation says that the specific depletion—such as depletion of blood—must be identified and treated without departing from the measures appropriate to that depleted factor. Another interpretation directs the reader to the chapter on śoṣa and applies its nourishing dietary and medicinal regimen. The word ‘and’ is read in a displaced construction with ‘ghee’; on that reading, oil processed with sweet substances is included as well. The ghee for wasting and cough is the formulation introduced elsewhere by the words beginning ‘having decocted kulīra, śukti, caṭaka, eṇa, and lāva together with the entire sweet group.’
कृमिभिर्भक्ष्यमाणस्य वक्ष्यते शिरसः क्रिया ||२६||
नस्ये हि शोणितं दद्यात्तेन मूर्च्छन्ति जन्तवः |
मत्ताः शोणितगन्धेन समायान्ति यतस्ततः ||२७||
Meaning of the śloka
The procedure for a head described as being consumed by organisms is now stated. Blood is to be administered through the nose; through it the organisms become stupefied, and, excited by the smell of blood, they gather from different places.
In the context of krimija head disease, this presents a means of exciting and drawing out numerous organisms said to have spread deeply. The comparison ‘as though being eaten’ is used because a head already fully consumed would be impossible to treat. Nasal administration of blood is said both to excite the organisms and draw them toward the openings of the channels. ‘They become unconscious’ is explained as becoming stupefied or intoxicated. Once they gather at outlets such as the nasal passage, the commentary says they should be removed with a kūrcaka or similar instrument.
Key terms
krimija śiroroga
a classical head disorder attributed to krimi
śoṇitanasya
the historical nasal administration of blood described here
srotomukha
an opening of a bodily channel
kūrcaka
an instrument named for removing organisms at an accessible opening
The organisms are then to be expelled by cleansing measures for the head, or by seeds of hrasvaśigru combined with kāṃsyanīlī. The text further prescribes pressed nasal preparations made from substances regarded as krimighna and ground with urine, as well as medicinal smoke containing putrid fish and other krimighna substances.
These measures are presented for organisms that cannot be reached with a kūrcaka or similar instrument. The cleansing substances for the head are identified as viḍaṅga, marica, apāmārga, śigru seeds, and others. Gayī, however, takes the hrasvaśigru seeds mentioned next themselves to be the head-cleansing medicine. Krimighna substances are exemplified by viḍaṅga and related drugs.
Key terms
mūrdhavirecana
cleansing treatment directed at the head
avapīḍa
a pressed-liquid form of nasal administration
krimighna
considered destructive to or expelling krimi in this context
hrasvaśigru
a plant whose seeds are prescribed in the formulation
viḍaṅga
an example of a krimighna substance given by the commentary
Adhikarana 19 (30) · Śloka 30
bhōjanāni kr̥mighnāni pānāni vividhāni ca |30|
View original
भोजनानि कृमिघ्नानि पानानि विविधानि च |३०|
Meaning of the śloka
Various foods and drinks regarded as krimighna are also prescribed.
The verse turns to diet. Foods and drinks called krimighna are those taught in the chapter on the prevention of krimi, including preparations such as dhānyāmla processed with plants of the surasā group.
Key terms
krimighna
regarded in the classical account as counteracting krimi
dhānyāmla
a sour fermented grain preparation referenced by the commentary
In sūryāvarta, medicinal measures beginning with nasya are to be employed.
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sūryāvartakacikitsāmāha- sūryāvartē ityādi| nasyakarmādītyādiśabdāllēpapariṣēkakavalagrahaśirōbastyādayaḥ| anyē tu nasyakarma ādau yasya tannasyakarmādi, tacca vamanaṁ vihāya virēkādikarmacatuṣṭayam| yē tu sūryāvartaviparyayaṁ paṭhanti tatrāpīdamēva cikitsitam||30||
Meaning of the commentary
This introduces the treatment of sūryāvarta. One explanation takes ‘beginning with nasya’ to include applications of paste, pouring of liquids, holding medicinal substances in the mouth, śirobasti, and related measures. Others understand it as the group of four procedures beginning after emesis—namely the remaining cleansing procedures, with emesis excluded. Those who read a variant called sūryāvartaviparyaya apply this same treatment to it as well.
Key terms
sūryāvarta
the classical head disorder being treated in this passage
nasya
nasal administration, placed first among the measures
śirobasti
retention of a medicinal substance over the head, included by one interpretation
sūryāvartaviparyaya
a variant reading to which the same treatment is said to apply
तथाऽर्धभेदके व्याधौ प्राप्तमन्यच्च यद्भवेत् ||३१||
शिरीषमूलकफलैरवपीडोऽनयोर्हितः |
वंशमूलककर्पूरैरवपीडं प्रयोजयेत् ||३२||
अवपीडो हितश्चात्र वचामागधिकायुतः |
मधुकेनावपीडो वा मधुना सह संयुतः ||३३||
मनःशिलावपीडो वा मधुना चन्दनेन वा |३४|
Meaning of the śloka
The same measures, along with any other treatment that is appropriate, are to be used in ardhābhedaka. For both conditions, an avapīḍa nasal preparation made from the root and fruit of śirīṣa is considered beneficial. Avapīḍa preparations made with bamboo root and camphor, with vacā and māgadhikā, or with madhuka combined with honey are also prescribed. Another avapīḍa is described with manaḥśilā and honey, or with candana.
The passage gives treatment for ardhāvabhedaka. The nasal measures and other medicines, a diet mainly of jāṅgala meat, milk and grain preparations, and ghee are applied not only in sūryāvarta but also here. ‘Whatever else is appropriate’ may include oleation, venesection, avapīḍa, and the dīpikā oil mentioned for ear pain. Gayī instead understands ‘other’ as introducing the formulas that follow, beginning with śirīṣa root and fruit. The two conditions are sūryāvarta and ardhāvabhedaka. Avapīḍa is explained as a type of nasya given after the material has been pressed. Madhuka here means yaṣṭīmadhuka. The commentary treats manaḥśilā with honey as one formula and manaḥśilā with candana as a second; some explain candana here as the heartwood of madhūka.
Key terms
ardhāvabhedaka
the classical head disorder addressed in this section
avapīḍa
a nasal preparation administered after pressing or expressing its liquid
māgadhikā
a formulation ingredient named alongside vacā
madhuka
identified by the commentator here as yaṣṭīmadhuka
manaḥśilā
a mineral substance included in a historical nasal formula
The commentary describes the subsequent measure after kapha has been overcome by avapīḍa nasal applications. At their conclusion, ghee cooked with a paste of the Kākolī group and other sweet substances is to be used nasally. Some understand madhurasā as the plant Mūrvā. Others read tayor, ‘for those two,’ instead of teṣām, and explain that after the avapīḍa measures, ghee combined with sweet substances is beneficial as a nasal application for sūryāvarta and ardhāvabhedaka when vāta and pitta predominate in the later stage.
Key terms
nasya
Nasal administration in the classical therapeutic context.
sarpiḥ
Ghee used as the base of the described nasal preparation.
madhurasānvitam
Combined with sweet-tasting substances; the commentary also preserves an interpretation involving Mūrvā.
avapīḍa
A pressed nasal preparation mentioned as the preceding measure.
A paste of Sārivā, utpala, kuṣṭha, and madhuka, ground with an acidic liquid and combined with ghee and oil, is said to bring comfort in both disorders. This same measure is to be used in a head disease attributed to kapha.
The commentary identifies this as a head paste. Utpala is specified as blue lotus, and the acidic grinding medium as kāñjika. ‘Both’ means sūryāvarta and ardhāvabhedaka, and this paste too is applied when vāta and pitta predominate later. It then takes ‘this same’ to refer to the previously described avapīḍa made from Śirīṣa fruit and related ingredients, for a kapha-caused head disorder; its repetition is explained by the present context. Alternative readings are preserved: some read ‘a wasting-type head disorder,’ which Jejjaṭa rejects, while others read ‘a head disorder caused by vāta’ and understand ‘these same’ as the immediately listed Sārivā, utpala, kuṣṭha, and other ingredients.
Key terms
sārivā
One ingredient of the described external head paste.
nīlotpala
Blue lotus, the commentary's identification of utpala here.
kāñjika
The acidic liquid specified for grinding the paste.
kaphātmaka
Characterized as arising from kapha in the principal reading.
For anantavāta, the regimen used to relieve sūryāvarta is to be followed. Venesection is also prescribed for calming anantavāta, together with a diet intended to alleviate vāta and pitta. Food is to include madhumastaka, saṃyāva, and ghṛtapūra preparations.
The commentary notes that some authorities read a treatment of anantavāta at this point. It identifies madhumastaka as ravajuka; saṃyāva as the preparation popularly called lapsikā, made with specified fats and scented with cāturjātaka and camphor; and ghṛtapūra as the preparation popularly known as ghevara.
Key terms
anantavāta
The classical head disorder for which this regimen is stated.
sirāvyadha
Venesection or puncturing of a vein, prescribed historically here.
saṃyāva
A food preparation identified in the commentary with lapsikā.
ghṛtapūra
A ghee-based food preparation identified as ghevara.
क्षीरसर्पिः प्रशंसन्ति नस्ये पाने च शङ्खके ||३८||
जाङ्गलानां रसैः स्निग्धैराहारश्चात्र शस्यते |३९|
Meaning of the śloka
For śaṅkhaka, milk-prepared ghee is praised both as a nasal application and for drinking. A nourishing diet with rich broths of animals of arid regions is also recommended here.
The commentary introduces treatment for śaṅkhaka. It identifies the milk-prepared ghee as the preparation described in the treatment of ardita for nourishing the eyes. For jāṅgala animals, some read ‘aquatic animals,’ but Gayī does not accept that reading.
Key terms
śaṅkhaka
The grave classical head disorder addressed in this passage.
kṣīrasarpiḥ
Ghee prepared with milk, prescribed here nasally and orally.
jāṅgala
Animals associated with arid terrain, whose broths appear in the accepted reading.
audaka
Aquatic; preserved as an alternative reading rejected by Gayī.
A paste may properly be applied using Śatāvarī, black sesame, madhuka, blue lotus, dūrvā, and punarnavā. Alternatively, mahāsugandhā or pālindī may be ground with an acidic liquid and applied.
The commentary states that the Śatāvarī and other listed substances are ground with milk to make a head paste. It identifies mahāsugandhā as utpalasārivā, while others identify it as sarpasugandhā. Pālindī is identified as kālavallī, and the acidic medium as kāñjika.
Key terms
śatāvarī
One of the substances listed for the external paste.
mahāsugandhā
An ingredient identified variously as utpalasārivā or sarpasugandhā.
pālindī
An ingredient identified by the commentary as kālavallī.
The commentary supplies details for the otherwise unspecified affusions and pastes. Cooling affusions are made as decoctions from cooling substances such as the Vidārigandhādi and Kākolī groups and utpala. Cooling pastes are made from pastes of those same substances ground with an acidic medium.
Key terms
śīta
Cooling in quality, describing both measures.
pariṣeka
Affusion or pouring of a liquid preparation over the affected area.
pradeha
An external paste or coating.
utpala
Lotus, included among the cooling substances in the commentary.
Adhikarana 29 (41) · Śloka 41
avapīḍaśca dēyō'tra sūryāvartanivāraṇaḥ ||41||
View original
अवपीडश्च देयोऽत्र सूर्यावर्तनिवारणः ||४१||
Meaning of the śloka
The avapīḍa nasal measure described for relieving sūryāvarta is also to be administered here.
The commentary identifies this sūryāvarta-relieving avapīḍa by recalling the earlier statement that an avapīḍa prepared from the root and fruit of Śirīṣa is beneficial for the two disorders under discussion.
Key terms
avapīḍa
A pressed nasal preparation used in the historical regimen.
sūryāvarta
The classical head disorder whose earlier nasal measure is referenced.
śirīṣa
The plant whose root and fruit are named for the referenced preparation.
In head diseases other than those attributed to kṛmi and depletion, the discerning practitioner should perform strong evacuation of the head with agents combined with honey and oil. Afterward, nasal administration with mustard oil is prescribed.
The commentary presents this as general treatment for head diseases, excluding the two caused by kṛmi and depletion. It explains ‘evacuate the heads’ as administering head-cleansing substances mixed with honey and oil by the nasal route. Mustard oil is then used nasally because the commentary attributes to it removal of deeply rooted vāta and destruction of congealed kapha. Another reading instead recommends comfortably warm ghee after the procedure; its rationale is that once kapha has been overcome by head evacuation, ghee is used to address vāta and pitta.
Key terms
kṛmi
A causative category excluded from this general regimen.
śirovirecana
A head-cleansing or evacuative nasal procedure in the classical framework.
sarṣapataila
Mustard oil prescribed nasally in the principal reading.
sarpiḥ
Warm ghee prescribed nasally in the alternative reading.
Adhikarana 31 (43) · Śloka 44
na cēcchāntiṁ vrajantyēvaṁ snigdhasvinnāṁstatō bhiṣak ||43||
paścādupācarētsamyak sirāṇāmatha mōkṣaṇaiḥ |44|
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न चेच्छान्तिं व्रजन्त्येवं स्निग्धस्विन्नांस्ततो भिषक् ||४३||
पश्चादुपाचरेत्सम्यक् सिराणामथ मोक्षणैः |४४|
Meaning of the śloka
If the head diseases do not become calm through these measures, the practitioner should properly prepare the patient with oleation and fomentation and then treat by releasing blood from the veins.
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idānīmētairapyupāyairyadā śāntiṁ śirōrōgā na yānti tadā kiṁ kartavyamityāha- na cēcchāntimityādi||43||-
Meaning of the commentary
The commentary states that this passage answers what is to be done when head diseases fail to subside even with the measures already described.
Key terms
snigdha
Prepared by oleation before the subsequent procedure.
svinna
Prepared by fomentation or sweating.
sirāmokṣaṇa
Release of blood from veins, an invasive historical procedure.
There are said to be seventy-six diseases of the eyes, twenty-eight arising in the ears, thirty-one affecting the nose, and eleven in the head. These have been described in detail together with their signs and treatments. The Saṃhitā also states sixty-seven diseases of the mouth. Thus, at a broad level, these disorders of the upper body have been presented in this treatise according to their number, form, and treatment.
The commentary concludes the substance of Śālākya-tantra. It explains daśāṣṭādaśa as twenty-eight and takes iti as recalling what has already been stated. The disorders said to have been seen in detail are those explained extensively in works such as Videha. Yathāsthūlam means without going beyond broad categories; when divided into minute subtypes, the disorders would instead be innumerable. ‘In this’ refers to the Śālākya treatise.
Key terms
śālākya-tantra
The classical textual discipline whose disease counts are summarized here.
yathāsthūlam
At the level of broad categories rather than minute subdivisions.
uttamāṅga
The uppermost part of the body, encompassing the regions summarized here.
Thus ends the twenty-sixth chapter, entitled ‘Prevention and Treatment of Diseases of the Head,’ in the Śālākya-tantra section of the Uttara-tantra of the Suśruta-saṃhitā. With this, the Śālākya-tantra within the Uttara-tantra of the Suśruta-saṃhitā, taught by the revered Dhanvantari and composed by the sage Suśruta, is concluded.
The commentary praises the physician named Śrī Dalhaṇa as a source of sound understanding, a foundation of good renown, honored by good physicians, prosperous, virtuous, and skilled in practice. It says that he was especially dear to King Sāhala, lord of Bhādānaka, and that his work is renowned on earth as the Nibandhasaṅgraha. It then marks the completion of the twenty-sixth chapter of Śālākya-tantra within the Uttara-tantra in Dalhaṇa's Nibandhasaṅgraha commentary on the Suśruta-saṃhitā.
Key terms
śirorogapratiṣedha
The chapter title concerning prevention and treatment of diseases of the head.
śālākya-tantra
The section declared complete in this colophon.
Nibandhasaṅgraha
The title of Dalhaṇa's commentary.
Dalhaṇa
The commentator praised and named in the colophon.