The Sushruta Samhita — trans. Bhishagratna

4.

Memorable Verse :— The length of the pipe and the quantity of the fluid to charge with should •be gradually increased with the progress of the patient's ^ge and in consideration of his strength and bodily capacity. 5.

The pipe of a Vasti in respect of an adult above twenty-five years of age, should be made twelve fingers in length having a girth equal to that of his thumb at its base and a girth equal to that of the small finger at its mouth. At a distance of three fingers from above the mouth the Karnikds should be fixed. The b )re should be such as to allow a feather of a vulture to pass through it, while the fissure at the mouth would have a girth to allow the stone of a Kola fruit or of a boiled Kaldya pulse. The pipe should in all cases be supplied with two Karnikas at its root, for the purpose of firmly securing it to the mouth of the Vasti (bladder). The quantity of the fluid to charge with in the case of an Astha'pana Vasti is twelve Prasritas. The length of the pipe in respect of persons above seventy years of age should be like that in the preceding case but the quantity of the fluid to charge with should be made as in the case of a youth of sixteen. 6.

Materials of the pipes :— The pipe should be made either of gold, silver, copper, iron, brass, ivory, horn, gems or wood. It should be straight, smooth and firm, tapering at the top like the tuft of hair in the tail of a cow, and bulbular {ji.e , not pointed) at its mouth. The Vasti * should be (prepared with) the

* The Vasti is so called from its being prepared with the bladder (Vasti) of an animal. Dallana notes in this connection that the bladder

Chap. XXXV.] CHIKITSA STHANAM. 593

bladder (Vasti) either of a full-grown ox, buffalo or a sheep nor should it be soft (flexible) and firm, neither too thick nor too thin and of adequate dimensions. J.

Metrical Text : — In the absence of a pipe, a reed, bamboo, or horn might serve the purpose. In the absence of the bladder of any of the foregoing animals, the Vasti should be made of skin or of thick linen. 8.

Construction of the Vasti :— The bladder

In the absence of the bladder of any of the foregoing animals, the Vasti should be made of skin or of thick linen. 8.

Construction of the Vasti :— The bladder

(of which a Vasti should be made) should be cleansed, tanned and dyed (disinfected). It should be softened and repeatedly lubricated with a Sneha. It has generally a wide mouth which should be bent and lightly fitted to the butt end of the pipe (Netra). The mouth of the bladder should then be tied above the (Karnikd). The whole bladder should be heated with a piece of hot iron (in order to polish the surface and remove the pores therein, if any). The mouth of the bladder should then be folded and again tied (below the Karnikd). The whole should then be carefully preserved. The Asthdpana or the oily (Snaihika) Vasti should be applied, as the case may be, with the help of such a Vasti. A mild Vasti should be applied specially to infants and old men, since a strong one is likely to injure their health and strength. 9.

Vastis may be grouped under two heads — NairuMka (dry or oilless) and Snaihika (oleaginous). The term Asthdpana is synonymous with Niruha. The Vasti known as the Madhu-Tailika is only an alternative of a Niruhavasti. The terms Ydpana, Yukta-ratha, and Siddha-vasti convey also the same meaning. A Niruha-vasti is so called from the fact of its expelling the Doshas (morbific of an ox, buffalo, or a hog, should be used in the Asthapana and Anuva- Sana measures, and the bladder of a goat or a sheep should be used in the Uttara-vasti.

;sp. 594 diatheses) from the system and from its curing the diseases of the body ; while Astha(pana is so named from its virtue of rejuvenating the organism or producing longevity. The process of Madhu-tailika would be described in connection with the mode of applying a Niruha-vasti. lO.

The Anuva^sana is only an alternative of a Sneha- Vasti, but (with this difference that) the quantity of the fluid to charge with should be three-fourths, and the amount of the good effect therefrom would also be threefourths. An Auuvaisana-vasti is so called from the fact of its not injuring the system even in the event of its being retained in the bowels a whole day, or from the fact of its being adapted to daily application. The Mattrs^-vasti again which is applicable in all cases, is an alternative to an Anuvasana-vasti, but should be charged with only a half part of the fluid of that used in an Anuvdsana-vasti. 1 1 .

The Mattrs^-vasti again which is applicable in all cases, is an alternative to an Anuvasana-vasti, but should be charged with only a half part of the fluid of that used in an Anuvdsana-vasti. 1 1 .

Metrical Texts :— A Niruha-vasti acts as a cleanser of the system (S'odhana). It is anti-fat (Lekhana), emulsive (Snehana) and constructive (Vrimhana). Oleaginous matter (Sneha) may freely enter into the organism when all its ducts and channels have been previousiy cleansed by the application of a Niruhavasti. As water will freely run through channels previously cleansed of all refuse matter, so does an Anuvdsana tend to cleanse the organism of all Doshas (morbific diatheses) and to increase the vitality of the organism. A Sneha-vasti should, therefore, be applied to a person previously purged of all Doshas by the application of a Niruha-vasti. 12.

Both the Anuvdsana and the AsthapAna Vastis should be regarded as forbidden in cases of insanity, in the mental conditions of terror and grief, of a thirsty state of the body, of aversion to food and of indigestion, jaundice

Chap. XXXV. J CHIKITSA STHANAM. 595

. (Pdndu), giddiness, delirium, epilepsy, vomiting, Kushtha, Meha, ascites, obesity, asthma, cough, dryness of the throat and oedema as well as in respect of a Kshata- Kshina patient and a pregnant woman in (and before) the third or the fourth month of her gestation, in the case of a person suffering from dulness of appetite, impatient and incapable of bearing the least pain as well as in respect of infants, old men and persons emaciated by a bodily distemper other than one due to Vayu 13.

IVIctrical Text :— The Asthdpana-vasti should be exclusively applied in cases of ascites, urinary complaints (Meha), Kushtha and obesity. The application of an Anuvdsna-vasti is entirely forbidden in those cases inasmuch as it might make the disease run into an incurable type, and a great amount of lassitude of the organism would be the consequence. 14.