Charaka-Samhita — trans. Kaviraj Avinash Chandra Kaviratna

attributes. Knower, known, and knowledge are all undistinguishable at that stage. There being nothing else, the Crutis declare, “ who is to know whom and by what ?” Human knowledge is relative, the knower and the known are involved in knowledge. When, however, there is no relativity, knowledge,: as known to us, cannot exist.

When the Self becomes manifest in created beings, that is, is united with the three and twenty principles, (which, again, are emanations from the Self), distinctions arise, due to relativity. The Self then becomes describable by its environments or indications. The knowledge of pleasure and pain arises, and gradations of Being arise. These gradations are due to different measures of pleasure and pain, or, rather, to difference of experiences. — T.

* One of the questions asked was “what pain is treated by physicians?” Pain may be past, present, or future. Obviously, pain that is past needs no treatment ; and the same may be said of pain that is future ; while, as re¬ gards pain that is present, it may be said to have actually no existence, for the present, in reality, is like a mathematical point between the past and the future. That question is answered by the Rishi in verses 92 to 9 7. The answer is that the ' Anubhava ’ or conviction (faith) of human being is a factor that is incapable of being ignored. The conviction about a particular disease, in point of time, is that the disesase which afflicted one in the

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CHARAKA SAMHITA.

Through treatment undertaken for bringing about ease, the after-effects, connected with one another, of diseases, are prevented and ease also sets in.98

The constituent elements of the body always grow in harmony with causes. These, when co-existing with accordant causes, never attain to a state of discord. When, again, they co-exist with causes that are discordant with them, they never attain to a state of concord.39

Keeping this consideration before his view, the physician allays pain appertaining'to the three stages of time (viz., Past, present, and Future).

Thus has treatment been explained (with regard to pain in respect of time).100

That treatment is truly loyal which is not prompted by cupidity. 101

Cupidity is the chief cause from which springs sorrow and everything that leads to sorrow.

past is afflicting him again in the present. Future disease, again, before it has fully developed itself, may be and is treated. The answer is scarcely satisfactory. It would have :been: to the point if it were said That.-j'the exist¬ ence of the present is believed in by men in general. The philosophical idea of the present being a point between the past and the future, is never realised by anybody. Hence, treatment concerns itself with both the disease that is present and that is future. — T.

* Verse 99 is difficult to understand. I have set forth what I apprehend to be its true sense, introducing a few additional words in the sentence. What is stated is this : the constitutent elements of the body, such as blood, flesh, marrow, bones, etc., grow harmoniously with their respective causes. When, therefore, the causes are accordant with them, they show no signs of disorder or distemper. When, again, causes are not accordant with them, they become disordered or distempered. What the physician has to do is to make causes accordant with the constituent elements of the body. If the causes are discordant, he must, by his operations, restore concordance between them and the bodily elements. In this case it is present pain that he removes. In the previous verses the removal of future pain and then of past pain has been spoken of. Hence, all the three kinds of pain, viz., future, past, and present, form the subjects of the physician’s operations. Thus the question has been fully answered as regards the kind of pain, in respect of time, that concerns the physician or medical science. — T.

CHARAKA SAMHITA.

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The renunciation of cupidity and the like is destruction of alf sorrow.*02'

As the silk-worm weaves threads for its own destruction, evenso the ignorant man obtains from earthly possessions nothing but thirst for passing, his whole life in misery.*105

The man of knowledge who, understanding that all earthly possessions are like fire, withdraws himself from them, has never to suffer sorrow, inasmuch, as he never sets his heart on achiev¬ ing anything and stands aloof; dissociated from all things..!11"4