Charaka-Samhita — trans. Kaviraj Avinash Chandra Kaviratna

* What is stated here is this : The senses of the patient, i. e., his powers of vision, hearing, &c., are examinable by Inference only and not by direct perception of the physician. If it is the vision of the patient that is to be examined, the physician cannot possibly do so by means of his own eyes. What he can do is to apply the powers of reasoning or take the help of Inference for ascertaining whether the vision is impaired or not. Colour-blindness, for example, cannot be ascertained except by exposing different colours, before the patient and marking the result by Inference. So whether a patient’s sense of smell is right or not, the physician cannot ascertain by direct perception but by Reasoning or Inference. The word ‘atindriyam’ in the second line of the verse implies ‘underived from direct perception.’ The word has another signification when applied to knowledge which Yogins have of thingsbeyond the ken of the senses. The latter signi¬ fication, however, is not entirely unconnected with the former. — T.

f A healthy person sees a thing to be red. One afflicted by disease sees it white. This is a sign of death being near. — T.

t Literally, ‘by seeing these contrarieties a person (soon) meets with death.’ — T.

§ ‘ Amvaragochara’ implies ‘ perceptible by touch.’ Literally, it means ‘occurring in or occupying space or ether.’

A misprint occurs in Gangadhara’s text, viz., the omission of a ref a (or r ) after ‘Agni’ in consequence of which the latest Bengali translator of Charaka makes utter nonsense of the second line. The fact is, every one of the five principal elements is referred to suc¬ cessively, in this order, viz. , ether, earth, air, fire, and water. — T.

IT Gangadhara makes a ridiculous blunder in explaining the second line of this verse. He takes ‘sthite’ and ‘gachchhati’ as adjectives qualifying ‘jale’ in the first line like ‘suvimale.’ According to him the meaning of the verse is — ‘ He who sees a net in a piece' of

p. 886

CHARAKA-SAMHITA,

He does not live long who, in (even) his waking hours, sees ghosts, and Rakshasas of diverse kinds, and anything else that is strange. 9 He who sees a blazing fire of ordinary complexion as blue, or without splendour, or dark, or white, lives for only seven nights. ia

He who sees light in the skies when there is no light, or clouds when there are no clouds, or flashes of lightning in the absence of clouds, meets (soon) with death. 11

He who sees the bright sun or moon as having the appearance of an earthen pot covered with a dark cloth, does not live long. 12

He who, in health or sickness, sees an eclipse of the sun or the moon, on days other than those of the new-moon and the full moon, dies at the time of seeing it. J3

He who sees the sun at night, or the moon when there is no moon, or smoke when there is no fire, or who sees a fire at night to be without splendour, meets with death very soon. H

Men who are about to cast off their life-breaths behold these adverse phenomena : effulgent objects as divested of effulgence, or objects without effulgence as effulgent ones. *5

Men, when the period of their life has run short, behold wellformed objects as deformed, discoloured, and incorrect in respect of number. 16

He who sees what is invisible, and sees not what is visible, both of them, doubtless, see the abode of Yama very soon.i7

He who hears (a sound) when there is no sound, and does not perceive sounds (when there are sounds), the physician possessed of learning should know both of them as already dead. 18 •

That patient who, upon shutting his ears with his fingers, does not hear the sound of burning fire, should be regarded as already dead and abandoned by an intelligent physician.* 19

He who smells the agreeableness or disagreeableness of odors contrawise, or who has no smell of odors at all, should be known as one whose life has run short.f 2° clear water, which is either unmoving or moving, and in which no net has really been spread &c., &c.’— T.

* ‘Abandoned,’ i. e., his treatment should not be taken up. A healthy man, upon shutting his ears with his fingers, hears the sound of burning fire.— T.

t The sense, of course, of the first line is, he who perceives agreeable odors to be dis¬ agreeable, or disagreeable odors to be agreeable. — T,

CHARAKA-SAMHITA.

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He who, in the absence of the disease ‘Mukhapaka,’ fails to dis¬ tinguish the different tastes or to perceive tastes at all, should be regarded by skilful physicians as ripe for death.* 21

One whose death is near, having touched things that are hot, or cold, or rough, or smooth, or mild, or keen, perceives them to be otherwise (than what they really are).f 22

He who, without rigid penances or yoga duly practised, per¬ ceives what is beyond the ken of the senses, soon meets with death-! 23

He who fails to perceive by his senses other than the eye the objects of those senses, or who perceives them contrawise, should be known as one whose period of life has run out.§ 24