Charaka-Samhita — trans. Kaviraj Avinash Chandra Kaviratna

t ‘Vatagleshmahara’ means alleviative of wind, of phlegm, and of both wind and phlegm excited together.

The ‘Swedanas’ referred to are other than the three and tenS‘Swedanas’ [referred^ to in verse 273 ante of this Lesson. These are, as explained by Gangadhara, exposure to fire and sun, stoppage of breath, &o.,— T,

CHAR A KA-SAMHITA .

p. 1141

of digestion by the (excited) faults, fails to cook (digest) the food that has been taken, or digests with difficulty only food that is light. 278

Hence, for preserving the strength of the digestive fire,, such courses of treatment as fasts and the rest are beneficial. Verily, the impurities occurring in all the ‘dhatus’ (ingredients of the body) are cooked in course of a week (if fasts, &c., are observed).* 279

Generally, fever, it is said, becomes freed from ‘Ama’ or immatu¬ rity in eight days.

One whose faults have been greatly excited, and whose digestive fire has been weakened, by eating food that is heavy, becomes sud¬ denly deprived of life-breaths, or greatly afflicted (by diverse- distress¬ ing pains).

For this reason, O learned one, in fevers characterised by excite¬ ment of the wind, the physician should not cause the patient to take, at the outset, food that is very heavy or that is very oily.

In fever born of (excited) wind, the physician, without regarding the modes of treatment (laid down above), should, at the outset, cause the operations of ‘Abhyanga’ (rubbing the body with oil) and others of the kind, to be gone through, if no other fault be excited along with the wind.

Further, having caused the patient to drink ‘kashayas’ (decoctions), the physician should give him meat-juice, 280-283

The physician should also adopt (in the case of such a patient) all those methods which are alleviative of matured fevers.

Of persons in whose bodies the phlegm predominates, and in which the wind is weak, if they are afflicted by fever characterised by excessive excitement of phlegm and little heat of body, that fever does not lose its intensity in course of even a week.

The physician should treat such a person with ' fasts and light food, as already laid down, for ten days, and with also decoctions and other medicines of the kind.

Those persons that are afflicted by fevers characterised by imma¬ turity, and those that are afflicted by fever born of (excited) phlegm, and those that are afflicted by fever born of phlegm and bile, the physician should treat by prescribing every kind of ‘Langhana’ that

* It should be noted that ‘Malah’ or impurities include the excited faults. Vide Lesson XXVIII, p. 392, aphorism 3, SutrasthSna.

p. 1142

CHARAKA-SAMH1 TA,

has been spoken of in the Lesson on ‘Langhana’ ( vide Lesson XXII, Sutrasthana, ante).

Fevers born of phlegm, of bile, and of wind, should be treated with emetics, purgatives, and enemata, respectively, by a physician possessed of intelligence.

Understanding (diagnosing\ by their characteristics of equality or the degrees of predominance (in respect of the faults excited), fevers that are born of two faults, as also those that are born of the three faults, the physician should subjugate them by means of the aforesaid medicines, administering them in accordance with the measure in which the faults have been excited.*

One of the excited faults should be checked at a time. That which has been excited more than the other or the others, should be quelled first. 284-289

As regards fever that has been caused by the exciterqent of all the three faults, it should be subdued by checking the phlegm first (and taking up the bile next, and the wind last of all).

If towards the termination of a fever caused by the excitement of all the faults, a dreadful inflammatory swelling sets in at the root of any of the ears, one scarcely escapes from it.

Such swelling should be subdued by speedily letting the blood out ; or by causing the patient to drink (medicated) ghees ; or by such plasters, or snuffs, or gargles, as are alleviative of phlegm and bile.

When one’s fever does not abate through the administration of medicines that are cooling, of heating, or oily, or dry, &c., that fever should be known as having seized one’s blood-ducts. Such fever becomes alleviated upon the blood being let out.

In fever that is accompanied by erysipelas, as also in that caused by wounds, also in that caused by malignant toils, the drinking of (medicated) ghee, at the outset, is beneficial if neither phlegm, nor bile, is predominant.

* ‘Samaih’ and ‘taratamaih’ imply ‘equality’ and ‘degrees of predominance’ of the faults. In a fever caused by the excitement of two faults, the measure of excitement may be equal, or one of the faults may be more excited than the other. So also in fevers caused by the excitement of all the three, faults, the measures of excitement may be unequal. One may be more excited than the other two, or two may be more excited than the other one. What is said here is that the degree or degrees of excitement should be carefully marked by the physician in treating these fevers. — T.