An English Translation of the Sushruta Samhita, Vol. I: Sutrasthanam — trans. Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna (1907)

An idiopathic swelling (Shopha) first occurring in either of the lower extremities in a male patient not as a complication of an}' other disease*, as well as a similar swelling first appearing at the face, or about the region

* Such as Chlorosis, Ascites, lioemorrhoids.

Chap. XXXI. ] SUTRASTHANAM. 291

of the anus in a male or a female patient, is sure to have a fatal termination. •

A patient, suffering ■ from cough or asthma attended with dysentery, fever, hic-cough, vomiting and swelling of the penis and the scrotum, should be given up as lost. Excessive perspiration, burning, hic-cough, dyspnoea and hyperpyrexia with a burning sensation of the body, are undoubtedl)' capable of extinguishing the vital spark even in a strong patient. Similarl}^ a patient, with a black coated tongue and the left eye sunk in its socket and a foul smell from the mouth, should be given up as lost.

The mouth of a man, who is on his way to the mansions of the god of death, becomes filled v^ith tears, the legs are wet with perspiration, and the pupils of the eyes roll about or become listless.

The patient, whose limbs become all of a sudden abnormally light or heavy, is sure to go to the region of the son of the da5''-god (Yama.i The patient, whose body emits a fishy, dirty or a fragrant smell, or smells like fat, oil, or clarified-butter, is on the way to the mansions of Death.

The patient on whose forehead lice freely move about, or whose offerings the crows do not eat, or who does not find comfort in any position or place, goes to the mansions of the god of death. A patient, who has

2g2 ''^HE SUSHRUTA SAMHITA', [Chap. xxxi.

become emaciated and enfeebled, or has been suffering from a complication of such diseases as fever, dysentery, oedema, etc., one supervening another pre-existing malady, should be deemed as beyond the pale of medicine. A ravenous hunger or an unquenchable thirst in a weak patient, who refuses to be appeased or satisfied with sweet, wholesome and ]ialatable food or drink, should be regarded as a fatal indication. A patient exhibiting such symptoms as diarrhoea, an excruciating headache, colic in the intestines, thirst and gradual faihng of strength, stands in danger of imminent death. Death is due to the transitory character of life, or it may be attributed to irregular conduct, or to the deeds of one's previous existence transformed into the dynamics of fate.

Ghosts, evil spirits, Pishachas and monsters of various shapes and denomination, constanth^ lead men to death. These evil spirits, owing to their natural killing propensities, nullify the efficacies of medicines ; and hence it is futile to take in hand the medical treatment of a man who exhibits any of the abovesaid fatal symptoms, and thereby testifies that lie has fallen into the clutches of such evil spirits.

Thus ends the Thirty-first Chapter of the SutrasthSnam in the SushrutaSamhitA which deals with prognosis from perverted features.

CHAPTER XXXII. Now we shall discourse on the Chapter which treats of the prognosis based on the perversion of the external appearances of the body (Svabha'va-vipratipatti - madhyaryam) .

A contrariety of the natural features of any part or member of the body should be looked upon as a fatal indication. The blackness of a limb or a part which is naturally white,* or the whiteness of a blackf part, or a naturally red| part, or member, etc. assuming any other colour, or a hard§ part becoming soft, and vice versaW, or a movableU part suddenly becoming fixed, and vice versa** or the contraction (flexion) of an extended part, or the extension or expansion of a contracted (flexible; part, or a shorttt part suddenly becoming elongatedji, and vice versa, or a sudden hanging down of a part or member of the body which does not naturally §§ hang down, and vice versa\\\\, or a sudden increase or decrease of natural temperature of any part, member, or organ of the body, as well as its sudden glossiness, roughness, numbness, discolouration, weakness, or weariness, should be looked upon as fatal symptoms.

* The teeth and the cornea, f The iris, J The tongue and the palate, etc. § Bones, teeth, etc. |i Soft parts such as the flesh, fat, etc. H Joints, etc. ** Nose, ears and flesh, etc. ft Head and forehead, etc. XX Pupils, etc. §§ Hair, nails, etc. |i|| Perspiration, urine and feces, etc.

p. 294

THE SUSHRUTA SAMHITA'. [ Chap. XXXII.

(Similarly) a limb or a part of the body, hanging down from its natural position, or becoming raised or twisted round, or cast obliquely from its natural seat, or dislocated, or protruded, or drawn inward, or suddenly becoming light or heavy without any definite or assignable cause, or a sudden eruption of a coralcoloured rash or Vyanga, should be regarded as indicating a speedy dissolution of the patient in whom they are exhibited.