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

The medical treatment of such a patient may be unhesitatingly taken in hand by a physician. Persons, exhibiting bodily features other than those described above, should be looked upon as short-lived men, while those, who are possessed of features common to men of both the above mentioned types, should be considered as keeping the mean between them as regards longevity (Madhyamayuh).

Authoritative verses on the subject : — A man, with deep-set bones, ligaments, and veins, and tough and thick-set limbs, and firm and unflinching sense organs, as well as one whose body gradually develops a more and more symmetrical shape, should be looked upon as a long-lived man The man, who has not ailed for a single moment even from the day of his birth, and has been getting more and more strong- limbed every day through the cultivation of his inborn sense and a better knowledge of the laws of health, is sure to live to a good old age in the full enjoyment of his senses and intellect.

3IO THE SUSHRTTTA SAMHITA. [ Chap. XXXV.

IVIadhyama^uh :— Now, hear me describe the bodily features of a man of a mean or average duration of life (Madhyamayuli;. The man, the integuments of whose lower eyelids are marked with two or three well-marked and extended lines or furrows, and whose legs and external ears are thick and fleshy, and the tip of whose nose is turned a little upward, and who has up-pointed lines directly running through the middle of his back, is expected to live up to the ripe old age of seventy years.

Specific traits of a short-lived

man : — ^Xow, hear me describe the specific traits, which characterise the body of a short-li^•ed man. A man with short phalanges of fingers, a narrow back, and external ears abnormall}' raised up from their natural seats, and who is possessed of a large penis, a high nose, a breast covered with ringlets of curly hair, and who exposes the gums of his teeth, or whose e3'es roll while talking or laughing, is not expected to see more than twenty-five summers.

We shall now give the exact measures of the different limbs and members of the body for the better ascertainment of the duration of life of a patient under investigation. — The legs, the arms, and the head are called the limbs of the bod}*-, while their component parts are called the members (Avayavas). The great toe of a man, or the one next to it, measuredp. 311 with his own fingers should measure two fingers' width in length, the lengths of the other toes (the third, fourth, and small ones) successively diminishing by a fifth part of that of his middle finger ( Pradeshini).

The fore-sole and the sole proper respectively should measure four fingers' width in length and five fingers' width in breadth. The heel of the foot (Parshni) should measure five fingers' width in length and four fingers' wadth in breadth. The foot itself should measure fourteen fingers' width in length. The girth of the foot, as well as the circumference of the middle parts of thighs and knee-joints, respectively should measure fourteen fingers in width.

The part of the leg between the ankle and the knee-joint should measure eighteen fingers' width in length, while the part between the joint of the waist and the knee-joint should measure thirty -two fingers' width in length, the entire leg thus measuring fifty fingers' width in all. The length of the thigh is the same as that of the part lying between the heel and the knee-joint (Jangha .

The scrotum, the chin, the (two rows of) teeth, the exterior line of the nostrils^ the roots of the ears, and the intervening space between the eyes, should respectively measure two fingers' width in length. The non-erected penis, the cavity of the mouth, the two rows of teeth, the nose, the height of the neck.

JI2 THE SUSHRUTA SAMHITA. [ Chap. XXXV.

the ears, and the forehead, and the space intervenmg between the pupils of the eyes measure four fingers' width in length.

The entire length of the vaginal canal should measure twelve fingers' width. The space l3nng between the penis and the umbihcus,as well as the one intervening between the chest and the upper end of the throat (lit : neck), like the one h'ing between the tips of the two nipples of the breast, should measure twelve fingers' width in length. The length of the entire face should measure twelve fingers' width. The girth round the wrist and the fore-arm of a man should measure twelve fingers.