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

enemas, etc, with a passage or aperture running through their entire .length^ are constructed in a variet}' of shapes and for various purposes. Some of them are open at one end, while others are open at both. These instruments are used for the purpose of extracting any shalyam that has pricked into the external canals or passages of the body, or for inspecting the seat of affection as in piles, etc., or for sucking (blood, etc. from any affected part , or simply as accessories to other surgical appliances. The length and circumference of a Nadi Yantra should be made to commensurate with those of the passage 'Srota'i or outlet of the human system into which it is intended to be introduced. We shall describe, later on, the types of Nadi Yantras which are to be used in connection with such diseases as fistula in ano, piles, etc. or in tumours and ulcers, in Mutradvriddhi (Hydrocele) in Niruddha Prakasha ( Phimosis ), in Niruddha Guda 'Stricture of the rectum) and in ascites, as well as those to be used for the purpose of injecting anything into the urethra, the bowels, the vagina and the uterus, or are used in connection with medicated inhalation, or with those that are known as the Alavu Yantras (gourd used for cupping).

The Shalaka- Yantras bougies are of various shapes and serve a variety of purposes. The lengths and girths of these instruments should be determined

6o THE SUSHRUTA SAMHITA. : Chap. vil.

according to the necessity of each individual case. Four probes or directors shalaka in two pairs, are used for the purposes of searching Eshana pus in a suppurated part or limb, or in connection with uplifting, cutting and thereby withdrawing a shalyam from the part it has pricked into, or with a view to transfer such a body from one place to another Chalanam , or for the purpose of extracting it i Shalyam from the affected part. The mouths of the two types of these directors respectively resemble those of a Gandupada earthworm and of a Sharapunkha Tephrosia Purpurea, Pers while the other two are respectively headed like the hood of a serpent and a fish hook. A couple of directors are used for the purpose of withdrawing a foreign matter 'Shalyam; imbedded in any outer canal of the body (Srotas ). The top-ends of these directors are bent down a little, and they resemble a lentil seed in size. Six types of directors or probes are used in cleansing the pus from an affected part of the human organism ; and their top-ends are fitted with caps of loose cotton. The three sorts of directors used in applying alkaline medicines, are shaped like ladles, and their mouths resemble the cavities of little stone mortars (Khala.) Of the six sorts of directors used in connection with the process of cauterisation (AgniKarma) three are mouthed like the Jamboline fruit, while the other three are faced like a mace or a spear (^Ankusha. . A kind of director used in removing nasal

Chap. VII. ] SUTRASTHANAM. 6l

tumours, is mouthed like the half of the kernel 'found in the inside of a Jujube-stpne, with a little dip in the middle, its lip or end having a keen or sharp edge. The ends of the type of probe used in applying Anjanams medicated collyria to the eyelids are wrought into two small round lobes like the Matara pulse and are blunted, while the sort of probe used in cleansing the urethra, is made round like the end of tht; stem of a Mdlati flower.

The Upa-yantras or minor surgical accessories — include such substances as rope, the Venika (braided hair;, silk thread, the bark and the inner-skin of trees, creepers, linen, Ashthila 'stones , large oval shaped pebbles, a hammer, the palms of the hands, the soles of feet, fingers^ tongue, the teeth, the nails, hair, the mane of horses, branches of trees, a magnet, alkali, fire, and medicine, and such acts as spitting, straining (kunthanam;, exhilaration and intimidation.

IVIetrical texts : —These accessories should be applied to the entire body of a patient, or to any part thereof such as, the arteries, the ^'iscera, or the joints, according to the necessities of each case to be determined by the surgeon.

The Functions of Surgical Instruments : — are striking out Nirghatanam-lit : — withdrawing a Shalyam by moving it to and fro), mjection or filling, binding, up-lifting, cutting and

p. 62