An English Translation of the Sushruta Samhita, Vol. III: Uttara-tantra — trans. Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna (1916)

A severe internal burning sensation in the body may also be produced by (the aggravation of) blood due to (the breach of the rules of) diet and to grief of any kind. The symptoms in such cases are thirst, fainting fits and delirium. The remedy should consist in giving the patient the wished-for objects, and the diet under the circumstances should largely consist of milk and meatessence to be partaken of in company with friends in the manner described before. A burning sensation in |Kc body incidental to a hurt or to a blow on any of

Chap. XLVlI.]

tJTtARA-T ANTRA.

jot its vulnerable or tender parts (Marma) is the seventh of its kind and should be deemed as incurable. All kinds of burning sensation in the body with a coolness of its surface are incurable. Emetics and purgatives should be exhibited according to the Dosha involved even after the subsidence of the supervening symptoms of excess in wine. 44-46.

Wine mixed with half its quantity of water and scented with Jiraka , Sauvarchala y Ardraka and S'unthi becomes palatable and immediately allays thirst. Wine, taken with meal and with cooked meat by a person besmeared with sandal paste and wearing wet clothes and garlands of flowers, does not produce any of its bad after-effects nor brings on intoxication which in its turn would throw the mind and mental faculties off their balance. 47-48.

Thus ends the forty-seventh chapter of the Uttara-Tantra in the Sus'rilta Samhita which deals with the (symptoms and) medical treatment of alcoholism.

CHAPTER XLVIIL.

Now we shall discourse on the chapter which deals with the (symptoms and) medical treatment of thirst

(Trlshnsf-Pratlshedha AdhysCya). i.

He who is not satisfied even with the constant drinking of water but craves for more and more water should be regarded as afflicted with the disease known as thirst (morbid desire for water). 2.

Etiology S — The Pitta and VAyu of the body become extremely aggravated by such factors as (excessive) exercise, grief (or any violent mental agitation), fatigue, drinking, use of any extremely dry, acid, hot or pungent fares, or of those which cause a parched condition in the organism, or waste of any vital organic principle (DhAtu) of the body, fasting or exposure to the sun, and combinedly affect the watercarrying channels of the body (diminish the liquid portion of the bodily lymph-chyle). The water-carrying channels thus affected give rise* to violent thirst. The disease is divided into seven types. . 3.

Classification S — The first three are due to the action of the deranged Doshas (VAyu, Pitta and Kapha). The fourth and fifth! are respectively incidental to any ulcer and to the waste of any of its fundamental organic principles. The sixth is due to the presence of undigested fecal matter in the intestines (lit. mucus) and the seventh is due to errors in diet. Now hear me describe their specific symptoms and the therapeutic agents to be employed in curing them. 4.

Premonitory Symptoms i-An extreme dryness of and a, burning sensation in the palate,

Chap. XLV1U.]

UTTARA-TANTRA.

p. 303

throat, lips and mouth, external heat, vertigo, loss of consciousness* and delirium are the general premoni* tory symtoms which usher in an attack of the disease. The specific symptoms are given below. 5.

Symptoms of V£taja, Pittaja and

Kapha ja Thirst Dryness of the mouth with a tingling sensation in the regions of the temples, and the head (D. R. — throat), obstruction of the (water-carrying) channels of the body and a bad taste in the mouth, are the symptoms which specifically mark a case of the Vsttaja type in which the drinking of cold water leads to a distinct aggravation of the disease (thirst). Loss of consciousness (epileptic fits), delirium, an aversion to food, dryness of the mouth, yellowness of the eyes, extreme burning sensation in the w’hole body, desire for coldness, a bitter taste in the mouth and a fumid sensation (in the throat) are the features which specifically mark the Pittaja type of the disease. The vapours produced by the fire of digestion being enveloped and obstructed in their course by the layer of accumulated Kapha, the heat (pent up in the body tends to dry up the moisture of its water-carrying channels and) produces a kind of thirst which is characterised by somnolence, a sense of heaviness in the limbs, a sweet taste in the mouth, extreme emaciation, cold-fever, vomiting, an aversion to food and suppuration in the skin are the symptoms of Kaphaja type. And where such symptoms are present, the patient has no exeppive desire for drinking water. 6 — 8.

Kshataja and Kshayaja Thirsts s — A case of thirst which is engendered in consequence of pain in or discharge of blood from, any cut in the body is the fourth type and Is known as. Kshataja thirst The days of the patient in such a case pass with great un304

THE SUSHRUTA SAMHItX. [Chap. XLVIII.