Charaka-Samhita — trans. Kaviraj Avinash Chandra Kaviratna

Loss of Understanding, of Firmness, and of Memory, time in¬ respect of the accession- of disease and' of the administration of correctives as also the accession of objects unaccordant with the senses, — these should be known as the causes of sorrow.^105

* The example of the silk-worn is very common in the Hindu Scripturesfor illustrating the truth that one derives misery or.- meets with destruction from one’s own acts. ‘ Trishna ’ is thirst, that is, the desire for earthly possessions. The ignorant man is he who is encompassed by darkness of vision ; that is, he that is outside the light of true knowledge. — T..

f Abstention, from the acquisition of earthly possessions is preached in the Hindu Scriptures as the foundation of happiness. The man. who abstains from wealth, as if it were fire, enjoys happiness. He never sets his heart on achieving any task, so that ill-success never frets him. He stands aloof from all things.. He is far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife. — T.

f 1 Dhi,’ ‘ Dhriti,’ and ‘ Smriti ’ are explained by the Commentators as implying only different functions of the Understanding or ‘ buddhi.1' I render ‘ dhi- ’ the equivalent of ‘ buddhi,’ as Understanding ; ‘ dhriti ’ as firmness, or the power by which, having apprehended what is- proper and beneficial, we adhere to it, without being led astray ; and lastly * smriti ’ as Memory or the retentive power. This is the Conservative faculty of the

Hamiltonian classification of the Cognitive faculties, for it implies the faculty by which everything good and beneficial that has been acquired is retained in or conserved in the mind.. t Vibrangca ’ is, literally, aberration or a falling off..

It is- the result of Ayoga, Atiyoga-, and Mithyayoga, that is, absence of correlation, excess of correlation, and impropriety of correlation, {vide Lesson viii, Sutrasthana, ante,' p. 88). So the ‘ asamprapti ’’ of ‘ Kala ’ meaning time and of1 Karma ’ meaning acts, arises from the same three causes of absence &c., of correlation. The accession of objects before the senses that are not accordant with them, is a cause of sorrow. In their case also, it is the result of absence &c. of correlation.— T.

p. 86

p. 678

CHARAKA SAMHITA.

An injudicious attention to what is unchangeable and what is changeable, as also to good and evil, is regarded as loss of under¬ standing, since the understanding implies a judicious application to things.*106

The mind that is prone to earthly objects is incapable of being restrained j, from evil courses owing to loss of firmness, for firmness inplies restrainbof inclinations.107

The swerving of the mind of a person who is overwhelmed by passion ^and heedlessness from the knowledge of truth, is known as loss of memory, for that which should be remembered (viz.y the knowledge of truth) dwells in memory.i°8

The evil acts which a man who has lost understanding, firm¬ ness, and memory, perpetrates, should be known to constitute what is called fault of judgment. This (fault of judgment) is pro¬ vocative of all the faults.^109

The expulsion (by force) of urine and stools and other excreta (before the calls are distinct), suppression of the same (when the urgings are pronounced), indulgence in acts of rashness, over-indul¬ gence in women,110

Postponement of (necessary) acts, injudicious essaying of acts, abrogation of modesty of behaviour, aggressions on persons deserv¬ ing of worship, 111d

Indulgence in acts known to be baneful to one's own self, indulgence in acts that lead to insanity,11®

Roving at improper times and improper places, cultivation of friend-

* The two words in this couplet that require to be properly understood are * samam ’ and ‘ vishamam.’ By the first is meant ‘ equable ’ in the sense of judicious. By the second, the reverse of this. That man is said to labour under a loss of understanding who injudiciously applies himself to what is changeable and what unchangeable, or what is good and what evil. If the understanding be all right, one would apply oneself to the unchangeable, meaning Godhead and duty, discarding what is changeable, meaning all that is earthly. — T.

t ‘ Dosha ’ in 1 sarvadoshaprakopanam ’ has reference as much to the faults, (wind, bile and phlegm) as to all trangressions from duty. The author, while enunciating a general truth, has his eye, however, on wind, bile, and phlegm in particular which are technically called ‘ doshas ’ or faults.— T.

CHARAKA SAMHITA.

p. 679

ship (or obtaining one’s good will) by acts painful to one’s own self, the renunciation of those benefical acts which have been spoken of in the Lesson on the Senses,118

Envy, pride, fear, wrath, cupidity, stupefaction, arrogance, and errors, or all baneful acts arising from these, and all acts in¬ jurious to the body :114

These and such other acts which arise from passion and stupefaction, are regarded by sages as disease-producing faults of judgment.115

Injudicious apprehension of things by the understanding, as also a setting £of one’s self to injudicious acts, should be known as fault of judgment. That which is called fault of judgment really concerns the mind.#116