Charaka-Samhita — trans. Kaviraj Avinash Chandra Kaviratna

That man who, through excitement of the bile, passes urine that is of the smell of raw meat, that is saline in taste, that is hot, and that is bloody, is regarded as afflicted with Rakta-meha.j- 3°

He who, in consequence of the" excitementjof the bile, passes urine, repeatedly and in copious measure, that is of the colour of Manjishtha J and that is of a foetid smell, is regarded as afflicted with ‘Manjishtha-meha.’ 31

He who, in consequence of the excitement of the bile, passes urine that is of the colour of the infusion of turmeric, and that is pungent in taste, is regarded as afflicted with ‘Haridra-meha.’§ 32

Thus have been explained the six varieties of Prameha born of the excitement of the phlegm. 33 Of one who is addicted to food and 'drink that are pungent, ^or'astringent, or bitter, or dry, or light, or cold, are two excited faults which have to be dealt with. They take possession of the adeps. The bile differs in nature from the adeps. Hence anything that alleviates the bile does not allevi¬ ate the adeps. The treatment, therefore, cannot but be hostile. Hence, these diseases, instead of being curable, are only suppressible. — T.

* This variety of Meha is called by some ‘Amla-meha,’ from the taste of the urine which is ‘amla’ or sour.— T.

t This is the same as ‘Lohita-meha,’ the words ‘lohita’ and ‘rakta’ implying the same thing. — T,

+ Rubia cordifolia, Linn ., sya.^Rabia Manjishtha , Roxb. The infusion of this plant is of a reddish hue. — T.

§ ‘Haridrodaka’fis, literally, ‘turmeric water.’ It may mean either the infusion or the decoction of turmeric, or water in which turmeric reduced to paste has been dissolved. It is difficult to ascertain which of these is implied here. The colour meant is yellowish, — T,

CHARAKA-SAMHITA.

p. 967

or to sexual indulgence, or to physical exercises, or to the use of emetics, or purgatives, or enemeta, or cerebral purgatives, or to the suppression of the urgings o£ stools and urine, or to fasts, 34 as also of one who has received wounds, or of one who exposes oneself to the heat of the sun, or of one who is afflicted by anxieties or grief, or of one who suffers loss of blood,* * * § or is addicted to night-keeping, or who suffers his body or limbs to be disposed in uneven attitudes, the wind speedily becomes excited, if the physical organism be of the condition already described. f 35 When the wind, becoming excited in a body of the condition already described, begins to travel and seizes the fat and reaches the urine-bearing ducts, it then generates what is called ‘fat-born meha.’ 36 When the wind, thus excited, forces the marrow into the urine¬ bearing ducts, it generates what is called ‘marrow-born meha.’] 37 When the excited wind, bearing the ‘dhatu’ called ‘Lasika,’ into the urinary ducts, causes the urine to flow obstructedly, and in conse¬ quence of the abundance, in measure, of the said ‘Lasika,’ and its own mobility, it verily induces, in a person whose body is in the aforesaid condition, a tendency towards copious urination accompan¬ ied by that for retention, then the person, like an elephant in rut continually passes urine without feeling any urging for it.

Such a person is said to be afflicted with ‘Hasti-meha.’§ 38 t ‘Tathabidhagarira &c’ implies that condition of the body which has been described in aphorisms 5 and 6, ante , of this Lesson. — T.

* ‘Qonitabhisheka’ is, literally, blood-letting. It includes both the surgical operation for letting out blood, and extraction of blood through other means, such as the application of leeches, &c.— T.

t The correct reading is ‘mutravastau’ and not ‘mutram vastau.’ The compound Mutravasti’ implies the urinary ducts and vessels. — T.

§ There seems to be some error or omission in this aphorism. ‘Lasika’ is, as explained in a foot-note, ante, of this Lesson, the watery substance which lies between the skin and the flesh. At the outset it is said that when the excited wind bears the ‘Lasika’ to the kidneys, it causes an obstructed flow of the urine ; that is, the urine, instead of flowing freely, is obstructed now and then. Then comes the statements about the copious measure of ‘Lasika’ and the

p. 968

CHARAKA-SAMHITA.

The ojas is naturally of a sweet taste. The excited wind, in con¬ sequence of its dryness, seizes it and converts its taste from sweetness into astringency. When the wind, thus transforming the ojas, bears it into the urinary ducts, the result is the generation of what is called ‘Madhu-meha,’* 39

These four varieties of Meha, that are born of the wind, are said to be incurable in consequence of their becoming fatal very soon, as also of the hostile character of the treatment that requires to be followed.

As in the case of those varieties of the disease which are born of the phlegm and the bile, the designations of the wind-born varieties of Meha are derived from the distinctive attributes of the wind.

They are as follow : i. ‘Vasa-meha,’ 2. ‘Majja-meha,’ 3. ‘Hastimeha,’ and 4. ‘Madhu-meha.’f 4°