Charaka-Samhita — trans. Kaviraj Avinash Chandra Kaviratna

The Pitris bring it about by forcible assaults.

The Gandharvas do it by touch.

The Yakshas do it by entering into the bodies of the persons.

The Rakshas bring about insanity by causing the persons to inhale their scent.

The Pigachas, again, bring about this disease by- riding on the necks or heads of the persons and using them as convenient beasts.! 16

* Gangadhara explains ‘nrigangsabhiprayata’ as implying a disposition to speak ill of the good and righteous. This is far-fetched, — T.

t ‘Upatapa,’ or, as some texts read ‘upatapti,’ does not mean, as some vernacular tran¬ slators have rendered it, heat. It means morbidness or sickliness. As regards ‘cchaya,’ vide Lesson VII, Indriyasthana. ‘Vapush,’ meaning body, here stands for flesh. — T.

+ The manner in which the different orders of superhuman beings exert their. influence on ■men for depriving them of reason and causing Insanity, is characteristic. iThe deities have only to cast a wrathful glance. The fact is, the deities are called ‘drishtibhogah,’ i. e. ‘enjoyers by vision or glances.’ When offerings are made to them, they simply look at them to signify acceptance.

Seniors and old men and Rishis and those who have attained to success, when enraged with a man, denounce a curse on him. Their words always become true.

The Pitris exert their influence by acts Of violence. Thus when a man climbs a tree vwhich has become the home of a Pitri or the spirit of a dead man, he.is thrown down. He 126

p. 996

CHARAKA-SAMHITA.

The following are the symptoms of Insanity that is Accidental (i. e., caused by the influence of deities and others) :

Superhuman strength, energy, capacity for exertion, prowess, apprehension, conservation, reproduction, speech, knowledge, and science.

The time, again, is not fixed for the exhibition of the fits of Insanity.*

Verily, of deities and Rishis and Pitris and Gandharvas and Yakshas and Rakshasas and Pijachas, as also of seniors, and persons of advanced age, and those who have attained t© success of penances, who bring about Insanity, the following are the occasions when per¬ sons become objects of assault :f

At the commencement of sinful acts ;

At the time when the fruits are about to manifest themselves of the (sinful) acts of former lives ;

At the time when one remains alone in a deserted house ;

At those places where four roads meet, during the morning and the evening twilight ;

At those times when one remains in an unguarded (i. e., unclean or impure) state ;

loses consciousness. His mouth foams. He utters indistinct groans. Every grandmother knows these symptoms.

The Gandharvas exert their influence by touch. They raise a wind which touches a man or woman and brings him or her under their sway.

The Yakshas actually enter into the body of the man or woman whom they wish to possess. Their presence is necessary to keep up their influence.

The Rakshasas cause a man or woman to inhale the scent of their bodies. The belief is that Rakshasas emit a powerful odour- Unless and until that odour is inhaled, one cannot be subject to their sway.

The Pigachas have to press down a person with their weight. In order to possess a person, a Pigacha has to act like the old man of the sea who brought Sinbad, the sailor, under his sway. — T.

* Some texts omit ‘grahana,’ ‘dharana,’ and ‘smarana’ after ‘parakrama.’ The three words-imply the acquisitive, the conservative, and the reproductive faculties of the Kantian distribution of mental phenomena adopted by Sir W. Hamilton. — T.

t In other words, ‘the following are the occasions when deities and others assail people for afflicting them with Insanity.’ ‘Antara,’ rendered ‘occasions,’ may mean ‘cchidra’ or holes, i. e., fit opportunities. — T.

CH ARAKA-SAMHIT A.

99 7

At times of sexual congress if such act is indulged on the joining hours of ‘Parva’ days ;*

At the time when one has sexual contact with a woman in her menses ; „ .

On occasions when improprieties creep into the performance of such acts as the study (or recitation) of the Vedas, the dedica¬ tion of offerings to the deities, rites of propitiation, and the pouring of libations on the sacrificial fire ;f

At those times when one swerves from religious observances and vows and ‘Brahmacharyya

On occasions of fierce battles

At such times when destruction overtakes a province, a race or family, and towns and cities ;

At such times when the great planets course from one sign to another ;

As regards women, when- they are about to bring forth children ;

At such times when one touches different kinds of inauspicious creatures (as dogs, jackals, vultures, &c.,) and impure things (as hair, ashes, bones, &c.) ;

At such times when one vomits or purges or has discharges of blood from one’s body ;

At such times when one goes in a state of impurity or condition

* The '8th, the nth', and the 15th days of the lunar fortnight, dark or lighted, are called ‘Parva’ days, as also the last day of the solar- month, called ‘Sankranti,’ the day, viz., on which sun passes from one zodiacal sign to another. These days are regarded sacred. Generally, ‘ijraddhas’ (worship of the ‘Pitris’) are performed on these days.