Charaka-Samhita — trans. Kaviraj Avinash Chandra Kaviratna

taking fees from pupils for teaching them any branch of knowledge. So far from taking fees, they were obliged to even feed! and lodge the- pupils that came to them. This practice prevails to this day not only in all the great seats of learning but is observed by individual teachers in their respective abodes. — T.

* The text is crucial. Gangadhara reads ‘Maitrim.’ We have not followed him, because that reading does not give any sense. The commentator, encumbered by his own reading, has made a mess of the passage. He takes the words ‘Prativarttate’ as understood. ‘Prati’ has relation with ‘maitri’, ‘karunya’, and also with ‘punya.’ He explains ‘arsham’ as ‘Rishinam swabhavikodharmah’ or the natural attributes of the Rishis. He leaves ‘Brahma’ unexplained. Indeed, we cannot deduce from his comments what he understands by the words ‘arsham Brahma cha.’ His comment runs thus ‘arsham Rishinam swabhaviko¬ dharmah Brahma tachcha Rishitwadharmo-Brahma hi maitrim prati mitrataya bhage varttate, karunyam prati ; atmanagchanultamam, udaram punyam prati varttate.’ The ‘abhasa’ he gives is ‘Nanu kasmat vayam prajanugraham vidadhamab ityatah aha.’ From even this elaborate note we have not been able to glean any sense. We take Brahma to mean ‘Veda.’ ‘Cha’ connects this portion of Indra’s speesfi. with theprevious one. Indra said before that the Rishis should hear from himself and remember and publish to the world the Science of Life. Thinking that the Rishis adght question their own capacity for learning this new science, Indra shows that they have that capacity. Brahma or Veda is ‘arsha’ or a thing belonging to the Rishis. Ayurveda or the Science of Life is a portion of the ‘Veda.’ So the Rishis have the right and the capacity to understand it. The rest of the text shows why the Rishis should learn this new science. It has been already said that a knowledge of this science would enable them to do good to the world. Why should they bother themselves for the good of others ? Indra says that universal compassion should form the creed of the arsha heart. Thereby they would not be losers. Rather, they would be benefited. There is nothing more meritorious than this universal love. This act of charity is a Brahma act, or an act of which even the great Brahman may be proud. It is, again, everlasting. It is not lost. Its good effects last for ever. Nothing can give more happiness in the future life than, universal love and charity. — T.

CHARAKA-SAMHITA.

p. 1059

THE RASAYANA INCULCATED BY INDRA.

Take Aindri ( Cucumis colocynthis), Brahmi ( Siphonanthus Indica), Kshirakakoli (a bulbous root of the onion tribe brought from the Himalayas),* * * § Kshirapushpi (blossom of Alangium hexapetalum ), £ravanif ( Hydrocotyle Asiatica ), MahagravaniJ (a large variety of the plant known as Thulkudi), (^atavari ( Asparagus racemosus) Vidari ( Convolvulus paniculatus ), Jivanti ( Ccelogyne ovalis), Punarnava (Boerhavia diffusa), Nagbala (Sida spinosa), Sthira {Hedysarum Gangeticum, better known as (^tlaparni), Vacha ( Acorus calamus ), Cchatraticchatra § ( Picrorrhiza Kurroa , otherwise called Katuka), ‘Meda’, Mahameda|| and other drugs of the ‘Jivaniya’ group. Make a paste of all these ingredients. Used with milk for six months, this medi¬ cine promotes longevity, preserves youth, prevents disease, confers wealth of voice and complexion, sharpens the understanding, strengthens the memory, gives great strength, and produces other desirable effects. This is a well-tried preparation.15-17 DRONIPRAVEgiKA RASAYANA,

RASAYANA REQUIRING ONE TO ENTER INTO AN WOODEN VESSEL.

There is a . medicinal herb named ‘Brahma-suvarchala’, otherwiseknown as ‘Hiranyakshira’ (in consequence of its exudation being; of a golden colour).^) . Its leaves are like those of the lotus.

* ‘Kshirakakoli’ is not yet identified. Therefore, it has not received any scientificappellation. In the text, the word that occurs in ‘Payasya.’ Gangadhara takes it as ‘Kshira-- kakoli.’ In Bengal, it is called ‘Kshirakankla’ or ‘Kala-bhuikumda which literally means-, a sort of black gourd. — T.

+ ‘gravani’ is better known as ‘Mandukaparni.’ Its Bengali name is ‘Thulkudi.’ — T.