Never expose yourself to the rays of the sun, or to the gusts of wind blowing in your face. Basking before a fire immediately after a meal or sitting on one's legs on a narrow wooden stool should not be indulged in. Never hold the neck in a con trar}^ (contorted) posture. Neither do nor eat anything by keeping the body in a contrary posture. Never look steadfastly towards any object and
ChapXXIV.] CHIKITSA STHANAM. 495
particularly towards the sun or any luminous body* or
towards any extremely attenuated, revolving or moving
object. Never carry a load on the head. Sleeping, wak-
ing, sitting, lying down, walking, jumping, running fast,
plunging in water, swimming, riding on a horse or in
a vehicle, talking, laughing, sexual iiitercourse and
taking (any other) physical exercise though accus-
tomed and recommended should not be inordinately
indulged in. Ji.
A bad habit should be gradually discontinued and
a good one even when (beneficial to health) should
similarly be gradually inculcated by a quarter only and
not all at once. 74.
It is improper to lie down with one's head downward.
One should not drink water from a broken vessel nor
with the help of blended palms. Food, which is
wholesome and approved of by one's physician and
which abounds in arricles of sweet and emollient pro-
pertiesf shou'd be taken at the proper (and regular)
time (every day; in a moderate quantity. It is forbidden
to take any food in the house of a trader (?>., of a
(hotel keeper) or a courtesan, nor in the house of a
wily, degenerate or inimical person, nor at a village-
assembly. The refuse of another's dishes, as well as
articles of fo„d infested with flies, insects, etc.^ or
po sessed of an objectionable colour, taste, smell, touch or
* Some explain "Jyotish" as a blaz. of fire and others explain it as stars.
t The fram^rs of the Ayurveda were aware of the fact that the human system is incapable of directly assimilating starchy substances without converting them into sugar. This has been emphasised in the Sutra- S hana, where Sus'ruta insists that a food stuff, in order to be worthy of the epithet, must be Madhura (z ^ , of sweet flavour) and contain a large qnantity of proteid matter si;ch as is found in milk, butter. meat, etc— ^d.
495 THE SUSHRUTA SAMHITA [Chap. XXIV.
sound or those which producelan unpleasant impression in the mind, or food of like nature as well as those served (handled) by many persons should not be partaken of (in spite of repeated requests in '.that behalf). It is not advisable to sit down to a meal without washing one's hands and feet. One should never take anything by repressing a natural urging for stool and urine, nor sit down to a meal just at the break or the close of day, nor in an unprotected situation {i.e. without any shade, or without something to sit upon). One should not take his meal after the expiry of the (daily) appointed time nor in an insufficient or inordinate quantity, nor partake of food whose Sneha (oleaginous substance) has been removed. 75.
Metrical Text :— It is forbidden to see one's
image reflected in water, nor is it advisable to plunge
naked into water. Curd should never be taken at
night, nor should it be taken (at all) without sugar * or
clarified butter, nor without saturating it with Mudga-
soup or the admixture of honey, nor without (the
expressed juice of) the A'malaka, nor with any hot
substance f or article, as otherwise it may bring on
Kushtha (cutaneous affections), erysipelas, etc. 76-77.
Exercise, addiction to wine, gambling and music are bad. One should not bear witness to any fact (before a
* Dallana adds that curd should not be taken without an addition of water and salt as well. This is also the practice in general.
t All the existing editions of the Sus'ruta Samhila read *'«f|'^; " (i e., curd should not be taken with any "hot" substance). Here it should be noted that the term "hot" may also include the substances which are heat« making in their potency. Here, however, the reading seems to be in- correct. The lines are found verbatim in the work of Charaka, where he reads "^^j" ^'•<?'» hot curd should not be taken, since it produces, as he himself tells us later on, an aggravation of the blood and the Pitta.— Ed,
Chap. XXIV.J CHIKITSA STHANAM. 497
law court), nor stand surety for anj^ body. One should
not use the shoe, umbrella, garland (of flowers), orna-
ments or ragged clothes previously used by anothjer.
Never defile a Brdhmana, or a fire, or a cow by
touching them before washing (your hands and mouth)
after eating. 78.
IVIemorable Verses :— The general rules of
(good) conduct are described above. Health, wealth
and longevity never fall to the lot of those who do not
follow these rules of conduct. A wise man should take
food of such tastes (Rasa) in any particular season
of the year as is antidotal to the bodily Dosha which
is naturally aggravated in that season. 79-80.
Rules of drinking water, etc. :— Water
should not betaken during the rainy season and only in
moderate quantities in autumn. Water may be spar-
ingly taken during the first four months of the rainy
season ;^if found to be indispensably necessary). Hot
water should be taken in winter and spring (Vasanta),
but cold water to one's fill in summer. Sidhu and
Arishta should be taken in winter and spring.
Water boiled and subsequently cooled should be drunk
in summer and meat-juice in Prdvrit. Yusha (Mudga-
soup, etc.,) should be taken in the rainy season and
cold water after the expiry of the rains. These rules
should be observed only by persons in sound health,
whereas the rules regarding persons suffering from
any disease should be regulated by the prescription, of
any diet according to the particular Doshas involved
in each case. 81-82.
Any Sneha (such as oil or clarified butter) satura-
ted with powdered Saindhava salt and Pippali should be
regularly taken for the purpose of imp;:ovittg the
digestive capacity. The natural urging of the body
498 THE SUSHRUTA SAMHITA. [Chap. XXIV
should never be repressed (as a repressed physical pro- pulsion is sure to usher in a physical distemper). A Sneha (oleaginous substance) should be freely and largely used during the Pr^vrit and the spring seasons as well as in antumn (Sarat)as such a proceeding would act as a good appetising measure and a cure for diseases. Eme- tics, purgatives and applications of Vastis are respec- tively beneficial in diseases due to the actions of the de- ranged Kapha, Pitta andVayu, whereas a regular course of physical exercise tends (equally) to curb an ag- gravation of all the three preceding Doshas of the body, so much so that their aggravation can never be detected in persons in the habit of taking it regularly every day, though otherwise addicted to an incompatible diet, etc. 83-86.
The attention should not be diverted to any other subject at the time of urination, defecation, sexual inter- course, taking of food, as well as at the time of taking emetics and purgatives, etc. It is not wise to anticipate and indulge in the gloomy thoughts of a future and probable invasion of a disease, and to suffer any physical privation on that account. 87-88.
All sexual excesses should be studiously abstained
inasmuch as they are sure to produce Sula (colic),
cough, asthma, fever, emaciation, phthisis, jaundice,
epilepsy, convulsions, etc. A person, who is moder-
ate in sexual intercourse, lives a long life, becomes
good-looking, healthy, strong and firm in his nerves and
muscles, and becomes capable of averting (untimely)
decay. One may visit his wife (lit. a woman) on each
fourth night in all the seasons of the year except in
summer when he may see her once a fortnight. 89- A.
Women unfit to visit :— A woman in
her menses, not amorously disposed, uncleanly in -her
dhap. XXIV.] CHIKITSA STHANAM. 409
habits, not sufficiently endeared and endearing and belonging to a higher social order* older than one's self,, affected with any disease, wanting in any limbs, inimi- cally disposed to one's self, in her period of gestation, suffering from any uterine disorder, belonging to his own blood (Gotra), or leading the life of an anchorite, or who is his preceptor's wife, should not be gone unto by a man (seeking health and longevity). A woman should not be gone unto in the Sandhyds (morning and evening), as well as on the Parva daysf (prescribed in the S'^stras), early in the morning, at mid-day, or in the dead of night. Going unto a woman at an infamous, unwholesome, or exposed place is similarly forbidden. Sexual intercourse by a man who is hungry, or thirsty, or who may be suffering from any disease, or may be angry, or in a cheerless spirit, is strict- ly forbidden. A man should not go unto a woman by repressing a natural urging for Vdta (flatus), stool or urine, or if he is in a weak state of health, (as it would be highly injurious to his health). Incest with lower animals, unnatural sexual intercourse, obstruction of semen in its passage, as well as sexual intercourse with a woman having any vaginal disease are strictly for- bidden even in respect of a strong person. 89-B.
It is highly injurious for a man to indulge excessive-
ly in sexual intercourse, or to enjoy it while standing,
or while lying on his back, or to shake his head at the
time ; these should not be indulged in by an intelligent
* The text has "Varna-Vriddha" which literally means superior to the man in respect of Varna or the magnetic vibrations of the body, which are determined by one's birth in a certain family. It means several castes of the Hindus.— Ed.
500 THE SUSHktJTA SAMMITA. tChap. XXlV,
and judicious person even (occasionally for pleasure's sake. 89-C.
Evil effects of the foregoing abuses :
— Visiting a woman in her menses results in the loss of sight, longevity and vital power, and should be accord- ingly considered as a sinful act. The duration of a man's life is diminished by going unto a woman, older in age or higher in social status (Varna), or unto the wife of his preceptor or superior, in the morning or the evening, or on the Parva days (the interdicted days), or'unto a woman belonging to the same blood as he. A visit to a woman big with child is extremely painful and injurious to the foetus confined in the womb. A visit to a diseased woman results in the loss of the man's vital power. A going unto a deformed, uncleanly, spiteful, non amorous, or sterile woman, or at an unclean, infamous, or exposed place is detrimental to the semen and intellect of the visitor 89-D.
Similarly, sexual intercourse enjoyed by a man at noon time, or by one who is in an enfeebled, thirsty, or hungry state of the body, in a standing up posture, or in a cheerless mood, brings on an excessive loss of semen and aggravation of the bodily Vdyu. Phthisis due to the loss of semen is the result of over-intemperance in sexual matters. Pain, enlargement of the spleen, epilepsy and even death may follow from sexual gratifica- tions in a diseased state of health. The Vdyu and the Pitta become aggravated by the sexual inter- course enjoyed early in the morning or at midnight. An incest with lower animals, unnatural sexual inter- course, or that with a woman having a diseased vagina is attended with an excessive loss of semen and an aggravation of the bodily Vdyu, and is the cause of Upa- damsa (syphilitic virus). An act of coition enjoyed by
Chap. XXIV.] CHIKITSA STHANAM. 5OI
holding the woman on one's bosom or by repressing the
natural urgings towards urination or defecation, as well
as a repressing of seminal discharge would help
the early formation of seminal concretions (in the
bladder). 89-E.
Hence these (injurious and harmful) practices should be shunned by a man for his welfare in this life as well as for that in the next. On the contrary, repression of a natural and (legitimate) sexual desire, from a sense of unwise delicacy or shame, is a physical sin.* Hence a healthy and passionate man possessed of the necessary fecundating element, under the course of a proper Vdji- karana (aphrodisiac) remedy, should cheerfully go unto and duly enjoy the pleasures of company with a girl, beautiful in looks, tender in years, modest, virtu- ous, equally passionate, cheerful, kindred to him both in physical and mental temperaments, and well-decked with ornaments. Fatigue after coition should be re- moved by the enjoyment of a bath f, a cool breeze, or a
