An English Translation of the Sushruta Samhita (Bhishagratna ed.)

* A girl slowly habituated to taking poison or poisoned food is called a Vislia-KanyflC, such a girl presented to a king by a pretending friend of the state often managed to hug her royal victim into her fatal embrace. The poison operates through the perspiration, proving almost instantaneously fatal through the act of daUJancCf

6/4 THE SUSHRUTA SAMHITA. [Chap. I.

he dies almost instantaneously. Hence it is the im-
perative duty of a royal physician to guard the person
of the king against poisoning. 3.

The minds of men are restless and uncontrollable
like an unbroken horse. Faith is a rare thing in the
human society and hence a crowned head should never
believe any one* in this world. 4.

The necessary Qualifications of a Superintendent of the Royal Kitchen :

— A king should appoint a physician for the royal kitchen (to superintend the preparations of the royal fare). He should be well-paid and possess the follow- ing qualifications. He should come of a respect- able family, should be virtuous in conduct, fondly attached to the person of his sovereign, and always watchful of the health of the king. He should be greedless, straight-forward, god-fearing, grateful, of handsome features, and devoid of irascibility, rough- ness, vanity, arrogance and laziness. He should be forbearing, self-controlled, cleanly, compassionate, well- behaved, intelligent, capable of bearing fatigue, well- meaning, devoted, of good address, clever, skilful, smart, artless, energetic and marked with all the neces- sary qualifications (of a physician; as described before. He should be fully provided with all kinds of medicine and be highly esteemed by the members of his profession. 5.-

The necessary features of a Royal
kitchen : — The Royal kitchen should be a spacious
chamber occupying an auspicious (south-east) corner of
the royal mansion and built on a commendable site.
The vessels and utensils (to be used in a royal kitchen)
should be kept scrupulously clean. The kitchen should

* A Royal Physician is an honourable exception in this r pect.

Chap. I.] KALPA-STHANAM. 675

be kept clean, well lighted by means of a large number of windows and guarded with nets and fret works (against the intrusion of crows, etc.). None but the trusted and proved friends and relatives should have access to the royal kitchen, or hold any appointment therein. Highly inflammable articles (such as hay, straw, etc.) should not be stacked in the royal kitchen whose ceiling should be covered with a canopy. The Fire-god should be (daily) worshipped therein. The head or managar of the royal cooks should generally possess the same qualifications as those of a physician. The bearers and cooks in the royal kitchen should have their nails and hair clipped off and should bear turbans. They should be cleanly, civil, clever, obedient, good-looking, each charged with separate duties, good-tempered, composed in their behaviour, well-bathed, greedless, determined, and prompt in executing the orders of their superiors. A physician of the royal kitehen should be very cautious and circumspect in the discharge of his duties, since food is the main stay of life, and the sole contributor to the safe continuance of the body. Every one employed in a royal kitchen such as, bearers, servers, cooks, soup- makers, cake-makers (confectioners), should be placed under the direct control and supervision of the physi- cian of the kitchen. 6.

Characteristic features of a poison--

er : — An intelligent physician well qualified to ascertain the true state of one^s feelings from the speech, conduct, demeanour and distortions of the face, would be able to discover the true culprit (poisoner) from the following external indications. A giver of poison does not speak nor does he answer when a question is put to him. He swoons or breaks off suddenly in the middle of his statement, and talks incoherently and indistinctly like a

d'je THE SUSHRUTA SAMHITA tChap. i.

fool. He is found suddenly and listlessly to press the joints of his fingers or to scratch the earth, to laugh and to shiver. He will look frightened at the sight of others (indifferently), and will cut (straw or hay) with his finger- nails, and his colour changes constantly. He will scratch his head in an agonised and confused state, and will look this way and that, trying to slip away by a back or side door, thus betraying his guilty conscience by his confusion. 7.

An innocent man, unjustly arraigned before the royal tribunal might from fear or precipation, become (confused and) liable to make untrue statements (and thus be unjustly convicted). Hence the king should first of all test the sincerity and fidelity of his servants ascertaining the non-poisonous character of the boiled rice, drink, tooth-twigs, unguents, combs, cosmetics, infusions, washes, anointments (with sandal pastes, etc.), garlands (of flowers, etc.), clothes, bedding, armour, ornaments, shoes, foot cushions, the backs of horses and elephants and snuffs (Nasya), Dhuma (tobacco smoking), collyrium and such other things (reserved for the use of the king). 8-9.

Indications of poisoned food and

drink, etc. :— The indications by which the
poisonous character of food, drink, etc. (to be used by
a king) may be detected are described first and the
medical treatment is dealt with secondly. A portion
of the food prepared for the royal use should be first
given to crows and flies and its poisonous character
should be presumed, if they instantaneously die on
partaking of the same. Poisoned food burns making
loud cracks, and when cast into the fire it assumes the
colour of a peacock's throat, becomes unbearable, burns
in severed and disjointed flames and emits irritating
fumes and it cannot be speedily extinguished. The

[Chap. I. KALPA-STHANAM. (y^f

eyes of a Chakora bird are instantaneously affected
by looking at such poisoned food and a Jivajivaka dies
under a similar condition. The note of the cuckoo
becomes hoarse and a Krauncha (heron) becomes
excited. A peacock moves about and becomes sprightly,
and a Suka and a Sdrikd scream (in fear). A swan
cackles violently and a Bhringarjija (of the swallow
class) raises its inarticutate voice. A Prishata (a species
of spotted deer) sheds tears and a monkey passes
stools. Hence these birds and animals should be kept
in the royal palace for show and entertainment as Veil
as for the protection of the sovereign master. lO.

The vapours arising from poisoned food when served for use give rise to a pain in the cardiac region and pro- duce headache and restlessness of the eyes. As an antidote, a preparation of Kushtha, Rdmatha (asafcetida), Nalada and honey mixed together should be used as an Anjana (along the eye-lids) and a medical compound of the same drugs should be snuffed into the nostrils. A plaster composed of S'irisha, turmeric, and sandal pasted together or simply a sandal paste should be used over the region of the heart in such cases ii.

A poison affecting the palms of the hands, produces
a burning sensation in them and leads to the falling off
of the finger-nails. The remedy in such cases consists
in applying a plaster of S'yantd*, Indra, Gopa soma and
Utpala pasted together. 12.

Poisoned food partaken of through ignorance or

* Some explain "S'yamd" as "S'yimd-lata*; others explain it as **Priyangu". Dallana explains "Indra" to mean "Indra-Varuni", "Gopa" to mean "Sdriva" and "Soma" to mean "Guduchi". Others, however, take "Indra-Gopa" as one word and explain it to mean a kind of insect known by that name, and they take "Sopja" to mean *'Soma-lata" in the ordinary sense of the word.

678 tHE SUSHRUTA SAMttlTA. fC^ap. 1.

folly, produces a stone-like swelling and numbness of the
tongue, a loss of the faculty of taste and a pricking
burning pain in that organ attended with copious mu-
cous salivation. The measures and remedies already
laid down in connection with the treatment of cases of
poisonous vapours as well as those to be hereinafter
described in connection with the use of a poisoned
tooth twig should be adopted. 13.

Food mixed with poison, when it reaches the Amasaya (stomach), gives rise to epileptic fits, vomiting, dysenteric stools (Atis^ra), distention of the abdomen, a burning sensation, shivering and a derangement of the sense-organs. Under such circumstances an emetic consisting of Madana, Aldvu, Vimbi and Kos'dtaki pasted together and administered through the medium of milk, curd and Udasvit (Takra) or with rice-washings should be understood as the proper remedy. 14.

Food mixed with poison, if it reaches the Pakvd-
^aya (intestines), gives rise to a burning sensation (in
the body), epileptic fits, dysenteric stools (Atisdra),
derangements of the organs of sense-perception, rumbling
sounds in the abdomen and emaciation, and makes the
complexion (of the sufferer) yellow. In such a case a
purgative composed of clarified butter and Nilini
fruits should be the first remedy. As an alternative,
remedies to be described lateron (in the next chapter)
in connection with the effects of Dushi-Visha (slow
chemical poison) should be adopted and used, saturated
with milk-curd (Dadhi) or honey. 15,

All liquid substances such as wine, milk, water, etc.,
if anywise poisoned, are found to be marked with
variegated stripes on their* surface and become covered

* The colours of the different poisoned articles vary in each case and this is elaborately deswribed by Vagbhata in his Samhitd,

Chap. I.l KALPA-STHANAM. 679

over with froth and bubbles. Shadows are not reflected
in such (poisoned) liquids and if they ever are, they look
doubled, net-like (porous) thin and distorted. 16.

Preparations of potherbs, soups, boiled rice and
cooked meat are instantaneously decomposed, and
become putrid, tasteless and omit little odour when in
contact with poison. All kinds of food become tasteless,
smellless and colourless when in contact with poison.
Ripe fruit, under such conditions, is speedily decomposed
and the unripe ones are found to get prematurely
ripe. 17 — 18.

If the tooth-twig be anyway charged with poison its
brush-like end is withered and shattered and if used
gives rise to a swelling of the lips and the tongue and
about the gums. In such a case, the swollen part should
be first rubb ed (with any leaf of rough fibre) and then
gently rubbed with a plaster composed of Dhdtaki
flowers, Pathyd, stones of Jatnbuline (black-berry) and
honey pasted together. As an alternative, the pait
should be gently rubbed and dusted over with a plaster
of powdered Amkotha roots or Sapt a-chchada bark or
seeds of S'irisha, pasted together with honey. The
same remedies should be applied in the cases of affec-
tions due to the use of a poisoned tongue-cleanser or a
poisoned gargle (Kavala). 12 — 20.

Poisoned articles for Abhyanga (oils and unguents)
look thick, slimy or discoloured and produce, when
used, eruptions on the skin which suppurate and exude
a characteristic secretion attended with pain, perspira-
tion, fever and bursting of the flesh. The remedy in
such a case consists in sprinkling cold water over the
body of the patient and in applying a plaster of sandal
wood, Jagara, Kushtha, Us'ira, Venu-patrikd (leaves of
bamboo), Soma-vaHi, A^^nritd^ S'veta-padma (lotus),

680 THE SUSHRUTA SAMHITA. [Chap. I.

Kdliyaka and cardamom pasted together (with cold
water)* A potion of the same drugs mixed with the
urine of a cow and the expressed juice of Kapittha is
equally commended in the present instance. Symptoms
which mark the use of poisoned armour, garments,
bedding, cosmetic, washes, infusions, anointments, etc.
and the remedies for these are identical with those
consequent upon the use of poisoned unguents. 21-22.

A poisoned plaster (if applied to the head) leads to the falling off of the hair and to violent headache, bleeding through the mouth and the nostrils, etc., and the appear- ance of glands on the head. The remedy in such a case consists in the application of a plaster made of black earth treated (Bhavita) several times with the bile of a Rishya (a species of deer), clarified butter and the ex- pressed juice of S'ydmd, Pdlindi (Trivrit) and Tandu- liyaka (in succession). The expressed juice of MdJati (flower) or of Mushika'parni^ fluid-secretions of fresh cow-dung and house -soot as external applications are also beneficial in such cases. 23,

In cases of poisoning through head-unguents or
through a poisoned turban, cap garland of fllowers,
or bathing water, measures and remedies as laid down
in connection with a case of poisoned Anulepana should
be adopted and applied. In a case of poisoning through
cosmetics applied to the face, the local skin assumes
a bluish or tawny brown colour covered with eruptions
like those in cases of Padmini-kantakaand the symptoms
peculiar to a case of using a poisoned unguent become
manifest. The remedy in such a case consists in the ap-
plication of a plaster composed of (white) sandal wood,
clarified butter, Payasyd, Yashti madhu, Phanji, (Bhdrgi),
Vandhujiva and Panarnavd. A potion of honey and
clarified butter i3 also beneficial in this case. 24-25.

Chap. I.] KALPA-STHANAM. 68 1

A poisoned elephant usually exhibits such symptoms
as restlessness, copious salivation and redness of the
eyes. The buttocks, the penis, the anal region and the
scrotum of its rider coming in contact with the body of
such an elephant are marked by eruptions. Under such
conditions both the animal and its rider should be medi-
cally treated with the remedies laid down in the
treatment of poisoning through an unguent. 26.

A poisoned snuff (Nasya) or poisoned smoke (Dhuma)
produces bleeding from the mouth and nose, etc., pain
in the head, a discharge of mucus and a derangement
of the functions of the sense-organs. The remedy in
such cases consists in drinking and snuffing* a potion of
clarified butter duly cooked with the milk of a cow
or such other animal together with Ativishd, Vacha and
Mallikd flower (as Kalka). A poisoned garland ( of
flowers) is characterised by the loss of odour and by
the fading and discolouring of its natural colour, and
when smelt produces headache and lachrymation. Re-
medies laid down under the heads of poisoning through
vapour (Dhuma) and through cosmetics for the face
(Mukha-lepa) should be used and applied. 27-28.

The act of applying poisoned oil into the cavity of
the ears impairs the faculty of hearing and gives rise to
swelling and pain in that locality and to the secretion
(of pus) from the affected organs. The filling up of the
cavity of the ears with a compound of clarified butter,
honey and the expressed juice of Vahuputrd (S'atdvari)t