Atharvaveda and Charaka Samhita
by Laxmi Maji | 2021 | 143,541 words
This page relates ‘Grahani (sprue-syndrome) according to Caraka� found in the study on diseases and remedies found in the Atharvaveda and Charaka-samhita. These texts deal with Ayurveda—the ancient Indian Science of life—which lays down the principles for keeping a sound health involving the use of herbs, roots and leaves. The Atharvaveda refers to one of the four Vedas (ancient Sanskrit texts encompassing all kinds of knowledge and science) containing many details on Ayurveda, which is here taken up for study.
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Ұṇ� (sprue-syndrome) according to Caraka
Ѳṣi Caraka discusses disease of Ұṇ� Doṣa and treatment of Sprue-syndrome or Ұṇ� ṣa-쾱ٲ. The term Ұṇ� ṣa implies the malfunctioning of agni. The agni is primary located in the Ұṇ�. impairment agni is responsible for the causation of Ұṇ� ṣa. The reason for ṻ岵Ծ is life, colour, strength, health, enthusiasm, plumpness, complexion, ojas or energy, tejas, agnis and prana. Digestive fire or Agni is the main cause of all diseases and also for the maintenance of good health and life. ṻ岵Ծ is the chief among all the agnis because its increase and decrease result in the increase and decrease respectively of ū岵Ծ and ٱԾ. ṻ岵Ծ should be suitably and carefully maintained because the life and strength of an individual are dependent upon it. Also, ԾԻⲹ and īṇa, etc., are called Ұṇ� roga. The signs and symptoms of īṇa are: feeling prostration, headache, fainting, giddiness, yawning, malaise, fever, morbid thirst, vomiting, anorexia and indigestion of food etc.
The distinctive feature of Ұṇ�-gada is that the patient voids stool, which is partly a product of digested food and partly a product of undigested food. The premonitory symptoms of Ұṇ� roga are: morbid thirst, feeling of laziness, diminution of strength, delay of food in the digestion etc. The symptoms of Ұṇ�-gada are morbid thirst, anorexia, distaste in mouth, excessive salivation, and asthma, pain in bones, oedema in legs and hands, fever, and smell of ama etc. Ұṇ� roga is four types, namely, پ첹, Paittika, Kaphaja, and Sānnipātika. The causes of Ұṇ� roga are Vayu, Pitta, Kapha and all three together.
The general treatment of Ұṇ� roga is: when āma is excessive the patient should be given emesis therapy; when ama is in the intestine he should be given appetisers and purgatives therapies; when ama is in the whole body he should be given lightening and digestive measures. Use of formulations to cures of this disease, namely, ʲñDZ , Śṇṭ ūṇa, Ჹīٲī ūṇa, 侱ٰ徱 ūṇa, Daśamūla ṛt, Tryūṣaṇādi ṛt, Takrāriṣṭra, ٲ첹 ṣār, Kṣāra ṭi etc. Use ʲñ첹 to cure Sānnipātika Ұṇ�[1].
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
C. 侱쾱ٲٳԲ–XIX.2-141; Baidyacharya Kalikinkar Sensarma & Ayurbedacharya Satyasekhar Bhattacharya (eds.), Caraka-Samhita–Vol. II, trans. Kabiraj Jasodanandan Sirkar, Kolkata, Deepayan Publication, 2013, pp. 527-551.