Chapter 10 - The Pharmaceutics of the Thorny Milk-hedge Plant (sudha-kalpa)

1. We shall now expound the chapter entitled “The Pharmaceutics of the Thorny Milk-hedge Plant [sudhā—sudha].”

2. Thus declared the worshipful Atreya.

Qualities, Varieties and Methods of usage

3-4. The thorny milk-hedge plant [sudha] is regarded the most acute of all the purgative drugs. It quickly breaks up the accumulation of impurities and if wrongly used might lead to conditions difficult to cure. Therefore this should in no case be administered to a soft-bowelled person nor in a condition of scanty accumulation of impurities nor in a condition where other measure can as well serve the purpose.

5-6½. In patients affected with anemia, abdominal diseases, Gulma, dermatosis, chronic poisoning, edema, diabetes, morbid psychic conditions and such other diseases, the thorny milk hedge plant should be administered if the patient is strong enough to withstand the drug. When properly administered, it quickly eliminates the impurities even if excessively accumulated.

7. It is known to be of two kinds. One with "small and numerous thorns, the other with very sharp and a small number of thorns. The one with numerous thorns is the superior, variety.

8. It is known by the synonyms of Snuk, Guda [guḍā], Nanda [nandā], Sudha [sudhā], Nistrimshapatraka [nistriṃśapatraka].

9. The intelligent physician should [? incise?] the plants of two or three years of age with a sharp instrument and obtain the milk, specially at the end of winter.

Various preparations

10. The milk of the thorny milk-hedge plant mixed with equal quantity of any of the decoctions of the bael group of drugs or of Indian nightshade or yellow berried nightshade should be reduced to a thick consistency on coal fire..

11-11½. Then it should be made into pills of the size of a jujube; it should be taken as potion mixed with Sauviraka wine, Tusodaka wine, the juice of the emblic myrobalans, Sura wipe, whey, or the juice of the pomelo

12-13. As many as are available of these, viz., soap-pod, yellow milk plant, black turpeth and the other drug’s of its group and the three spices should be impregnated for a week with the milk of the thorny milk-hedge plant [sudha]. A pill made of the size of a jujube should be taken as potion with ghee or meat-juice.

14. The three spices, the three myrobalans, red physic nut, white flowered leadwort and turpeth impregnated in the milk of the thorny milk-hedge plant should be administered. with the syrup of gur.

15-17. Turpeth, purging cassia, red physic nut, clenolepis and soap-pod taken in equal parte and soaked in cow’s urine for a night should then be dried in the sun. This process should be repeated for seven days. Again impregnated for a week in the milk of the thorny milk hedge plant they should be dried and powdered. This powder, when sprinkled profusely on a sweet smelling flower, garland or on the upper cloth and given for smelling or for wearing to a soft-bowelled person of royal descent, he will be moved to happy and quick purgative effect.

18. A linctus should be prepared with the decoction of black turpeth aud turpeth, milk of the thorny milk-hedge plant, ghee and treacle and administered, in due dose, for the purpose of purgation.

18½. The milk of the thorny milk hedge plant may be administered as potion along with soups, meat juices and medicated ghees.

19. Dried fish and meat impregnated with that milk may also be eaten for purposes of purgation.

20. A ghee can be obtained from the prepared milk of thorny milk hedge mixed with emblic myrobalans as in the case of the purging cassia. Sura wine can be prepared from the milk of the thorny milk-hedge plant; or even a ghee, as described before, can be prepared from it.

Summary:

Here are the recapitulatory verses—

21-22. Seven preparations with Sauviraka wine etc., one with ghee, one with meat-juice, one preparation of syrup, one of snuff and one. of linctus, three preparations administered with soups etc., two preparations consisting of dry fish and meat, one of Sura wine and two of ghee—thus, in all, twenty preparations of the thorny milk hedge plant have been described.

10. Thus, in the Section on Pharmaceutics in the treatise compiled by Agnivesha and revised by Caraka, the tenth chapter entitled ‘The Pharmaceutics of the Thorny Milk-hedge Plant [sudhā—sudha]’ not being available, the same as restored by Dridhabala, is completed.