Treatment of Pāṇḍuroga (Hariman)

Ṛgveda and Atharvaveda use the term Hariman for Pāṇḍuroga^[1]. Pāṇḍuroga is also called Kāmalā-roga. In this disease, the body, eyes, excreta, nails, face etc. turn yellow or orange. The Vedas speak of three kinds of treatment for this disease–treatment with Sunlight, treatment with cow milk and treatment with medicine^[2].I/22, Charm against jaundice and related diseases–this is addressed to the patient wherein some remedial procedures are mentioned. First, it is said that patients suffering (heartache) and jaundice shall leave him and go up to the sun. That is to say, Hārimā can be correlated with Kāmalā (Jaundice) in which the yellowish colour of the body is seen and can be treated with morning Sunrays. In Ṛgveda and Atharvaveda, the Sunlight treatment is given great emphasis. The patient is required to strip and sit in the light of the early Sun facing east so that the sunlight falls on his body properly. Sunlight of the morning is beneficial for Kāmalā-roga and Cardiac diseases. Atharvaveda gives two meanings for ‘Gorohitasya’ (gorohitasya)–Sunlight and cow.

Secondly, red cow's milk is said to be efficacious in treating Hārimā or Pāṇḍuroga^[3]. It produces purple colour by removing green and yellow colours in the body. To cure Harima. the patient is given water to sip which is mixed with the hair of a red bull, i.e., having first poured water upon the back of the bull, he lets the patient drink it. He then ties on an amulet steeped in cow's milk anointed with dregs of ghee while the patient sitting on the skin of a bull. The doctor lets the patient sit on the skin of a bull which is pierced using pegs. The patient is afterwards given milk to drink and porridge of Haridrā to eat. He is anointed with the remnant of the porridge and additional untouched porridge is placed on his couch. Three yellow birds “Śuka”, “Ropaṇākā” and ‘Hāridrava” are tied to the foot of the couch by their left legs. The patient is washed off upon these birds. He is then given a stirred drink and made to step forward and asked to address the birds. Finally, the amulet of hairs from the breast of a red bull, glued together with lac and covered with gold is tied upon the patient^[4].

Also, in the Atharvaveda, the holding of Añjana maṇi and Jaṅgiḍa maṇi is said to be useful in the case of Pāṇḍuroga. The drug Añjana is said to be efficacious in treating Hārimā or Pāṇḍuroga. Besides, the following medicines have been said to be beneficial in cases of jaundice, namely -Punarṇavā, Vanaspati, Pippalī and Hāridrava or Haridru. The Atharvaveda gives scant regard to life that is non-human preferring that the sufferings of humans be transposed to them.