Atharvaveda and Charaka Samhita
by Laxmi Maji | 2021 | 143,541 words
This page relates ‘Treatment of Mental illness’ 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.
Treatment of Mental illness
In Brāhmaṇa texts and Upaniṣads, the mind is called Brahma, Samrāṭ, Brahmā and Prajāpati[1]. The power of the mind is infinite. In the Ṛgveda mentions that the power of the mind can heal the patient only by the touch of the hand. Auto-suggestion treatment method was discovered with the help of this method. According to Suśruta, there are four types of disease—Āgantuka, physical, mental and normal. Among them, mental illness arises from anger, jealousy, envy, lust, greed etc.[2] According to Ācārya Caraka, mental illness arises from the crime of wisdom. When the intellect, patience and memory are corrupted, when people do evil deeds, the reasons for provoking all kinds of physical and mental diseases are called wisdom crimes. There are three causes of mental illness, namely-Hereditary, psychic, physical[3].
Pleasure and well-being of the mind keep people silent and the mind is polluted because of various diseases. In the Yajurveda, it is prayed in the sixth mantra—
The Atharvaveda describes the treatment of anger or Krodha[5]. There is mention of Darbha and Bhūrimūla medicine. Darbha is called Kuśa. In Bhāvaprakāśa, Darbha is called cool. Kush has soaked in water and drinking that water calms the anger. Bhūrimūla means many roots added. It is also applied for coldness.
In the Atharvaveda, medicines like Soma etc., are mentioned to remove doṣas like illusions (Moha) and mourning (Śoka)[6]. Among them, diseases like śapathya, varuṇya etc., are also treated by Soma medicine.
The Atharvaveda describes the medicine for jealousy or Īrṣā. Medicines for this disease are found near the sea[7]. In the Atharvaveda, species of jealousy–just as fire burns a tree, so jealousy consumes human life. Just as cold-water quenches fire, so jealousy must be quenched by water of corpse judgement. The medicine for jealousy is sea fruit or Sindhu-phala. In Nighaṇṭu Ratnākara, the quality of Sindhu-phala has been mentioned. The Sindhu-phala destroys delusions, jealousy and headaches. In Śāligrāma Nighaṇṭu it is said that this fruit is more in Koṅkaṇadeśa. The Sindhu-phala is like large cardamom, has three edges, and hangs like a rope from a tree.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
[2]:
kālakṛtāḥ pravātanivātātapacchāyājyotsnātamaḥ śītoṣṇavarṣāhorātrapakṣamāsartvayanādayaḥ saṃvatsaraviśeṣāḥ ||
ta ete svabhāvata eva doṣāṇāṃ sañcayaprakopapraśamapratīkārahetavaḥ prayojanavantaśca ||
śarīrāṇāṃ vikārāṇāmeṣa vargaścaturvidhaḥ | prakope praśame caiva heturuktaścikitsakaiḥ || (Suśruta Sūtrasthāna–I/32-34) Suśruta Saṃhitā of Maharṣi Suśruta Vol. I, Anant Ram Sharma (ed.), Varanasi, Chaukhamba Surbharati Prakashan, 2018, p. 16-17.
[3]:
īrṣyā śokabhayakrodhamānadveṣādayaśca ye |
manovikārāste'pyuktāḥ sarve prajñāparādhajāḥ || (C. Sū. –VII.52); R. K. Sharma & Bhagwan Dash (eds.), Caraka Saṃhitā–Vol. I, Varanasi, Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 2017, p. 159.
[4]:
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