Treatment of Aśmarī (stone disease)

The Atharvaveda describes the treatment of stone disease or Aśmarī. Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya has been said to be the cause of stone disease, when the vāyu(vāta) covers the mouth of the bladder and dries up the urine (inside); then urine getting mixed with pitta, kapha or semen, gives rise to the formation of Aśmarī (stone, calculus) just as Gorocanā (ox gall) gets formed from pitta (bite) in the (bite) in the (body of) ox; all of these are having kapha as their receptacle (their mass). Its premonitory symptoms are distention of the bladder, severe pain in and around the site of stone, urine emitting the smell of goat, difficulty for the elimination of urine, fever and loss of appetite^[1]. According to Ācārya Suśruta, the stone is a terrible disease. It is as deadly as Yama. In the initial stage, it is cured with medicine but if it increases it is cured by surgery^[2]. According to Ācārya Suśruta, mixing honey with crushed Gokharu seeds and mixing it with goat’s milk for a week destroys the stone^[3]. It has been said in the Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya, that the extract of  the root of the horseradish tree sings in a little hot water and pushes the stone out. The Atharvaveda mentions the names of some medicines, which are beneficial in the case of stone. Namely-Varaṇa tree is beneficial for stone disease. Take one hundred grams of Varuṇa tree bark and heat it four times in water. When the water is halved, you have to drink that water twice a day. In this way, after playing for five to six days, the stone melts and goes out with the urine. Other medicines are Arjuna, Guggulu, Pītudāru, Pūtadru, Vetasa, and Kuśa etc. There are some medicines in Atharvaveda which are added to prevent vomiting. Namely—Jambīra, Dūrvā and Yabāṣa.