Atharvaveda and Charaka Samhita
by Laxmi Maji | 2021 | 143,541 words
This page relates ‘Visha (poison) 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.
Viṣa (poison) according to Caraka
Maharṣi Caraka discusses disease of Viṣa and treatment of Poisoning and Viṣa-cikitsā. Poison is the one which spreads quickly in the body, vitiates the dhātu and destroys the life. Poison originated from during the churning of ocean by Gods and demons.
There are two types of Viṣa, namely,
In human beings, the effects of poisons are manifested in eight different stages.
The ten attributes of poison are as follows:
Viṣa is strong during rainy season, destroyed during autumn. To cure the patient afflicted with Viṣa, the twenty-four therapeutic measures to be adopted are as follows: Chants, Ariṣṭa, Utkartana, Niṣpīḍana, Cūṣaṇa, Agni, Pariṣeka, Avagāha, Rakta-mokṣaṇa, Vamana, Virecana, Upadhāna, Hṛdayāvaraṇa, Añjana, Nasya, Dhūma, Leha, Auṣudha, Praśamana, Prativiṣa, Sañjñā-Saṃsthāpana, Lepa, Mṛtasañjīvana. Viṣa spreads through blood, so venesection should be done to drain out the Viṣa. Also, tourniquet has to be tied above the area of poisonous bite and then blood has to be let out. Use of formulations to cures of this disease, namely, Mṛta-Sañjīvana-Agada, Gandha-Hastī, Mahā-Gandha-Hastī, Kṣārāgada.
Snakes are classified into three categories, namely,
They cause aggravation of Vāyu, pitta, and kapha respectively. The Darvīkara snake has a spoon-like hood, the Maṇḍalī snake has a rounded hood, and the Rājimān snake has its body of variegated colour with drop like spots on it. Five incurable signs of snake bite are as follows: deep, elevated, painful, placed lengthwise, and having marks of fangs. Taṇḍulīyaka triturated with the juice of Kākāṇḍa is useful in all types of poison, similarly, Kākamācī triturated with peacock-bile is useful in all types of poison[1].
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
C. Cikitsāsthāna–XXV.5-192; Baidyacharya Kalikinkar Sensarma & Ayurbedacharya Satyasekhar Bhattacharya (eds.), Caraka-Samhita–Vol. IV, trans. Kabiraj Jasodanandan Sirkar, Kolkata, Deepayan Publication, 2013, pp. 73-104.