Brahmana spells out the medical treatment
Brahmana said—“O girl, Kala, Yama, death and all other ailments have been known to you, then what more doubt is there in your mind at the moment? You ask me.”
On hearing the words of the Brahmana, the chaste Malavati felt delighted and she put her desired question to the Lord of the Universe.
Malavati said—You have told me that ailments extract the life of the people and several types of treatments for these diseases have also been spelt out in the Vedas.
You tell me the way by which one can protect the spread of the disease in the body. You kindly tell me the same in detail.
You are the one who always is compassionate to the poor and the teachers. Therefore, whatever I have asked and that whatever I have not asked, you please, tell me all that is known to you or that is unknown to me. You tell me all that is of welfare to Us.
Thereafter lord Janardana appearing in the form of a Brahmana started speaking on the scriptures relating to medicine (Vaidyaka- Samhita).
Then Brahmana said: I bow at the feet of lord Krishna, who is well aware of the secrets of all the tattvas, who is the cause of all the causes and is the seed of all the seeds of the Vedic literature.
He is the welfare of all the welfares and is the seed of all the items of welfare which were created by the Lord eternal and are the basis of the four Vedas, which were revealed by him.
The Vedas are known by the name of Rig, Yaju, Sama and Atharvan. By going through these Vedas and understanding their meanings, Lord Brahma created the fifth Veda known as Ayurveda.
Thus after creating the Fifth Veda, its knowledge was bestowed on Surya and the sun god created an independent composition of the same. Thereafter he taught the Ayurveda Samhita to his pupils handing it over to them. Thereafter those pupils created many Samhitas out of it.
О noble lady, now you listen from me the names of those tantras which contained the prescriptions for the removal of the ailments.
The sixteen persons named Dhanvantri, Divodasa, Kasiraja, Asvinikumaras, Nakula, Sahadeva, Yama, Cyavana, Janaka, Budha, Jabala, Jajali, Paila, Karatha and Agastya are well-versed in the Vedas and other Vedic literature besides their tattvas. They are also proficient in the removal of ailments.
First of all, Lord Dhanvantri composed a tantra known as Chikitsatattvavijnana (A treasury on the science of medicines). Thereafter Chikitsadarpana was composed by Divodasa. Kasiraja on the other hand, composed Chikitsakaumudi and both the Asvini-kumaras composed the manuscript of Chikitsasaratantra which removed all the doubts. Similarly the work of Vaidyakasarvasva, Sahdeva composed Vyadhisindhuvimardana and Yama composed Jnandrnava which is considered to be a great tantra.
Lord Cyavana on the other hand, composed a tantra under the title of JTvadana. The yogi Janaka composed Vaidyasandehabhanjana. Budha the son of the moon composed Sarvasara. Jabala composed Tantrasara and Jajali composed Vedangasara. Paila composed Nidanatantara. Karatha composed Sarvadhara tantra and the sage Agastya composed Dvaidhanirnayatantara. The sixteen tantras and the seeds of the treatises and medicines, remove the diseases and increase strength and intelligence.
The intellectuals churned the ocean of Ayurveda with the churning rod of their intelligence and gave the above tantras a new form.
О beautiful one, by going through them you will become conversant with the divine composition of the Sun and Ayurveda which happens to be the seed of all.
The foremost beauty of a physician is to know pretty well about the various tattvas of the ailment and to research on the means to remove them. The physicians are not in a position to enhance the life of anyone. Such people are called physicians (Vaidyas) because of their special knowledge in the science of medicine and their application.
They possess a religious mind and are compassionate. High fever is the cause of all the ailments and can be prevented with great efforts. The fever happens to be the devotee of Siva, is yogi, the heartless one and has a deformed figure.
It has three feet, six arms and nine eyes. This terrific fever is a destroyer like Kala, Antaka and Yama, the ashes are his weapons and his God is Rudra.
It germinates from indigestion. From the same indigestion also emerges jaundice, the wind and the cough. All these trouble the people always.
The wind, the jaundice and the cough are created from the body and therefore the fevers also are known as Vataja (bom of the wind), Pittaja (bom of the biles), Kaphaja (bom out of cough). There is a fourth fever known as Tridosaja.
There are several terrific ailments known as pandu, kamala, kustha, s’otha, pllha, sula, jvamtisara, graham, kasa (cough), vrana (wound), hallmaka, miitrakrcchr (urinary infection), diseases bom due to raktavikara (shortage of blood) is gulma, visameha (poisoning), kabja (constipation), goda, galaganda (tonsils), bhramari, sannipata, visucl (cholera) and darunl. They are said to be divided and subdivided in sixty four parts.
They are all the sons of death and old-age is her daughter. The old age always roams about earth accompanied by her brothers.
These ailments cannot approach such people who are self-disciplined and are aware of ways and means to remove them. At the sight of such persons they flee as the serpents flee at the sight of Garuda.
To clean the eyes with the application of water, to regularly exercise, to apply oil at the soles, the ears and the head, are some of the methods which keep the ailments away.
In the spring season walking is quite beneficial, one who enjoys a little heat of the fire in the winter season, the old age never goes to him. Taking a bath in the summer season, the application of sandal-paste and a morning walk, keep the old age away.
To take a bath with warm water in the rainy season, to avoid the used of rain water, to take suitable food at the appropriate time, keeps the old age away. In the winter season, if one does not enjoy the sun shine, does not take a bath in a tank and the one who consumes limited food does not attract the old age.
In the winter season, to take a bath in the morning, to enjoy the heat of the fire timely and to consume hot food, do not attract the old age.
In the winter season one who wears warm clothing, enjoys the fire and hot food and takes a bath with cold water the old age can never reach him.
The one who consumes fresh food, cohabits with a girl of sixteen years of age, takes the food with ghee and rice cooked in milk, the old age can never reach him.
To take the best of food when hungry, to drink water when thirsty and chewing of the betels and betel-nuts regularly, keep the old age away. A person who regularly consumes curd, butter, ghee and raw sugar, the old age never approaches him; the one who consumes dry meats, keeps company of old ladies and enjoys the sun-shine of Kartika month, consumes curds many days old, attracts the old age with pleasure and quickly is over powered by old age.
О beautiful one, to consume the curd during the night, to keep company of a wicked woman and a woman in menstrual period attracts the old age, where it reaches delightfully with her brothers.
The woman in menstrual period, the wicked woman, the widow, the one who serves as a messenger between two lovers, the wife of the person who performs yajha for the Shdras or the women who do not have the menses; if someone takes food prepared by such women he earns the sin of Brahmahatya and because of that sin, he attracts the old age.
The sins are closely related with the ailments. The sin alone is responsible for the ailment, diseases, old age and the cause of several other obstructions. The sin attracts the ailment and also the old age. The sin also causes misery, trouble and great grief.
Therefore, sin is the biggest enemy and causes misery for all. Therefore the noble people in the country never indulge in sins.
They follow their own Dharma. Those who have received diksa, are devoted to the lord, teachers and the Gods besides the guests and never attract ailments. They remain engrossed in the tapas, vows and remaining without food and are always inclined to visit the holy places and as such the ailments keep away from such people and disappear as serpents flee at the sight of the Garuda.
The old age and the terrific diseases never influence such people. One should therefore know about them. If one becomes ignorant of them they untimely overpower him.
О chaste lady, fever is the root cause of all the ailments. I have already spoken about it. Therefore Vata, Pitta and Cough which are the main causes of the fever (should be kept away).
The way in which these ailments influence the human body, I shall make you aware of it.
When one does not eat in spite of being hungry, then jaundice develop in the body.
After consuming palm and wood-apple if someone drinks water immediately, thereafter he is likely to get the ailment of jaundice.
When an unfortunate person drops the hot water on his head in the month of Bhadrapada and also consumes bitter food jaundice in his body increases.
Therefore making a powder of coriander and taking it with sugar and cold water, the jaundice subsides, the grams and articles made of cow milk, curd, ghee, cow-dung, the urine of cow and the curd or butter milk without cream or butter, the ripe wood-apples, the palm fruits and the juice of sugar-cane are the stuffs to be prepared of that, ginger, radish, green gram pulses, radish, sesame powder mixed with sugar, when consumed during such ailment the jaundice disappears and provides a person nourishment and increases the strength.
Thus the cause of jaundice and the means to remove it have been spelt out.
Now I am going to tell you something more; you listen to the same. To take a bath immediately after taking food, to consume after without having been thirsty, sesame oil, thick oil, juice of embolic myrobalan, (phyllanthus emblica), left-over food, butter milk, ripe banana, curd, rain water, sugar mixed with water, consuming of thick water, juice of coconut, leftover water, dry-wash, watermelons, ripe gourd and to take a bath in a tank during the rainy season and consuming of radish, gives rise to the creation of cough in the body. Its creation in the head ultimately destroys the semen.
O daughter of Gandharva, to sweat from the wannth from the fire, to consume the dried hemp-leaves, the fried oil, aimless wandering, eating of dry food, dry black myrobalan, gum resin, unripe banana, vesavara (spices), sindhuvara (Nirgundl), fasting, non-consuming of water, taking of ghee with powder, ghee with sugar, dry ginger, jlvika (one of the great Ous adha) and honey can remove the cough and definitely provide strength and nourishment.
Now listen to the cause of wind or Vata.
To walk immediately after taking food, running, cutting, warming by fire, constant roaming about, enjoying conjugal pleasure, enjoying the company of an old lady, suffering from mental agony and the consuming of dry food or remaining without flood, fighting, quarrelling, speaking harsh words, person and remaining grief stricken, cause the creation of the wind.
The wind is also caused by the Cakara named Ajha. I am telling you the medicine for the same also. You listen to it.
The ripe banana fruit, sugar juice mixed with lemon juice, juice of coconut, fresh butter milk, the best of ground pulses like Kacaurl, sweet curd of buffaloes milk, the curd mixed with sugar, just left over food, juice of barley, cold water, fried oil, sesame oil, coconut, palm, juice of myrobalan, bark with hot and cold water, thick paste of sandal-wood and to lie down on the lotus leaves; all these things relieve one of the effects of wind.
О daughter, I have thus mentioned all about the things which remove the ailment of the wind. There are three types of ailments concerning the wind which appear in the human beings, by mental agony, grief and passions.
Thus I have given you an idea about the ailments and the means to remove them by consuming different types of medicine.
All these tantras remove ailments. Still unique types of medicines have also been prescribed therein.
О chaste lady, the tantras composed by the intellectuals cannot be spelt out even in one year’s time.
Therefore, О beautiful one, you tell me the particular ailment which caused the death of your husband. I will speak out the remedy by which he will get back his life.
Sauti said—Listening to the words of Brahmana, Malavati the daughter of Citraratha spoke delightedly.
Malavati said—О Brahmana listen to me. My husband feeling shy in the court of Brahma, was deprived of his life because of the curse. I have listened attentively to whatever you have said.
In this world, without facing misfortune, who can get the company of a great soul like you?
О intelligent one, you kindly bring back to life my husband at the moment to enable me to leave for my abode with my husband bowing to you in reverence.”
On hearing the words of Malavati Lord Vishnu who had taken to the form of a Brahmana, got up and went to the assembly of the Gods.
