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Mathomathis would like to present an article on Sushruta Samhita | Medical treatment of inflamed ulcers based on the book Sushruta Samhita, volume 4: Chikitsasthana by Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna | 1911 | 123,229 words. The article was adopted from the website: https://www.wisdomlib.org/, a detailed explanation is available on the website. Shvetavalguja-Rasayana:— The fruit (seeds) of the white Avalguja should be dried in the sun and then reduced to a fine powder. This powder should be stirred with (an adequate quantity of) treacle and placed in an earthen pitcher which previously contained clarified butter (Sneha-kumbha). The pitcher should then be kept buried in a heap of paddy for seven days after which it should be taken out and its contents given in convenient doses every morning before sunrise to a person, seeking improvement of memory and longevity, after his system has been thoroughly cleansed (with proper emetics and purgatives, etc.). Hot water should then be drunk. After taking the medicine, the patient should enter his room in accordance with the rules laid down in connection with the Bhallataka-Vidhana. After the digestion of the medicine, the patient should be advised to take a cold bith and to partake in the evening of a meal of well-cooked Shali or Shashtika rice with (boiled) milk sweetened with sugar. This medicine continuously taken in this manner for six months would make the life of its user sinless, and extend it in the full glow of health and vigour and in the sound enjoyment of a vigorous memory and of all his intellectual faculties to a hundred green summers. In cases of Kushtha, jaundice and abdominal dropsy (Udara), the medicine should be prepared by stirring (the powdered seeds of) the Krishna (black Avalguja) with the urine of a cow (instead of with treacle) and given to the patient in doses of half a Pala weight every morning after the sun has ceased to look red. In the afternoon the patient should be made to partake of a meal of boiled rice with clarified butter and unsalted Amalaka soup. A continuous use of this medicine in the aforesaid manner for a month would improve the memory and intellectual faculties of the user, and enable him to witness a hundred summers on earth in the full enjoyment of sound health. Citraka roots and Rajani (turmeric) may be used in the same manner and for similar purposes with this distinction that the dose of the Citraka -root preparation should be two Pala measures (instead of half a Pala as laid down in regard to the foregoing compounds). The rest are identical with the above. Manduka-parni Rasayana:— The Doshas of the system of a person should be first thoroughly cleansed (with the help of proper emetics and purgatives, etc.), and he should be advised to undergo the prescribed diet of (Peya, Yavagu, etc, in their proper order) He should be further advised to enter his chamber in the prescribed manner (and to remain there during the entire course of the treatment). An adequate dose of the expressed juice of the Manduka-parni should then be stirred with milk, and should be taken after consecrating it by reciting the proper Mantras a thousand times. A potion of milk may then be taken immediately after. After it had been fully digested a meal of cooked barley grains with milk should then be partaken of; or (the expressed juice of Manduka-parni) with an admixture of sesamum seeds followed by a potion of milk. A meal of boiled rice with milk and clarified butter should then be taken after the digestion of the medicine and should be continued for three months in succession. This would ensure a long life of a hundred years in the full vigour of retentive memory and intellectual faculties, and would impart a god-like effulgence to the complexion. As an alternative, the patient should fast three days and take only the expressed juice of Manduka-parni for these three days. After this period he should live on milk and clarified butter only, or he should be made to take a Vilva measure (of the paste of Manduka-parni) stirred with milk for ten consecutive days which would ensure a life of a hundred years in the full enjoyment of his intellectual faculties. Brahmi Rasayana:— Having had the Doshas of the system duly cleansed (with proper emetics and purgatives, etc.), a person (wishing to undergo a treatment of Rasayana) should be advised to take the prescribed diet of (Peya, Yavagu, etc., in their proper order), and should be made to enter his room (Agara). He should then take the expressed juice of the Brahmi in an adequate dose after consecrating the juice a thousand times with the proper Mantras. After the medicine had been fully digested he should be advised to take in the evening Yavagu (gruel) without any salt; or with boiled milk in the event of his being habituated to its use. A continuous use of the medicine for a week improves the memory, leads to the expansion of the intellectual faculties and imparts a celestical glow to the complexion. In the second week of its course it revives old and forgotten memories in the user and adds to his proficiency in the writing out of any book to be written. In the third week it enables a man to reproduce from memory as many as one hundred words if twice heard or read (at a single sitting). In the same manner a (further) use of the drug for twenty-one days removes all inauspicious features whether of the body or of the mind, the goddess of learning appears in an embodied form to the (mind of the) user, and all kinds of knowledge come rushing into his memory. A single hearing is enough to make him reproduce (verbatim from memory a discourse however lengthy), and he is enabled to live for five hundred years. Brahmi Ghrita:— Two Prastha measures of the expressed juice of tho Brahmi and one Prastha measure […]
Mathomathis would like to present an article on Oceans in Hindu Mythology by author R.L.S. Sikarwar Arogyadham (J.R.D. Tata Foundation for Reseach in Ayurveda & Yoga Sciences), Deendayal Research Institute, Chitrakoot, Dist. Satna (M.P.)-485 331. Since antiquity the oceans have played a significant role in Hindu religion and its greatness has been profusely illustrated in Holy Scriptures. The ocean has several Hindi and Sanskrit names and synonyms such as Samudra, Sagara, Sindhu, Jaladhi, Neernidhi, Bannidhi, Barees, Udadhi, Payodhi, Nadees, Toynidhi, Kampati, Makaralaya, Varunalaya, Mahodadhi etc. The ten synonyms of the ocean have been given in Ramcharitmanasa. Out of 10 different incarnations (Dasavatara) of Shrihari Vishnu, three avatars such as Matsya Avatar, Kurma Avatar and Varaha Avatar are directly associated with the oceans. In Rama Avatar, the bridge was constructed as per the desire of oceans and helped Lord Rama in various ways. As when the Ravana, the king of Lanka heard the news about the construction of bridge on the ocean by Lord Rama’s army led by engineers Nal & Neel, he astonished and said- “What! Has he really bridged the waves, the billows, the sea, the ocean, the floods, the deep, the main, the brine deep, the home of springs, the Lord of rivers?” The Origin of Oceans: Lord Ram’s ancestor Sagara whose sixty thousand sons dug out the bed of the ocean that is why ocean is called Sagar , the son of Sagara. Therefore, When Lord Rama asked Vibhishana, how we should cross the vast ocean? Vibhishana suggested “for being an older in your family, ocean, My Lord, will think out and suggest a plan. The whole host of bears and monkeys will thus be able to cross the sea without an effort“. The same thing is mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana as Vibhishana suggested this immeasurable ocean was dugout by King Sagara and Lord Rama is the descendant of Sagara. Therefore, the ocean must help him. The origin of Seven Oceans and Continents: It is mentioned in Shrimad Bhagwata’s Canto-5, first chapter, the seven oceans and continents were created by the movement of chariot of the king Priyabrata, the son of Swayambhuva Manu. After Swayambhuva Manu’s son was trained in the renounced order (Priyavrata) thus became the master of the universe where he endowed with powerful arms of command together with them pulled the bowstring loudly to defeat all who opposed the dharma. Without interruption for 110 million years there was the rule of the great soul who with the daily increasing amiability, femininity, shyness, laughs, glances and exchanges of love [in his repeated births] with his wife Barhishmati enjoyed a life of pleasure, but confounded and defeated by it he lost his power of discernment. Not appreciating that the sun god, as long as he circumambulated mount Meru, lit up one side of the earth and left the other half in the dark, he who in his worship of the Fortunate One was of a supernatural power then said: ‘I’ll make the night as brilliant as the day’, and to enforce that he followed the orbit of the sun in a chariot, exactly seven times and with the same speed, like he was a second sun. Thus proceeding with the wheels of his chariot that created trenches with their rims, the seven oceans came about which divided the earth (Bhu-mandala) into the seven dvipas (the continents or islands). Known as Jambu (related to Syzygium cumini), Plaksha (related to Ficus virens), Salmali (related to Bombax ceiba), Kusa (related to Desmostchya bipinnata), Kraunca, Saka and Pushkara each of them is twice the size of the preceding ocean in the beyond of which it all around is situated. Those seven oceans consisting of salt water, sugarcane juice, liquor, clarified butter, milk, fluid yogurt and sweet water are of the same size as the islands they as the trenches (of his wheels) one after the other consecutively fully enclose. For each of the dvipas separately the husband of Barhishmati beginning with Jambudvipa, placed one of his faithful sons named Agnidhra, Idhmajihva, Yajnabahu, Hiranyareta, Ghritaprishthha, Medhatithi and Vîtihotra as their king. It is mentioned in Ramcharitmanas that the great king Pratapbhanu and Lord Rama ruled over on all seven continents. By the might of his arm he subdued all the seven continents and let their princes go on payment of tribute. Now Pratapbhanu became the undisputed monarch of the whole the world. Undisputed sovereign of the entire globe girdled by the seven seas was Raghunatha, the Lord of Koshala. This lordship (of entire globe) was nothing great for him, each of whose several hairs contained many a sphere of creation. Salinity of Oceans: There are two mythological legends associated with the salinity of oceans in Holy Scriptures. 1. It is mentioned in Ramacharitmanas Lanka Kanda, that the son of wind – Lord Hanuman said, “My Lord’s might take the fierce fire beneath the sea, had before now dried up the waters of the ocean. But then it was filled up again by the floods of tears shed by your enemies weeping wives, and that is what makes saline”. 2. It is also mentioned in Epics and Puranas that once a bird gave the birth of 3 babies on the sea shore. A large ocean wave came and washed away the baby birds. To teach the lesson to the ocean, the bird started to removing off water of ocean with her beak so as to dry it gradually. The great sage Agastya asked the purpose. The bird told the story how the cruel ocean had washed away her babies. The compassionate sage Agastya said “I will punish the merciless ocean for his mistake” and went away. One day when sage Agastya was performing his worship and muttering of prayers on sea shore, a large ocean wave washed away all his worship material. The Agastya was very angry and remembered what the bird had complained. He absorbed whole Ocean in three Anjali (the hollow formed by joining both hands). The ocean dried up. Then the […]
Mathomathis would like to present an article on: Ayurvedic References in Yajurveda by Sri K . Viswanatha Sharma , Lecturer, Sanskrit University , Kanchi. VEDAS are reposters of ultimate knowledge. These repositories of ultimate knowledge comprise innumerable branches. Knowledge of Medical cures is one of such innumerable branches. Curatory medical knowledge could be found sparsely spread over in Vedas too that in indurate and inboard your instances only Atharva Veda is exception and totally devoted medicine. Those intersperced indicative bits were subsequently elaborated by our great sages and developed as a specific branches of knowledge. This elaborated and with develobed branch of knowledge is “Ayurveda” as per the origin of Historians. Presently, we shall undertake to make an illustrative study of the curative methods, indicated in the Yajurveda. For the purpose of this study, the Samhita parts of Taittiriya Sakha parts of Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Ekagni Kanda from out of Yajurveda are taken into consideration. Authentive texts which are not related to Medical sciences are relied upon this study. The referral texts are listed herewith: Vidyaranya Veda Bhashya of Sayanacharya, Veda Bhashya of Bhatta Bhaskara, Amara Simha’s namalinganusasanam commentaries there on vyakhya sudha; amara kosa sodhanika; and Sabda kalpa Drumam; Taranadha bhattacharya’s Vachaspatyam, Vyakarana Sutra’s of Panini, Dhatu Patham of Panini, Dhatu Ratna Karam etc., All these texts are not related to Medical Sciences. If the creative methods embedded in the Vedas could be detected by relying upon the literature unrelated to medicine. It would be more possible to unearth many more issues embedded in Vedas by applying medical scientific principles as such. In order to prove this, the texts not related to medical sciences are referred to relayed upon in the course of this study. Firstly we shall examine meaning of the word Vaidya (Doctor) as desirable in Vedas. Bhishak is the other work used for Vaidya. This synonym is categorized in “Amkarakosa”, “Bishak Vaidye Chikitsake” (1) The definition of the word Bhishak is available in IVth Kanda of Krishna Yajurveda. yadosha dayah sangachchante – rajanassamita viva viprassa uchyate bhishak rakshoha miva chaatanah !! The substance of this mantra is: In the battle field, King seek the cooperation of the other kings to fight with the enemy. Such of Kings indulged in Warfare exhibit mutual friendship and brotherhood. Likewise the wise-man who commands the obedience of Medicines , just as a king commands collective obedience of his warrior in the battle field is called Bhishak. Rakshoha, Ameeva chaatanah drawing special attents to the four words used in the mantra viz., Vipra Bishak Rakshoha Ameeva chaatanah [1] Vibra – “vipati iti vipra” this explanation is found in the Ksheera Swameeyam and Vyakhya Sudha , and the commentarism on Amarakosa . By this explanation, the word attains the meaning “ruler”. But, in his Vidyaranya Bhashyam, Sayana has given another meaning for the word; “Vipraathi ithi Viprah” “ Praathi “ means to fill , to replenish . If anybody communicates somethings or anything inconclusively and incoherently, a wise man can understand and replenish the rest of the subject, in full form, by himself. Hence, the word Vipra is nearer to the meaning of the word wise-man Medhavi. Nearer to this sense, the usage of the word Vipra is found in some Chatu Slokas, to it. “Vidya yaa yaathi viprathvam” Here, “Vipra” is used in the sense learned man. Thus deducting the meaning of the word Vipra as wise – man, seems correct. [2] Bhishak – The meaning of this word is “Conqurer of diseases”, by the explanation “Bhikshapathi iti Bhishak” Bhishak vie chikitsa ke” is seen in vyakhya sudha”. As per Paninicharya Dhatupatham Bheshaja Ruk Jaye; The meaning of this root word is Bheshaji is conquering diseases. [3] Rakshohaa – By virtue of its interpretation Rakhsansi Ham thi iti Rakshoha”, of the word means, “the destroyer of Rakshasas”. Nit wjp are the Ralsjasas? To obtain answer to this question, the interpretation of the word Rakshah can be looked up. The interpretation of this word is available in Ksheera swameeyam and Vyakhya Sudha “ Rakshanthi asmat iti Rakshah”. Hence, the meaning
Mathomathis would like to present article on Indian Astronomy | Astronomical Dating of Events | 103 by the author Kosla Vepa Published by Indic Studies Foundation, 948 Happy Valley Rd., Pleasanton, Ca 94566, USA. Previous article can be found here (Indian Astronomy | Astronomical Dating of Events | 105 (Beginning of Kaliyuga)) Their website can be located Indicstudies.us. The studies is also conducted by N.S. Rajaram PhD. Author’s in the volume 1 of their research start their discussion on a topic called Why are History and the Chronology Important by Kosla Vepa PhD. According to the Epic Mahabharata , the character of Lord Kirshna first appears at the time of Draupadi’s wedding and his departure is exactly 36 years after the war. No information about his birth is available in the Epic itself, although there is information about his departure. Lord Kirshna observes omens3645 similar to the ones seen at the time of the Mahabharata war, now indicating the total destruction of the Yadavas. Simulations show that in the year 3031 BCE, thirty-six years later than 3067 BCE, there was an eclipse season with three eclipses. A lunar eclipse on October 20 was followed by an annular solar eclipse on November 5, followed by a penumbral lunar eclipse on November 19, within an interval of 14 days and at an ‘aparvani’ time. Thus the date of departure of Lord Kirshna is consistent with the popular tradition that he passed away after 36 years after the war. The information about his birth can be gathered from Harivamsa and Bhagavata Purana., according to which he was born in krsna paksa astami with rohini naksatra, but there is an uncertainty about how long he actually lived. Some believe that he lived for 125 years, while others take his life span to be only 105 years. Raghavan assigns only 81 years. The date of birth of Lord Kirshna is calculated, apparently by extrapolation from the date of departure and so also are the several ‘horoscope’s of Lord Kirshna. Simulations based on the dates yield results which only go to show whether the calculations had been done accurately and correctly by those who give such ‘horoscope’s. As there is no clearly independent piece of information, in the Epic, which can be used for distinguishing the dates, one may accept that date which suits the tradition of choice. It should be understood, however, that the date of his departure from this world can be established on the basis of information in the Epic and demonstrated by the simulations. Consistency with the dates of other Vedic texts: It will be interesting to verify astronomical information contained in other Vedic texts and determine the dates based on simulations using planetarium software and to see if these dates are consistent with the date of Mahabharata . For example, based on the astronomical information from Rigveda, Sengupta inferred a solar eclipse on July 26, 3928 BCE. Figure 10 shows the star map for this date. As verified by the software RedShift, it is a central solar eclipse, which occurred two days after the summer solstice that year, as per Sengupta’s conjecture. However, some caution must be exercised. As has been discussed in detail by the author in the planetarium software, the positions of the planets and the stars are computed using the latest theories and information available and they are highly reliable. However, there is uncertainty when it comes to determining eclipses on dates extrapolated to 4000 BCE. These uncertainty which may amount to about 15 minutes when extrapolated to dates around 1000 CE, jumps to more than 12 hours for the time of the occurrence of the eclipse when extrapolated to 3000 BCE, and even more when taken to 4000 BCE. The exact location of the eclipse and the exact time of visibility are uncertain, but the occurrence of the eclipse itself is certain. As a consequence, determining the date on the basis of eclipse data alone is risky. However, the eclipse data can be used as secondary information to confirm that it occurred on a particular date. However, there are other astronomical data available in the brahmana texts. For example, satapatha brahmana refers to krttika’s rising exactly in the east. On the basis of simulations using the planetarium software, the date of the event referred to has been shown to be 2925 +/- 100 BCE, quite in agreement with Dikshit. Considering that this text is attributed to Yajnavalka, a disciple of Vaisampayana, who is an important narrator of the epic, the date of 3067 BCE for the war is consistent with the date of satapatha brahmana. The author has shown (also on the basis of simulations using the planetarium software) that Lagadha’s vedanga jyotisa should be dated to be about n1800 BCE. The astronomy followed at the time of the Mahabharata war is vedanga jyotisa, but is very much pre-Lagadha. The date of Lagadha’ s vedanga jyotisa is also consistent with the date of the war. It may be noted in passing that satapatha brahmana mentions both Pariksit and Janamejaya. This is an independent check on the date of the war. A passage in the pancavimsa brahmana (XXV. 15.3) connects Janamejaya with the sarpayaga and has been referred to by Raychaudhur. The date of a solar eclipse mentioned in this brahmana text has been determined by Sengupta4523 to be September 14, 2451 BCE. Figure shown below shows the star map for this day confirming the calculations of Sengupta. This date, which is about 600 years later, is consistent with the date of the war and the date of the other brahmana texts. Janamejaya’s Inscriptions: Several copper plate inscriptions declaring grants of land and other gifts made at the time of sarpa yaga of Janamejaya have been discovered. While there are questions about the authenticity of these plates, it will be interesting to see if the simulations based on planetarium software are consistent with the dates. Inscription I: In one of the inscriptions, it is declared that in the […]
Mathomathis would like to present an article on Purusha Sukta by author Zachary F. Lansdowne Ph.D (who served as President of the Theosophical Society in Boston, has been a frequent contributor to The Esoteric Quarterly. His book The Revelation of Saint John, which provides a verse-by-verse analysis of the entire Revelation, was reviewed in the Fall 2006 issue). The Purusha Sukta is an ancient Hindu/Vedic hymn that celebrates the sacrifice of a God-like entity called “Purusha,” and it is still regularly chanted during Hindu worship. Modern scholars, however, find this hymn to be obscure. Author gives a theosophical interpretation, showing that Purusha corresponds to the concept of the Planetary Logos. The Rig Veda, the oldest text in Hinduism, is a collection of 1,028 Sanskrit hymns and is often dated between 1700–1100 BCE. The earliest version of the Purusha Sukta is in the Rig Veda, but subsequent versions of this hymn appear elsewhere with some modifications and redactions. It is one of the few hymns in the Rig Veda still being used in contemporary Hinduism, as reported by the President of the Ramakrishna Mission at Chennai, India: “This Sukta finds a place even today in the worship of a deity, in a temple or at home, in the daily parayana [chanting], in establishing the sacred fire for a Vedic ritual, in various rituals, and even in the cremation of a dead body.” According to the Hindu tradition, the Purusha Sukta was written down by an ancient scribe known as Narayana. Swami Krishnananda, the General Secretary of The Divine Life Society, reports on this somewhat mythical origin: “The Seer (Rishi) of the Sukta is Narayana, the greatest of sages ever known, who is rightly proclaimed in the Bhagavata [Purana] as the only person whose mind cannot be disturbed by desire and, as the Mahabharata says, whose power not even all the gods can ever imagine. Such is the Rishi to whom the Sukta was revealed and who gave expression to it as the hymn on the Supreme Purusha.” The Purusha Sukta is a small hymn, with sixteen verses, and is written in the oldest form of Sanskrit that has been preserved. Some of its words have multiple meanings, and some may have had meanings that were lost during the intervening years. Its language is ritualistic and may seem archaic. Moreover, this hymn may have a hidden, or esoteric, significance that was concealed behind its ritualistic language. For these reasons, modern scholars generally find the Purusha Sukta to be obscure. For example, John Muir refers to it as, “Another important, but in many places obscure, hymn of the Rig Veda.” Zenaide Ragozin writes, “The hymn, as a whole, is exceedingly obscure and of entirely mystical import.” One verse, which characterizes something as both the parent and progeny of something else, is called “a cryptogram” by Rein Fernhout. Another verse seems to describe a paradoxical situation in which a sacrifice has the same subject and object, so Steven Rosen asks, “Was the confusion that naturally bursts forth from this paradox meant to be like a Zen koan, a mystical riddle, or is it a product of the Vedas’ incomprehensibility?” On the other hand, Helena Blavatsky, cofounder of the Theosophical Society, states that this hymn has a coherent esoteric meaning: “It is those scholars only who will master the secret meaning of the Purushasukta, who may hope to understand how harmonious are its teachings and how corroborative of the Esoteric Doctrines. One must study in all the abstruseness of their metaphysical meaning the relations therein between the (Heavenly) Man ‘Purusha,’ sacrificed for the production of the Universe and all in it, and the terrestrial mortal man.” Blavatsky continues: “Hence in the Purusha Sukta of the Rig Veda, the mother fount and source of all subsequent religions, it is stated allegorically that ‘the thousand-headed Purusha’ was slaughtered at the foundation of the World, that from his remains the Universe might arise. This is nothing more nor less than the foundation—the seed, truly—of the later many-formed symbol in various religions, including Christianity, of the sacrificial lamb. For it is a play upon the words. ‘Aja’ (Purusha), ‘the unborn’ or eternal Spirit, means also ‘lamb’ in Sanskrit. Spirit disappears—dies, metaphorically—the more it gets involved in matter, and hence the sacrifice of the ‘unborn,’ or the ‘lamb.’” Blavatsky never published a detailed commentary on the Purusha Sukta. In fact, to our knowledge, the two paragraphs given above constitute most of her published comments on this hymn. Alice Bailey, a later theosophical author, wrote a great deal on subjects related to the Purusha Sukta but did not write anything explicitly about this hymn. In what follows, the English translation of each verse of the Purusha Sukta (as found in the Rig Veda) by Michael Myers, a Professor of the Philosophy of Religion, is given in bold, followed by an interpretation of that verse in italics showing that Purusha corresponds to the concept of the Planetary Logos. The subsequent theosophical commentary, including a detailed analysis of the symbols in the verse, is based primarily on the writings of Blavatsky and Bailey. Purusha: The first five verses provide us with a detailed description of the relationship between Purusha, or the Planetary Logos, and human beings. 1. Thousand-headed is Purusa, thousand eyed, thousand-footed. Having covered the earth on all sides, he stood above it the width of ten fingers. The Planetary Logos, whose body incorporates all human beings, expresses Himself through the planet Earth but transcends it. Sri V. Sundar provides a slightly different translation for the last phrase in the verse: “He stands beyond the count of ten fingers.” The ten fingers in this phrase are the fingers of human hands. Sundar explains this symbol: “They are the basis of count, of all mathematics, of all the logic and science built on mathematics. However, they are all limited when it comes to analyzing Purusha. He is transcendent, and beyond such limited understanding.” Who or what is Purusha (or Purusa) in this hymn? […]