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Ins
The Nisitha Curņi gives a long list of diseases. Various medical pro. cesses of treatment, such as, medicited baths (snana) or cleanising a particular portion of the body (uccholana), massaging of the body, drinking of clarifeid butter (ghee) or oil for getting clear complexion, etc. have been prescribed for the treatment of various types of diseases. Rasayanavidya (the Science of elixir vitae) was disticnt branch of medicines aimed at maintaining the perpetual youth by arresting the body of old age and senile decay with the help of proper medicines. The powder or oil of lotus (padma or utpala), castor, (eranda), neem (nimba), citron (matuluṁga) was prescribed for the disease of Vata (rheum), pitta (biles) and sannipata (typhoid) respectively. There was a type of pill (gutika) which could change the voice and complextion of a person (Saravanna) Karanihim guliyalum va appanaṁ annaha karejjā,1
The mud from the ant-hill salt, gold and incantation were used as the means to cure the snake's bites. In the Oghanjjutti there is mention of the fire-fly dropping used in the case of vomiting and the horse-fly to remove the dirt from the eyes, pearl oysters (Suktikas) were used for storing medicine."
In the post-Ayurvedic period the Jaina approach to medicine was methodized and arranged properly by Ugradityācārya in his work 'Kalyāṇakaraka (815 A. D.)-a medical treatise dealing with medicine and surgery in the main more of less on the rational basis with scientific terminology on the line of the Caraka and the Suśruta. In this work the author discusses in twenty five chapters various topics like presservation of health, Rasayanavidhi, Vatavidhi-Cikitsā, pittavidhi Cikitsa, etc. But the note-worthy fact about this work is that liquor, meat and honey have not been prescribed in the application of medicine because they involve injury to animals. This indicates the practice of ahimsa (non-violence) to animals even in the case of using medicine. Only plants, minerals and metals, etc. have been used in the application of medicines.
1. See A Cultural study of the Niśitha Curni, Dr. Mrs. Madhu Sen, P.V. Research Institute Varanasi 5.
2. Niśitha Curni, 13, p. 392.
3. Ibid., 12. p. 316.
4. Ibid., 3. p. 194.
5. Ibid., p. 88.
6. Ogh-Nijjutti. p. 135.
7. Ibid., 134.
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