by Roshen Dalal
Opening the channels
We know the father of the reed, Parjanya strong with hundred powers:
By this may I bring health to your body: let the channels pour their burden freely as of old.
We know the father of the reed, Mitra, the Lord of hundred powers:
By this, may I bring health to your body: let the channels pour their burden freely as of old.
We know the father of the reed, Varuna, strong with hundred powers:
By this, may I bring health to your body: let the channels pour their burden freely as of old.
We know the father of the reed, the Moon endowed with hundred powers:
By this, may I bring health to your body: let the channels pour their burden freely as of old.
We know the father of the reed, the Sun endowed with hundred powers:
By this may I bring health to your body: let the channels pour their burden freely as of old.
Whatever has gathered, as it flowed, in bowels, bladder, or in groins,
Thus let the conduit, free from check, pour all its burden as of old.
I lay the passage open as one cleaves the dam that bars the lake:
Thus let the conduit, free from check, pour all its burden as of old.
Now has the portal been unclosed as, of the sea that holds the flood:
Thus let the conduit, free from check, pour all its burden as of old.
Even as the arrow flies away when loosened from the archer’s bow,
Thus let the burden be discharged from channels that are checked no more.
(Atharva 1.3; based on the translation by R.T.H. Griffith)
Paralysis
Graha and grahi are two terms probably related to paralysis or seizures. Grahi occurs in both the Rig Veda and the Atharva Veda and is personified as a female demon of disease; her son is svapna, ‘sleep’ or ‘dream’.
Akshata
Akshata, akshita, and sukshuta are related terms. They may be related to the term kshata, which in later texts is a wound or ulcer in the lungs.
Haemorrhoids
Arshas, a term that occurs in the Vajasaneyi Samhita, probably refers to haemorrhoids.
Jambha
Jambha in the Atharva Veda is a disease or demon of disease; in one passage, it is said to be cured by the jangida plant, in another it is said to ‘bring the jaws together’. It has been interpreted as convulsions, tetanus, or (based on a passage in the Kaushiki Sutra), as a child’s ailment, probably teething.
Vishkandha
Vishkandha is mentioned several times in the Atharva Veda, as a disease. It has been interpreted as something that draws the shoulders apart (vi–skandha). Samskandha is mentioned with vishkandha and means ‘having the shoulders together’. Zysk interprets the two terms together, and feels that they refer to tetanus; Weber suggested vishkandha is rheumatism; Sayana saw it as a vighna, an impediment by which the body dried up. Karambelkar saw it as progressive muscular dystrophy. It is said to be very painful and to be associated with wounds. Amulets of lead or of the jangida plant, as well as an ointment, and the plants karshapha and vishapha were used to cure it.
Leprosy
Shvitra, literally, ‘white’, is a term used in the Panchavimsha Brahmana for a person afflicted with white leprosy; in some other texts, it refers to a type of snake. Sidhmala or ‘leprous’ also refers to a person with leprosy. In the Vajasaneyi Samhita and Taittiriya Brahmana, a sidhmala is one of the victims of the purushamedha.
Krimi
Krimi in the Atharva Veda is a term for worms or parasites, which affected people and cattle. Many types of worms have been identified, some probably mythical. Different types of worms were known by a number of names such as kururu, algandu, or yevasha. Worms lived in mountains, forests, and water, and were found in plants, animals, and people. Worms were removed by prayers and spells and those outside were crushed. Worms were known as causes for diseases in later medical texts too. The prayer below indicates the many different kinds of worms.
A prayer against worms
I have called Heaven and Earth to aid, have called divine Sarasvati,
Indra and Agni have I called: Let these destroy the worm, I prayed.
O Indra, Lord of treasures, kill the worms that prey upon this boy.
All the malignant spirits have been smitten by my potent spell.
We utterly destroy the worm, the worm that creeps around the eyes.
The worm that crawls about the nose, the worm that gets between the teeth.
Two of like colour, two unlike, two coloured black, two coloured red.
The tawny and the tawny-eared, the vulture-like and the wolf-like, all these are killed.
Worms that are white about the sides, those that are black with black-hued arms,
All that show various tints and hues, these worms we utterly destroy.
Eastward the sun is mounting, seen of all, destroying things unseen,
Crushing and killing all the worms invisible and visible.
Let the yevashas, kashkashas, ejatkas, sipavitnukas,
Let both the worm that we can see, and that we see not, be destroyed.
Slain the yevasha of the worms, slain too is the nadaniman.
I have reduced them all to dust like vetches with the pounding stone.
The worm saranga, white of hue, three-headed, with a triple hump,
I split and tear his ribs away, I wrench off every head he has.
I kill you, worms, as Atri, as Kanva and Jamadagni killed.
I crush the worms to pieces with a spell that formerly Agastya used.
The king of worms has been destroyed, he who was lord of these is slain.
Slain is the worm whose mother, whose brother and sister have been slain.
Destroyed are his dependants, those who dwell around him are destroyed,
And all the worms that seem to be the little ones are done to Death.
Of every worm and insect, of the female and the male alike,
I crush the head to pieces with a stone and burn the face with fire.
(Atharva 5.23; based on the translation by R.T.H. Griffith)
Mental Diseases
Not merely physical but mental diseases too were known. Insanity of two types is referred to: unmadita, probably that which was self-created or circumstantial, and unmatta, ‘demonic possession’.
A charm against mania
Release for me, O Agni, this person here who, bound and well-secured, loudly jabbers! Then shall he have due regard for your share (of the offering) when he shall be free from madness!
Agni shall quiet down your mind, if it has been disturbed! Cunningly do I prepare a remedy, that you shall be freed from madness!
(Whose mind) has been maddened by the sin of the gods, or been robbed of sense by the rakshas (for him) do I cunningly prepare a remedy, that he shall be free from madness.
May the apsaras restore you, may Indra, may Bhaga restore you; may all the gods restore you, that you may be freed from madness!
(Atharva Veda 6.111; based on the translation by M. Bloomfield)
OTHER DISEASES IN THE VEDAS
Skandhya is a term in the Atharva Veda for some disease of the shoulders. Pakaru, mentioned as a disease in the Vajasaneyi Samhita, along with vishuchika and arshas, probably refers to ulcers or sores. Pramota mentioned in the Atharva Veda as some sort of disease, possibly means ‘deaf and dumb’. Viklindu possibly means catarrh; vidradha could refer to abscesses; vishara, visharika, vishalya, and vishalyaka seem to be terms for pain, probably associated with various diseases. Vishras refers to decay, old age, decrepitude, or senility. Sipada and shimida are unidentified diseases mentioned in the Rig Veda. Shirshakti and shirshashoka refer to headaches, while shirshamaya is a disease of the head. Slonya in the Taittiriya Samhita probably refers to lameness, though according to the commentator it is a skin disease. Vilishta is a term for a sprain, and asthnah chinnasya for broken bones. Wounds of different kinds are mentioned. Surama is referred to in th
e Rig Veda as sickness caused by drinking too much sura, though the term surama also had other meanings, as sura could refer to a deity. This hymn below is a broad-based prayer to cure several diseases.
A charm for the cure of various diseases
Each pain and ache that racks the head, earache, and vilohita,
All malady that wrings your brow we charm away with this our spell.
From both your ears, from parts thereof, your earache, and the throbbing pain, All malady that wrings your brow we charm away with this our spell.
So that yakshma may depart forth from your ears and from your mouth,
All malady that wrings your brow we charm away with this our spell.
The malady that makes one deaf (pramota), the malady that makes one blind, All malady that wrings your brow we charm away with this our spell.
The throbbing pain in all your limbs that rends your frame with fever throes,
All malady that wrings your brow we charm away with this our spell.
The malady whose awful look makes a man quiver with alarm,
Fever (takman) whom every Autumn brings we charm away with this our spell.
Yakshma that creeps about the thighs and, after, reaches both the groins,
yakshma from your inner parts we charm away with this our spell.
If the disease originates from love, from hatred, from the heart,
Forth from the heart and from the limbs we charm balasa.
The yellow jaundice from your limbs, and apva from the parts within,
And phthisis from your inward soul we charm away with this our spell.
Let wasting malady (balasa) turn to ash, become jalasha (the water of disease).
I have evoked the poison-taint of all yakshmas out of thee.
Forth from the hollow let it run, with rumbling sounds from within you.
I have removed the poison-taint of all yakshmas out of you.
Forth from your belly and your lungs, forth from your navel and your heart.
I have drawn out the poison taint of all yakshmas from you.
The penetrating stabs of pain which rend asunder crown and head,
Let them depart and pass away, free from disease and harming not.
The pangs that stab the heart and reach the breast bone and connected parts,
Let them depart and pass away, free from disease and harming not.
The stabs that penetrate the sides and pierce their way along the ribs,
Let them depart and pass away, free from disease and harming not.
The penetrating pangs that pierce your stomach as they shoot across,
Let them depart and pass away, free from disease and harming not.
The pains that through the bowels creep, disordering the inward parts,
Let them depart and pass away, free from disease and harming not.
The pains that suck the marrow out, and rend and tear the bones apart,
May they speed forth and pass away, free from disease and harming not.
Yakshmas with their fierce pains which make your limbs insensible
I have evoked the poison-taint of all yakshmas out of you.
Of piercing pain, of abscesses, rheumatic ache, alaji (ophthalmia or boils)
I have drawn out the poison-taint of all yakshmas from you.
I have dispelled the piercing pains from feet, knees, hips, and hinder parts,
And spine, and from the neck and nape the malady that racked the head.
Sound are the skull bones of your head and your heart’s beat is regular.
you, Aditya (sun) arising with your beams has chased away the head’s disease, has stilled the pain that racked the limbs.
(Atharva 9.8; based on the translation by R.T.H. Griffith)
REMEDIES
Jalasha
Apart from water, fire or fumigation, prayers, and charms, various other remedies have been suggested. Among them is jalasha. There are contradictory views on what this is. It has been interpreted as a herb or plant, water, water mixed with something, a leech that lives in water, or urine therapy. It is mentioned as Rudra’s healing remedy.
Trees, Herbs, Plants
Various trees, herbs, and plants were also used as medicine. The trees and plants of the Atharva Veda have been identified, analysed, and described in Chapter 6. A few of them, particularly important in the treatment of diseases, are given below:
Ajashringi (probably Gymnema sylvestre) was used in the treatment of vatikara, a disease of the eyes.
Apamarga (Achyranthes aspera) was a plant used frequently in witchcraft and as medicine, and specially against kshetriya.
Jangida (Terminalia arjuneya or Withania somnifera or Himalayan mandrake) was used as an amulet for protection against diseases or symptoms of disease, including takman, balasa, visharika, prishtyamaya, fevers and rheumatic pains, vishkandha, samskandha, jambha, etc. It is also used against all diseases and considered the best of healing powers.
Kushtha (Saussurea lappa) cured headache (shirshamaya), diseases of the eyes, bodily afflictions, and especially fever, hence it was also called fever-destroyer (takma-nashana) and also cured yakshma. It had general healing qualities, hence was known as vaishva-bhrishaja, ‘all-healing’; it is a plant still used in Ayurveda.
Arundhati (identified with Rubia cordifolia) was used to heal wounds, combat fever, and to induce cows to give milk.
The Atharva Veda thus provided the basis for the later medical science of Ayurveda.
AYURVEDIC TEXTS
The earliest Ayurvedic texts date to the first few centuries CE and include the works of Bhela, Charaka, and Sushruta. These texts include not only the theory and practice of medicine but also look at disease from a philosophical viewpoint, and address the relationship between karma and disease.
IN BUDDHISM
Medicine was also extensively studied in Buddhism, and taught in its monasteries. The Buddhist story of Jivaka is well known. In the Mahavagga, Jivaka excises worms from the head by making an incision. Bhaishajya guru is the Buddha of healing.
Chapter 12
Two Spiritual Interpretations
In the 19th and early 20th centuries CE, the Vedas were analysed by two spiritual leaders, Swami Dayananda and Sri Aurobindo.
Swami Dayananda (1824–83), founder of the Arya Samaj, provided a purely spiritual interpretation of the Vedas, which is still accepted and followed by members of the Arya Samaj.
Born at Tankara in Kathiawar, Gujarat, he was originally named Mulasankar. He took sannyasa and was named Dayananda Saraswati, as he joined the Sarasvati order of ascetics. In 1860, after wandering through different parts of India, meeting gurus and sannyasis, he met Guru Virajananda at Mathura and became his disciple. Though blind, Virajananda was very learned and encouraged Dayananda to reveal the true Vedic knowledge to the world. Dayananda inaugurated the Arya Samaj at Mumbai (Bombay) in 1875, to teach people to follow the Vedas and lead a life of nobility (arya means ‘noble’). In 1877, the Samaj headquarters shifted to Lahore, and Punjab became the centre of his teachings. His ideas spread across north India and several branches (samajs) were set up in present-day Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Rajasthan. Gradually the number of followers increased, numbering 39,952 by 1891 and almost two million by 1947.
Dayananda also tried to bring about reforms in Hindu society, believing that the Vedas represented true Hinduism. He felt that the focus on texts such as the Puranas had led to a corruption of Hinduism. He was against the caste system, child marriage, and oppression of widows. He opposed idol worship, reverence for deities, unnecessary rituals, and the exalted position of brahmanas. He wrote several books, including the Rigvedadi-bhashya-bhumika, a commentary on the Vedas in nine volumes; Samskara Vidhi, a treatise on the philosophy behind sixteen important Hindu ceremonies; and his most famous work, Satyartha Prakasha, which explains the philosophy of the Arya Samaj. His followers opened schools, colleges, and orphanages, as well as homes for widows. Several of his followers participated in the f
reedom movement. The Arya Samaj is still a popular organization, with thousands of followers in all countries.
In his book Satyartha Prakasha Swami Dayananda begins with a Vedic prayer and states that though the Vedas name various deities, they are all aspects of one god. He says:
I believe in a religion based on universal and all-embracing principles which have always been accepted as true by mankind and will continue to command the allegiance of mankind in the ages to come. Hence it is that the religion in question is called the primeval eternal religion, which means that it is above the hostility of all human creeds whatsoever.
Out of the vast body of Hindu literature, Dayananda accepted as authentic only the Vedas, Brahmanas, Yaska’s commentary, and some Vedangas. He said that the true Puranas are the Brahmanas (texts) while the eighteen traditional Puranas (including the Bhagavata) are not the real Puranas. Apart from the Vedas and Brahmanas, he used the Manu Smriti extensively in his writings but reinterpreted a number of passages. All these texts, he stated, had numerous interpolations, which had to be ignored and sifted through, while the works of the commentators Sayana, Mahidhara, and others, were too late to have any value.
However, the memorization of the Vedas by brahmanas and their use in yajnas had one positive aspect—it helped to preserve the texts in an unchanged form.
Swami Dayananda’s basic beliefs were that there is only one god, who is the creator of the world. God, the soul, and Prakriti are the three eternal aspects. The nature of god and the soul is as of a father to a son, or of the pervader and the pervaded. Salvation or moksha can be obtained through right knowledge and right action.