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CHAPTER 1 The first chapter relating to long life. 1. 1. Now we shall therefore expound on the chapter relating to long life.
1. 2. Thus spake lord Ātreya. 1. 3. Desiring long life, the eminent ascetic Bharadvàja approached Indra, recognizing him as the immortal lord who protects. 1. 4. In the beginning Prajàpati got the entire àyurveda as surely expounded by Brahma. On the other hand, the two Aświns got it again from Prajàpati. 1. 5. Lord Indra got the entire (àyurveda) from the two Aświns. Therefore, guided by the seers, Bharadvàja approached Indra. 1. 6-7. When diseases like obstacles, manifested in the bodies of those who have a life dedicated to vows of celibacy, study of the vedas, fasting and penance, then, out of pity for beings, the great seers of sacred deeds, gathered in a beautiful valley of the Himalayas. 1. 14. These sages were storehouses of the knowledge of the Vedas and of yama and niyama. Like fires that increase from oblations, they were lit up with the splendor of their penance. 1. 15. Seated comfortably, they spoke this sacred story. Health is the supreme source of social and religious conduct, the acquisition of wealth, the satisfaction of desire and of spiritual emancipation. 1. 16. Diseases take away health, well-being and of life. Disease has manifested as a great obstacle among men. 1. 17. What could be the way to overcome them? Saying this, they went into meditation. With the inner eye they saw Indra as the saviour. 1. 18. He, the immortal lord will fittingly tell (us). Who (then among us) would go to the house of Indra to ask him? 1. 19. "I should be deputed for this work here!" So spoke Bharadvàja. Therefore, because he spoke first, the seers deputed him. 1. 20. Having gone to the house of Indra, he saw Indra shining like fire in the midst of a multitude of gods and sages. 1. 21. Having approached and having praised Indra, the lord of the gods, with words that would bless his victory, he the wise one explained the supreme word of the seers. 1. 22. O immortal lord! Ailments indeed have arisen that are frightening to all living beings. Tell me rightly the way to conquer them. 1. 23. O great seer! Knowing the vast understanding (he possesses), lord Indra briefly explained to him the àyurveda. 1. 24. (Indra explained) the three sacred, eternal threads which Brahma knew, that are devoted to (healing) injury to well-being, i.e. etiology, symptomatology and therapeutics. 1. 25. He, the sage of great intellect and focused mind, duly understood in no time the àyurveda of three divisions and of infinite extent. 1. 26. Thereby, he obtained an unlimited, happy life span. A little of that he conveyed to the seers. 1. 27. The seers, desiring to have long lives, got from Bharadvàja that veda which increases the life-span and is for the well-being of creatures. 1. 28. With the eye of knowledge, those great seers duly gave the various categories of existence such as sàmànyam (generic), viśeşam (specific), gunà (quality), dravya (matter) and karma (action). 1. 29. Having known all that entirely, they practiced the precepts mentioned in the science (of àyurveda) and obtained supreme happiness and also a long life. 1. 30. Then, Punarvasu the friendly, out of compassion for all beings, gave the sacred àyurveda to six disciples. 1. 31. (The disciples) Agniveśa, Bhelada, Jatūkarna, Paràśara, Hàrīta and Kşàrapàni grasped the words of that sage. 1. 32. There, it was the speciality of intellect and not another instruction, from which Agniveśa became the first propounder of the science (of àyurveda). 1. 33. Then the wise ones like Bhela and others did their own science and works; these they told to Ātreya who was in the company of seers. 1. 34. Having heard the compilation of the aphorisms, the seers of sacred deeds were delighted that it was correctly arranged and gave their approval. 1. 35. All (those seers) desiring the welfare of all beings, praised them saying loudly and in one voice, “Good is this sympathy for beings!” 1. 36. The godly seers along with the immortals situated in heaven heard that high, sacred sound of the supreme seers (on earth) and having heard it they were delighted.
1. 37. “Oh good!” This deep, agreeable sound uttered by the gods out of joy resounded in the three worlds.
1. 38. An auspicious wind blew, all the directions were opened with lights and divine showers of water and flowers fell. 1. 39. Then the godheads of Knowledge, Intellect, Perfection, Memory, Intelligence, Steadiness, Fame, Forbearance and Pity entered the disciples and Agniveśa their leader.
1. 40. And these works of theirs, accepted by the supreme seers for the welfare of all beings, obtained renown on earth.
1. 41. That is called àyurveda where life and the beneficial and harmful, happy and painful, wholesome and unwholesome (states) of life and the life span is spoken of.
1. 42. Synonyms for life (àyuh) are 1. the union (samyogah) of the physical body, the five senses, the mind and the soul, 2. the one who supports (dhàri), 3. living essence (jīvitam), 4. the all pervading (nityagah) and 5. continuity (anubandhah).
1. 43. Considered by the knowers of the vedas as the most sacred veda of that life, he (Bharadvàja) will speak that which is beneficial for both worlds of men.
1. 44. Always, a common factor is the cause of increase and a unique, special factor is the cause of decrease of all states of being.
1. 45. The generic makes for oneness but the specific makes for separateness. The generic is characterized by similarity, but the specific by contrariety.
1. 46. Body, mind and soul are a threesome like a tripod on which the world stands. There, all is founded.
1. 47. That is remembered as the one puruùa consciousness and that the subject matter of this veda. For that reason alone, this veda is brought to light.
1. 48. Matter is an aggregate of the soul, mind, time, the four directions and the five elements of earth, water, fire, wind and ether. Matter is conscious when it has the five senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, audition) and is unconscious when it is devoid of the senses.
1. 49. The gunas are said to be -
1. the five sense objects,
2. states of matter like heavy, light, cold, hot, smooth, rough, dull, sharp, firm, fluid, soft, hard, clear, unclear, etc.
3. intellect
4. states of emotion such as like, dislike, joy, sorrow, exertion
5. states of mind like above, below, reason, reflection, conjunction, division, separation, measure, etc.
Action is the effort, etc. that is said to be an exertion.
1. 50. Samavàya is considered as the state of being of earth, water, fire, wind and ether not separate from the gunas. It is eternal because where there is matter there is not a guna that is uncertain (i.e. a guna is always there where there is matter).
1. 51. Matter is the inseperable, unmoving cause on which actions (karma) and qualities (gunas) depend.
1. 52. Dependent on matter, karma is the cause in combination and in division. Karma is the activity of what is to be done or achieved; it does not wait on anything else. 1. 53. Thus it is said about the cause. As for the effect, here it is called the equilibrium of the tissues (in the body). The aim of this science (of àyurveda) is called the action to equilise the (seven) tissues.
1. 54. The three-fold group of causes of diseases relating to both (body and mind) are - 1. false, 2. non and 3. excess usage of time, intellect and the sense-objects.
1. 55. The body and mind are considered the substratum of diseases as well as of happiness. But the (balanced) using (of time, intellect and the sense organs) is equally a cause of happiness.
1. 56. But the soul is beyond mind, the elements, the gunas and the senses. It is the eternal cause, the seer who alone sees the activities in consciousness. 1. 57. The aggregate of bodily disorders are called as vàta (wind), pitta (bile) and kapha (phlegm). While of the mind, the disorders are rajas and tamas.
1. 58. The previous (i.e. bodily disorders) resorting to religion or reason are overcome by herbal medicines. Those (disorders) of the mind (are overcome) by scriptural and spiritual knowledge, by patience, memory and meditative concentration.
1. 59. Vàta which is rough, cool, light, subtle, mobile, clear and solid is quietened by medicines that are opposite in quality.
1. 60. Pitta which is greasy, hot, sharp, fluid, sour, runny and pungent is quietened by medicines that are opposite in quality. 1. 61. The qualities of kapha are heavy, cold, soft, greasy, sweet, fixed and slippery. They are relieved by (medicines with) qualities opposite (to these). 1. 62. Curable diseases are handled by medicines having oppositie qualities and are administered according to place, time and dosage.
1. 63. But no medicine is prescribed for incurable illnesses. So, he (Agniveśa) will explain again the qualities and actions as they accord to the medicine. 1. 64. Taste is the object of the tongue; it tastes water and earth in the object. When the specific taste ceases, the substratum (of that object) is made of the other three elements of ether, wind and fire.
1. 65. The six types of taste are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent.
1. 66. (Medicines having) sweet, sour and salty taste alleviate vàta; those with astringent, sweet and bitter taste alleviate pitta; those with astringent, pungent and bitter alleviate kapha.
1. 67. Medicines are of three types; they - 1. alleviate the dosas, 2. vitiate the dhàtus (the seven tissues) and 3. keep good health.
1. 68-69. That again (has another classification according to others) where the three types of medicines are spoken of as 1. animal, 2. plant and 3. mineral/metal. Types of honey, milk-products, bile, fats, marrow, blood, flesh, faeces, urine, skin, semen, bone, muscle, horn, nail, hoof, head hair, body hair and cow bile are used in medicines from animals.
1. 70. Gold, the five types of metals (copper, silver, tin, iron and lead) with their impurities, sand, mortar, red arsenic, gems, salt, red chalk and collyrium - these are the metals and minerals used in medicine. 1. 71. (Thus) are described the medicines that are earth derived (see last verse). Now the plant derived (medicines) are of four kinds - 1. vanaspatis, 2. vīrud, 3. vànaspatya and 4. ausadhi.
1. 72. Vanaspatis are the plants with fruits (only). Vànaspatya are the plants with flowers and fruits too. Virud plants are those which extend (like creepers). Ausadhi plants are those which die when their fruits drop.
1. 73-74. The root, bark, sap, resin, fibre, juice, tender shoots, treacle, secretion, fruits, flowers, ashes, oils, thorns, leaves, horns, roots, and sprouts make up the group of medicinal plants. (Next), those (medicines) with roots are sixteen, those (medicines) with fruits are nineteen.
1. 75. The main fats are four, salts are five, urine has eight types and milk varieties are counted as eight.
1. 76. There are again six plants indicated for cleansing therapy. He who knows how to apply these in the (various) illnesses, is a knower of the àyurveda.
1. 80. The remaining eleven are used in purgation. Thus, the names and actions of plants having (medicinal) roots are described. Listen (now) to the plants having (medicinal) fruits!
1. 86. (Thus) the names and actions of nineteen plants (with medicinal) fruits have been described. Oils are of four types - 1. ghee, 2. oil, 3. fat and 4. marrow.
1. 87-88. These (fat varieties) are used for intake (by drinking), massage, enemata and inhalation. They are for the growth, increase, strength, luster, vigor and lubrication of the (body) and they alleviate vàta, pitta and kapha.
1. 89-92. (They are) unctuous, hot, sharp and most stimulating. They are used for smearing (the body) that brings about oil and sweat in the lower and upper parts (of the body), as enemas, in perfuming, in smearing the body, for eating, in elimination of the head, in surgery, as collyrium and perfuming, for suppositories, in indigestion, in constipation, in (removing) vàta in the spleen, colon pain and (pain) in the stomach. The above mentioned are (from) salts. Know (now) from me the eight types of urine.
1. 93-99. The main types of urine which are pointed out in the teaching of âtreya are from the following animals:
1. sheep 4. buffalo 7. horse
2. goat 5. elephant 8. donkey
3. cow 6. camel
Their urines are hot, sharp, unctuous, pungent and salty. They are used for the following purposes:
1. aroma therapy 11. in kilàsa (a type of leucoderma)
2. anointing 12. for leprosy
3. for enemata 13. in unguents applied to wounds
4. purgation 14. in sprinkling, moistening
5. perspiration 15. as a stimulant
6. constipation 16. as an antidote for snake bites
7. health maintenainance 17. as an anti-bacterial agent
8. abdominal disorders 18. to control jaundice, anaemia
9. piles 19. to alleviate kapha and vàta
10. spleen disorders 20. to bring down pitta
These are the general properties (of urine) as described by me. The specific ones are (next) mentioned.
1. 100-104.
- Sheep urine is bitter, unctuous and not opposed to pitta.
- Goat urine is astringent, sweet, and wholesome and alleviates the dosas.
- Cow urine is sweetened, alleviates the dosas, acts as an anti-bacterial agent and helps cure skin diseases like leprosy. It alleviates itching and when correctly drunk, is good for alleviating dosas in the abdomen.
- Buffalo urine is alkaline, cures piles, swelling and alleviates abdominal (disorders).
- Elephant urine is salty and is good for bacteria and skin diseases like leprosy. It is praised as a cure for retention of faeces and urine, as an antidote for snake-bites and to alleviate kapha and piles.
- Camel urine is bitter and cures shortness of breath, bronchitis and alleviates piles.
- Horse urine is bitter and pungent. It cures ulcers, leprosy like skin diseases and is an antidote for snake bites.
- Donkey urine cures epilepsy, insanity and possession by spirits.Thus, the urines have been described according to their capacity and application.
 1. 105-106. Now, (the various) milks will be decscribed with their action and properties. (Therapeutically useful milk is from) sheep, goats, cows, buffalos, camels, elephants, horses and women.
    1. 107-108. Milk is usually sweet, unctuous, cool, lactogenic, refreshing, a stimulant for desires, good for the intelligence, strength giving, useful for the mental faculties, invigorating, removes fatigue, helpful for breathing problems and alleviates bronchitis. It cures bleeding in different parts of the body and cures wounds.
1. 109-110. It is wholesome for all living beings and is an alleviator and purifyier. It quenches thirst, acts as an appetizer and is the best thing for thinness and for cuts and wounds. It is especially useful for anemia, hyper-acidity, excess weight loss by consumption, problems in the spleen, general abdominal diseases, diarrhoea, high temperatures, burning fever and swelling.
1. 111-112. It is good for diseases in the female genital tract, in the male semianl fluid, in the excess retention of urine and for hard stool and is wholesome for those suffering from vàta and pitta.
1. 113. Later (in chapter 27), I will describe the qualities of each milk separately and in succession in the chapter about food and drinks.
 1. 114-115. Then, there are three trees separate from those whose fruits and roots are useful. They are snuhī, arka and aśmantaka. Their action is separately (indicated) as: 1. the sap of snuhī is useful for purgation, 2. aśmantaka is useful for emesis, 3. the sap of arka is useful for both purgation and emesis.
1. 118. Thus, have been mentioned the plants with useful fruits and roots, the various oils and salts, urine and milk (varieties), the six types of trees and their latex uses. 1. 119-123. The goatherds, shepherds, cowherds and other forest dwellers know the medicinal herbs in the forest by their name and form. No one can know the best application (of these herbs) merely by knowing the name or again by knowledge of the form (i.e. what the herb looks like). One who knows the (correct) application, even though ignorant of the shape (of the herb), is said to be one who knows the essential thing; what to speak of a physician who would know the herbs in their totality (shape and all). But he is considered as the best of physicians who would know the (correct) use of these (herbs) as effected by place and time and in consideration of individual temperaments.
1. 124-125. A medicinal herb not known is just as good as poison, a weapon, fire or a lightning bolt; while, when it is known it is like nectar. A herb not correctly known according to its name, form and property, or even though known, is wrongly applied, has purposeless results.
1. 126-127. From (proper) application, an acute poison may become an excellent medicine. (Likewise), even a medicinal herb when wrongly administered becomes an acute poison. So, a wise person desirous of a long-life and health should not accept any medicinal herb prescribed by a physician who does not know the correct application.
1. 128-130. One might make an escape when the lightning bolt of Indra falls on one's head, but one won't escape medicine that is afflicted by ignorance (i.e. the physician didn’t know hot to use it). If there is a physician who considers himself wise and without knowing (correctly the application), gives medicine to a patient who believes (in the doctor) and who suffers and is bed-ridden, then even conversation with that (doctor) who is an unrighteous sinner, an idiot and who is as good as dead, would plunge a man into hell.
1. 131-133. Better is it to swallow snake poison or drink (liquid) copper or eat iron pills heated by fire than dressing in the garb of the learned (and pretending to be a doctor) just because someone takes refuge (in you) or because they are afflicted by a disease and (you as a doctor) accept food, drink or money from them.
1. 134-135. Only that which can bring about health is a proper medicine. And it is only he who is the best of physicians who can free (his patients) from diseases. The success in all endeavours (in curing illness) comes from correct application (of medicine) and from (the presence) of (such) a highly trained physician endowed with the all (necessary) qualities.
1. 136-140. There are these subject headings:
1. The science of àyurveda,
2. the cause and commencement of the science,
3. the approval of the compilation of the verses,
4. the conclusion of àyurveda,
5. the entire cause and effect,
6. the aim of àyurveda,
7. the causes,
8. the dosas,
9. the totality of medicinal herbs
10. the tastes with their related material substances,
11. the totality of the three types of matter,
12. the roots,
13. the fruits,
14. the oils,
15. the salts,
16. the types of urine,
17. the types of milk,
18. the six types of trees relating to their sap and bark, the action of all these,
19. the application and non-application,
20. the good and bad qualities,
21. the criticism of the physicians,
22. the good qualities of physicians as befits their capacity,
- all this has been spoken of by the great seer in the first chapter.
Thus (ends) the first chapter called 'Longevity' in the work 'sūtrasthàna' as corrected by Caraka and written by Agniveśa.
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