36 A Short History of Ayurvedic Veterinary Literature
For abscesses, the following ointment is suggested :—
' Take rabereh of the moist earth or mud in which white and red ants and other
insects burrow, usually found at the foot of the peloo tree. . . . sambher salt and
zereh ; knead them together with water and rub the swelling therewith (Saloter).
Enemas were usually composed of oil containing pepper, mustard or salt. Oil of
sesame was commonly used for massaging sick animals and for the treatment of burns.
For wounds, the Fhankht Vaalaj Aspan recommends ' post (opium) and the root of
agah (calotropis gigantea) dipped in water for some time and then the required quantity
cooked in urine plastered on the wound and tied with a bandage ' ; though the Saloter
recommends for the dressing of the wound after an operation on a haw that the horse's
eye shall be cleaned ' with the water in which the instrument used for cutting away the
haw shall have been washed.'
Decoctions appear to have been given by the mouth, nose and anus ; the
first two by means of an ox horn provided with an opening ; while the enemas
they used as a conduit a horn also, to which was fastended a great animal
bladder like an India rubber ball.
(ix) Surgery—
Veterinary surgery seems to have received much less attention than
veterinary medicine in Ayurvedic practice, only the simplest operations,
such as bleeding, blistering, cauterization, lancing of abcesses, extraction of
foreign bodies and the setting of broken bones, being commonly performed ;
even the last of these, however, were more often treated with poultices. This
is mainly due doubtless, to the Hindu belief, noted as early as Mauryan times,
that ' Surgery is mutilation, not doctoring ', which ' should only be employed
when the affected vital energy is not strong enough alone to affect the cure '
(Tantram). It has also been observed that anatomical, and consequently,
surgical knowledge had begun to decline in Buddhist times, and that all
vestiges of these sciences had disappeared by the beginning of the Christian
era, when the Brahmans laid down that dissection and surgical operations
occasioned ' ceremonial uncleanliness '.
The generality of veterinary writers, including even S'álihotra, mention
only the simplest surgical operations. Palakapya, however, devotes one
section of his work to Surgery. Here he describes the various surgical proce
dures and the instruments to be employed. He follows the usual Ayurvedic
practice of detailing surgical operations under six heads, which are, according
to Charaka :—
(1) Incision—of the part, as abcesses, fistula and sinuses.
(2) Piercing—as in the case of operations on suppurating and ovarian
tumours, boils, ascites, etc.—and for puncturing the veins to
bleed the patient.
(3) Excision—for the removal of parts of the body, as raised tumours,
corns and piles, and also for removal of obstructing parts in
cases of difficult labour.
(4) Scraping—in the case of various skin diseases.
(5) Scarifying—for surgical diseases of the throat, etc.
(6) Sewing—after operations for deep seated abdominal diseases and
for stitching the lips of wounds.
Instruments were divided into two classes, cutting and blunt. In the
cases of the former, Suśrutha says, ' A wise surgeon should get instru
ments made of pure iron and with sharp edges by an expert blacksmith . . . .