14 A Short History of Ayurvedic Veterinary Literature
Other works also exist under the name of ' Sáloter '. Baroda actually
claims to have the entire manuscript of S'álihotra's work. As this work
has not yet been published, it is impossible to say how far this claim may be
justified. Aufrecht describes a manuscript entitled ' Sálihotra', in the Library
of East India House, another is stated to be in the Berlin Library (No. 944)
and yet another (MS. No. 581) in the Oriental Research Library, Poona. In
the Catalogue of the Library of the late Pandit Radhakrishna of Lahore, the
title of one of the books is given as 'S'àlihotrasara'. In the Tanjore Palace
Library, there is an illustrated manuscript called ' Sáluter ' from which several
chapters are missing, but, judged by its style, and language, it appears a fairly
recent compilation. Burnell mentions another called ' S'álihotronnaya ' in his
Catalogue of this Library, while Stein in his list of Kashmir manuscripts
writes :—' S'álihotra—ascribed to Muni S'álihotra in eight sthansa. These are
called unnaya, uttara, sariraka, chikitsita, kisorachikitsa or sisubhaisajya,
uttarottara, siddhisthana and rahasya '. Finally, the best known manuscript
purporting to be the work of Salihotra, is to be found in the India Office
Library. This work is divided into nine parts, as follows :—
Part I.—deals with the origin of the science and treatment of horses.
Part II.—with the origin, nature, beauty, colour, the four classes, the signs and cha-
racteristics of horses, the whorls of hair on their bodies, their paces, smell, inherent
qualities, pedigree and measurements, with advice on the purchasing of them. It con-
tinues with a description of their anatomy, and their care in health and disease, particular-
ly of mares in pregnancy. It mentions four types of a disease called ' Sarada ' in which
there is difficulty in drinking fluids, with the appropriate remedies and the doses of
veterinary medicine.
Part III.—has 39 sections on the origin of horses from eggs (sic !), on three methods
of diagnosing diseases, on symptoms indicating the approach of death, on colic, diseases
of the chest, lameness, ophthalmia, diseases of the feet, fever, hiccough and asthma, jaun-
dice, fainting, worms, running from the nose, cough, diarrhœa, and dysentery, prolapse
of the rectum, hæmorrhage from internal organs, on an incurable swelling in the leg called
' kurcca ', on the treatment of a tooth which grows upon another and on sprue ; it then
proceeds with a dissertation on toxicology and snake bite, both their symptoms and treat-
ment, and finally ends with a section on galactagogue medicines and a bolus consisting of
' Kdtuka ' (Picrorrhiza kurrooa).
Part IV.—again starts with a description of the formation of the embryo and the
development of the anatomy of the horse, it continues with a dissertation on its vessels
and nerves, on dumb, blind and deaf horses, on diseases of the shoulder joints (tetanus ?),
swellings, wounds, uncontrolled urination and retention, difficult labour in mares, extrac-
tion of foreign bodies, treatment of sinuses, paralysis and diseases of the male and female
organs. It describes the habitat of horses and the construction of stone reservoirs for
drinking water and grasses as food for horses; and it advocates fasting as a mode of making
horses light and nimble.
Part V—starts with nervous diseases and continues with eye troubles, diseases of the
mouth (attributed to the influence of Rivanta), sores within the nostrils and running from
the nose (glanders ?), sores on the tongue causing paralysis, throat troubles, headache,
tympanitis and diarrhœa.
Part VI.—is entirely concerned with the treatment of colts ; with their diseases
including fevers and skin diseases (scabies ?) ; with intestinal worms and with fractures.
Part VII.—after describing the construction of stables, is wholly devoted to cere-
monies to be performed for the safeguarding of horses from evil influences.
Part VIII.—first treats of diseases caused by incorrect diet, such as too much oily
food, milk, wine, rice and salts, and concludes with a warning against the use of tubular
instruments for enemas.
Part IX.—is largely concerned with Materia Medica, such as preparations of harutaki
(Chebulic Myrobalan), rasona (garlic), guggulu (Balsamo-drendron mukul), sarsapa