LESLIE HAMILTON SHIRLAW 7
because these occurred most frequently during the monsoon ; and in one place
it is described as a ' cow-killing weapon '.
By Atharvavedic times, it is evident that phyisicans were using their
knowledge of the curative powers of certain herbs in veterinary practice, as
well as in human ; and it is common to find the use of a particular herb re
commended along with a charm as a cure for some specific disease. It is diffi
cult in many cases to identify the medicinal plants used but it is certain
that in India, as throughout the whole range of folk medicine, the doctrine
that ' similia similibus curantur ' prevailed. Thus, for example, turmeric was
prescribed for jaundice, while even to the name importance appears to have
been attached. Achyrantes aspera (Sansk. āpāmarga) undoubtedly owed its
reputation for efficacy in digestive troubles, to its etymological connexion
with the Sanskrit verb ' āpāmarj ' (to wipe away). As in human medicine,
' soma ' (possibly Ephedra pachyclade) was considered a universal cure, the
plant ' kushta ' (Costus speciosus arabicus) was used in fever, ' Munja ' grass
was prescribed in dysenteric ailments, while the plant ' arundhati ' was
considered to have healing properties in the case of wounds, to be useful
as a febrifuge and to ' avert consumption from (our) men and make (the)
cow-pen rich in milk ' (Atharvaveda). This plant does not appear to have been
satisfactorily identified, though Macdonell and Keith describe it as ' a climbing
plant which attaches itself to trees, having a golden colour and a hairy stem.
It is also called Silaci '. Griffeths translates it ' Bdelium '. ' Tryambaka '
is mentioned in the Yajurvedas as a medicine for cattle, horses and sheep ;
' Vakma ' in the Atharvaveda as a specific for fever ; the Rigveda advises ' Vilista¬
bhesaja ' as a plaster for dislocations and sprains, while ' Jangida ' (an uniden
tified forest tree) was considered a remedy for the 'seven decays', which included
rheumatic pains, consumption and ' fever which each autumn brings '. Water
is, however, constantly addressed as the most excellent of remedies, ' better
healers than physicians', ' that cure the injured place for thee (O horses) even
as thy comfort craveth '. This may, of course, as has been claimed, indicate
an early belief in hydropathy, but it would seem more probably to point simply
to the recognition of the importance of cleanliness.
A few diseases are mentioned in the Vedas, such as ' Bhasmagni', in which
fire within was believed to burn food to ashes instead of digesting it. ' Mugun¬
di ', no symptons of which are given, was another disease affecting cattle as
well as humans. A malady called ' Viklinder ' is described as follows :—
' Fierce fever where her (the sick cow's) droppings fall attacks the master of
the kine and suddenly from fell disease perish the men on whom she sniffs. '
Consumption appears to have been recognized as a disease of both men and cows
but was believed to be transmitted ' when she (the affected cow) droppeth
water '. Another disease mentioned in several of the Samhitas, called Plihan,
is described by Mahidhara in his commentary as a disease of the ear affecting
cattle. The majority of diseases, nevertheless, appeared to have been classed
together under the generic terms of 'fevers' and 'gynæcological diseases'. There
is frequent mention of a disease in cows causing ' calf-slipping ' which suggests
that B. abortus was, even in those days, taking its toll. Barren cows, cows
suddenly going dry, cows giving bloody milk, ' cows with hanging bellies '
and even twin-bearing cows were all believed to be under the influence of