8
A Short History of Ayurvedic Veterinary Literature
the demons of disease. Consequently there are numerous prayers for the
protection of the wombs of female animals, and for the re-establishment of the
secretion of milk in cows.
These early inhabitants of India seem to have had some knowledge of
helminthology, though the term ' worms ' included snakes and reptiles as well,
and to them were ascribed not only intestinal diseases but pains in the head,
the eyes and the teeth, and we find them described as ' worms that creep
around the eyes, worms that crawl about the nose, worms that get between the
teeth ' and also as living ' within the ribs, within the bowels '. The charms
they used against them are very little different from those used against demons
and many hymns are addressed to ' worms that live. . . . in kine ', ' blind worms
in the large intestines ' and ' bots that infest cows ', while more detailed des
criptions of those living in cattle mention ' the four-eyed worm (i.e. with a
spot above each eye), worms of every shape, the variegated and the white ',
' worms that are white about the sides, those that are black with black¬
hued arms ' (Atharvaveda). Generally they were merely conjured to remove
themselves, though the suppliant is apparently occasionally prepared to
assist, as when he says, ' I break and crush the creature's ribs and bear
away its head besides ', ' I break in pieces both thy horns wherewith
thou pushest here and there. I cleave and rend the bag which holds the
venom which is stored in thee ', or again ' I crush thy head to pieces with
a stone '. Mukhopadhya identifies a few of the worms mentioned as
follows : — ' Algandus, Asvasaakva and Vyadhara are descriptive adjectives
of Taenia medinensis ; Sáluna is the Taenia śolium of medical authorities in
Zoology ; and Caturaksa, Viśvarūpa, Sárangamarjuna and Kusumba are
descriptive terms of Bladder worms, Taenia śaginata, in cows '. Another worm
mentioned in the Atharvaveda is the ' Svá-varta ', which, translated, means
' found in dogs '. It would almost seem from the following hymn :—
' Worms . . . . . . that live in plants, in cattle . . . .
Have found their way within our bodies '
that the alternation of generations was thus early recognized and their ' spread
by rapid reproduction by the evil power of Karma '. (Melinda)
There are various references to flies and insects causing trouble to domestic
animals, such as the Masaka, a fly described in the Atharvaveda as ' quickly
biting and having a poisonous sting ' to which elephants were particularly
susceptible. In the Jatakas, among the qualifications necessary for the
herdsman are included ' skill in the removal of flies ' (Warble ?) eggs from
(his charges ') hides and in making the sores heal over ', and he is instructed
to keep a good fire going with smoke to keep away biting insects '.
Coming on then to the study of veterinary surgery, we find few operations
performed and these mainly of a simple and superficial nature, such as the
setting of fractured bones. Although sacrificial animals and ' bulls kept for
impregnation ' were exempt, the castration of horses, yoke bulls and rams was
common and was not at that time regarded as being ' very illegal and disgrace
ful ', as it came later to be considered. The common method employed was
that of crushing the testicles between two pressing stones. There is a des
cription in the Atharvaveda of a horse suffering from lampas. The animal is
told that he has eaten too greedily of hard barley and rice, which has caused