Dose and measure (matra)

The verse says that a medicine given in a deficient or excessive measure is marked by faults beginning with failure.

A deficient dose is said to be ineffective, so the medicine should be used in the proper measure, neither too little nor too much.

When the measure of the digestive fire and the like cannot be made out even with effort, the commentary says to begin with a small dose for calming the doshas and raise it little by little over three days to settle the right dose.

An editorial footnote states the rule that where the text gives no quantity for the drugs, all are to be taken in equal parts, here and in similar places later.

For palliative medicines the verse gives the measure of fat as a shodashika, of liquid as a kudava, of powder as the size of a bidalapada and of paste as one aksha, to be lessened or increased according to age, strength, body and disease.

The commentary renders this as one tola each of ghee or oil, powder and paste and one kudava (16 tola) of liquids such as decoctions, adding that the amount may be reduced or increased according to the patient's age, strength, body and the severity of the disease.

Three fixed doses are named for the three actions of loosening (utkleda), cleansing (shodhana) and pacifying (samshamana); the physician is to fix the dose by the rise of the doshas, since it is the dose that cleanses them, and medicine purifies the doshas only when given in the proper measure.

A footnote on the head-purging dose says opinions differ: some give four, six and eight drops for the lowest, middle and best doses; others make the higher doses double, triple or fourfold of the lowest; the point is that beyond the lowest dose of four drops, which all accept, the doses are to be judged by the strength of the dosha and of the person; it quotes another text to the same effect.

A quoted rule gives standard measures: a kudava of a liquid, a shodashika of fat, a bidalapadaka of powder and paste the size of an aksha; the text notes that no such measure is given for meat.

Measures are given for other substances: a liquid is to be taken in the measure of one kudava, oil and other fats in the measure of a shodashika (glossed as a pala), powder in the measure of a bidalapadaka (a particular measure) and paste in the measure of an aksha (2 tola); meat is not in this list. The tola figures for the kudava and the shodashika are printed with garbled digits (x२, }).