Poisoning (visha)

Poison is said to be of three kinds: forest-born or immobile (vanaja, sthāvara), animal (jaṅgama) and artificial (kṛtrima).

A footnote says that defeated enemies, people punished or insulted by the king, relatives moved by jealousy and wicked women seeking to win favour may poison a king, which is why he keeps a physician expert in poison lore.

A footnote lists the articles in which poison is given: tooth-sticks, bath water, unguents, decoctions, sprinkles, sandal, musk and other pastes, beds, armour, ornaments, wooden sandals, seats, the backs of horses and elephants, nasal medicine, smoke such as cigarettes, and collyrium.

The steam of poisoned food served on a plate is said to confuse the eyes and cause severe pain in the nose and heart; held in the hand it feels as if the nails were splitting and burns the hand; in the mouth the tongue turns hard as stone, loses taste and aches.

Poisoned food reaching the stomach (āmāśaya) is said to cause heavy salivation, fainting, burning, pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, dullness and bloating; reaching the intestines (pakvāśaya) it disorders the senses so that they cannot function.

Using a poisoned tooth-stick, tongue scraper or mouth freshener is said to cause swelling, severe suppuration and pain in the mouth; poisoned unguents make the face crack or raise blisters and pox-like eruptions.

Poisoned clothes and scented waters cause swelling and pain over the whole body; a poisoned garland, crown or comb makes the hair fall, causes severe headache and bleeding from the pores; poisoned footwear makes the feet crack, swell, ache, feel heavy and lose sensation.

Poison on the back of a riding animal gives the rider eruptions and swelling on the thighs, anus and scrotum; poisoned nasal medicine or smoke causes bleeding from the mouth, nose and other channels and disorders the senses; poisoned collyrium causes burning, tears and even blindness, and poisoned ornaments cause burning and small eruptions where they are worn.

One who, with abdominal distension, repeatedly passes stool like raw flesh and coloured like orpiment, and constantly drips froth from the mouth, and whose heart (after death) even fire does not burn properly, is to be known as having drunk a very dreadful poison.

Bites of poisonous leeches are said to cause severe swelling, blisters, burning, fever, vomiting, fainting, weakness of the limbs and intoxication.

A footnote explains that at the end the poison comes from the whole body and settles in the heart.

Poison is said by experts in toxicology to be very hot and sharp.

Therefore cold measures such as bathing in cold water are said to benefit a person afflicted by these poisons.

The powder of nagi, kharakarnika, kutaja, chirayata and mahanimba with their roots, mixed with ghee and licked always, is said to overcome even fierce poisons along with great diseases.

A quoted passage, garbled in this conversion and given with variant readings from manuscript ka in two footnotes, says that poison too can become the destroyer of poison when used with mantra and antidote; the text sums this up in the saying that poison is the medicine of poison.

Quoting Charaka's treatment of poisons, the text says that animal poison tends downward and root poison upward, so that root poison destroys the poison of fanged creatures and fanged poison destroys root poison.

In the scriptures too, the translation says, poison itself is taught as the medicine of poison: quoting Charaka's treatment of poisons, animal (jangama) poison moves downward and root (mulaja) poison upward, so fang poison destroys root poison.

Such a person is then to be given suitable gruels and drinks (peya and the like).

Oil, horse gram, sesame, liquor, sour gruel (kanji), buttermilk, sour things and other (hot) items are to be avoided, and in strong poisons all food is to go with cooling measures.

A person afflicted by any poison is to avoid day sleep, sexual intercourse, much exercise, much exposure to the sun and anger.

When the poison has been removed, the body heat cools, the senses become clear, appetite returns and stool and urine pass normally; these are given as the signs of being free of poison.

Signs of a poisoner: he laughs, chatters, scratches the ground for no purpose, breaks grass and twigs without cause, looks behind him in fear and has a dull, colourless face; the commentary adds that he answers even when not asked.

Poisoned liquids such as milk and water show strange colours, bubbles and foam; pulse soups show blue streaks, wine and water black streaks, curd a white sheen with a little yellow, milk and buttermilk red streaks; reflections in them look double, distorted or absent, and poisoned dishes soon turn tasteless and stale.