The Process Of Taking A Sneha Internally

Now we shall describe the process of taking a Sneha internally. A man with an empty stomach should be made to take a draught of a medicinal or medicated oil or Ghrita, just as the god of day (sun) would appear on the summit of the hill at dawn and lighten up the horizon with the first shoots of his vermilion-tinted golden rays. Rites of benediction should be first done unto the patient before administering to him the oil or the Ghrita in an adequate dose. After that he should wash his mouth with warm water and quietly stroll about with his shoes on. 18.

Metrical Texts

The use of a potion of a (medicated) Ghrita is recommended to patients suffering from an extremely parched or dry condition of the organism, or from ulcers, or from the effects of a poison, or from those due to the actions of the deranged Váyu. and Pitta, as well as to persons of weak memory and intellect. Potions of (medicated) oils should be prescribed in aggravations of the Kapha and of fat, as well as in cases of worms (in the intestines) and incarcerated flatus (wind in the abdomen), or when the patient is found to be habituated to the internal use of any oil, or seeks the firmness of his body (muscles). The use of lard is recommended to persons emaciated with over-fatiguing physical labour, or to persons whose blood and semen are greatly diminished or to those suffering from an attack of Mahá-vyádhi (due to the vitiated condition of the blood), or to persons of a voracious appetite (Máhagni), or of Vátaja (nervous) temperament, as well as to those possessed of great physical strength. The use of marrow or of medicated Ghritas mixed with appropriate drugs is beneficial to men of strong digestive capacity (Dipta-vahni) or to those afflicted with a deranged Váyu, or to those whose bowels are not easily moved, or who are capable of undergoing a large amount of physical hardship. Clarified butter, without any other thing added thereto, should be administered in the affections of the deranged Pitta; whereas it should be mixed with salt before use in the diseases due to the action of the deranged Váyu and with the admixture of Yava-kshára and powdered Trikatu in the affections of the aggravated and deranged Kapha. Oil or clarified butter should be administered through the medium of one, two or more of the sixty three different combinations * of the (six different) Rasas (flavour) according to the nature and intensity of the aggravated Dosha or Doshas involved in each case. 19-A.

* Charaka, on the contrary, holds that a Khara (strongly cooked) Sneha should be used in anointing the body, a middling-cooked one for the purposes of drinks and Vasti-karma and a mildly cooked (Mridu) one for the purposes of errhines.

Clear (filtered) oil, clarified butter, etc., should be taken by a man habituated to its use and capable of undergoing physical hardships during the months of the year which are neither too hot nor too cold * inasmuch as the use of clear or transparent oil or Ghrita is above being commendable. A Snehashould betaken in the morning (lit. day-time) during the cold months of the year and in case of the joint aggravation of the bodily Váyu and Kapha; whereas it should be taken in the evening (lit. night) during summer and in cases of the joint aggravation of the bodily Váyu and Pitta. Potions of oil or clarified butter taken in summer by a person suffering from an aggravation of the bodily Váyu and Pitta may bring on thirst, epileptic fits and insanity. In the same manner draughts of oil or clarified butter taken in winter by a person suffering from an aggravation of the bodily Váyu or Kapha may be followed by a heaviness of the limbs, aversion to food and colic (Sula). If a patient feels thirsty after taking a Sneha, he should take warm water, and be made to vomit the Sneha with (further) draughts of hot water in the event of the thirst still not subsiding. Cooling plasters should be applied to his head and a cold water bath should be prescribed. 19-B.

* Vide Uttara-Tantra, Chapter LXIII (Different Combinations Of The Six Different Rasas (Rasa-Bheda-Vikalpa Adhyaya)).