Eye And Mouth-Washes

The mouth and the eyes of a person of sound health should be washed with the decoction of the barks of Kshira trees mixed with milk, or with that of Bhillodaka, or of Amalaka, or with (a copious quantity of) cold water * This procedure would soon prove efficacious in destroying such affections of the body, as Niliká, dryness in the mouth, pustules or eruptions, Vyanga and the diseases due to the (concerted) action of the Rakta and Pitta, and by such washings the face becomes lighter and the sight stronger. 8.

Collyrium: - Srotonjana, produced in the river Indus, is the best and purest of Collyriums. It alleviates the burning and itching sensations in the eyes, removes all local pains, secretions and impurities, increases the range of vision, enables the eyes to bear the blasts of the wind and the glare of the sun and guards against the inroads of occular affections. Hence the application of collyrium (along the eye-lids) is highly recommended; but its use is forbidden just after taking one's meal or bath (washing the head) and after the fatigue of vomiting, or riding, etc., nor after keeping late hours and also not during an attack of fever. 9-11.

* Gayadása interprets that the mouth should be washed with the decoction of Bhillodaka and the eyes with that of A'malaka. He also interprets that the eyes and the mouth may both, however, be washed with cold water.

Perhaps Gayadása was of opinion that the decoction of Amalaka, being astringent, might arrest the dilatation of the pupils due to age, and so help to keep the eye-sight unimpaired. Others explain that the mouth should be washed with the decoctions of Bhillodaka and of Amalaka, and the eyes with cold water. The decoctions, however, if used as an eye-wash, should be used in a cold state, - Ed.

A betel-leaf prepared with cloves, camphor, nutmeg (Játi), lime, araca-nut, Kakkola and Katukáhva (Latá-kasturi), etc., should be taken (chewed after meals), as it tends to cleanse the mouth, impart a sweet aroma to it, enhance its beauty and cleanse and strengthen the voice, the tongue, the teeth, the jaws and the sense-organs. It checks excessive salivation, soothes the body (Hridya), and acts as a general safeguard against throat disease. A betel-leaf (prepared as before) proves wholesome after a bath, after meals, after anointing as well as after rising from sleep. A person suffering from Rakta-Pitta, Kshata-Kshina, thirst, or parchedness of the mouth should refrain from taking betel-leaf, the use of which is equally forbidden in such diseases as anaemia, internal dryness of the organism and epilepsy. 12.

Sirobhyanga:. - Anointing (Abhyanga) the head with oil is a good cure for the affections of the head. It makes the hair grow luxuriantly, and imparts thickness, softness and a dark gloss to them. It soothes and invigorates the head and the sense-organs and removes the wrinkles of the face. The medicinal oil known as the Chakra-Taila should be cooked with the paste (Kalka) and the decoction of Madhuka, Kshira-s'uklá, Sarala, Deva-dáru and the minor Pancha-mula taken in equal parts fin each case). The head should be constantly anointed with this cooling oil. 13-14.

Combing the hair improves its growth, removes dandriff and dirt, and destroys the parasites of the scalp. Pouring oil (Karna-purana) into the cavities of the ears is highly efficacious in pains of the jaws (Hanu and of the Manyá, and acts as a good cure for head-ache and ear-ache. Anointing (Abhyanga) the body (with oil, etc ) imparts a glossy softness to the skin, guards against the aggravation of the Váyu and the Kapha, improves the colour and strength and gives a tone to the root-principles (Dhátus) of the body. * 15-17.

Parisheka: - Affusing the body (Parisheka) removes the sense of fatigue, and brings about the adhesion of broken joints. It alleviates the pain which usually attends burns, scalds, bruises and lacerations, and subdues the actions of the deranged Váyu. Sneha (oil) affused on the human organism imparts a tone and vigour to its root-principles (Dhátus), in the same manner as water furnishes the roots of a tree or a plant with the necessary nutritive elements, and fosters its growth, when poured into the soil where it grows. The use of Sneha (oil, etc.) at a bath causes the Sneha to penetrate into the system through the mouths of the veins (Sirás) and the ducts (Dhamanis) of the body, as also through the roots of the hair, and thus soothes and invigorates the body with its own essence. 18 - 20.

* Rubbed on the body and allowed to stand or kept unwiped, the Sneha (oil) reaches down the skin, through the hair-follicles in the course of time necessary to utter four hundred Mátras. It reaches the principle of blood in the course of that necessary to utter five hundred Mátrás, and to the principle of flesh in the course of that necessary to utter six hundred Mátrás. It penetrates further to the principle of fat in the course of that necessary to utter seven hundred Mátrás, and to the principle of bone in the course of that necessary to utter eight hundred Mátrás, and lastly to the principle of marrow in the course of that necessary to utter nine hundred Mátrás. It successively cures the diseases respectively located in those principles. - Dallana.

Under the circumstances, affusions and anointments of the body with oil or clarified butter should be prescribed by an intelligent person with due regard to one's habit, congeniality and temperament and to the climate and the season of the year as well as to the preponderance of the deranged Dosha or Doshas in one's physical constitution. 21.