This section is from the book "The Sushruta Samhita", by Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna. Also available from Amazon: The Sushruta Samhita.
The dropping of birds from the skies to the earth below in a tired condition is a distinct indication of the wind and the smoke (of the atmosphere) being charged with poison. It is further attended with an attack of cough, catarrh, head ache, and of severe eye-diseases among persons inhaling the same wind and smoke. In such cases the (poisoned) atmosphere should be purified by burning quantities of Lákshá, Hariárá, Ati-vishá, Abhayá, Abda (Musta), Renuka, Eld, Dala (Teja-Patra), Valka (cinnamon), Kushtha and Priangu in the open ground. The fumes of these drugs would purify the Anila (air) and the Dhuma (smoke) from the poison they had been charged with 12.
Mythological origin of poison (Visha):
- It is stated in the Scriptures that a demon named Kaitabha obstructed in various ways, the work of the self-origined Brahma when he was engaged in creating this world. At this the omnipotent god grew extremely wrathful. The vehement wrath of the god gradually swollen and inflamed, at last emanated in physical forms from his mouth and reduced the mighty, death-like, roaring fiend to ashes. But the energy of that terrific wrath went on increasing even after the destruction of the demon, at the sight of which the gods were greatly depressed in spirit. The term Visha (poison) is so called from the fact of its filling the gods with Visháda (depression of spirits). After that the god of creation, having finished his (self imposed) task of creating this world, cast that wrath both into the mobile and the immobile creations Just as the atmospheric water which is of imperceptible and undeveloped taste, acquires the specific taste of the ground or soil it falls upon, so it is the very nature of the (tasteless) Visha that it partakes of the specific taste (Rasa) of a thing or animal in which it exists. 13.
* See Chapter VII (Sounds Of A (Medicated) Drum, Etc., Possessed Of Anti-Venomous Virtues (Dundhubhi-Svaniya)), Kalpa-Sthana.
† 'Sariva' according to Dallana. 'Bhadra-musta' according to others.
All the sharp and violent qualities are present in poison. Hence poisons should be considered as aggravating and and deranging all the Doshas of the body. The Doshas aggravated and charged with poison forego their own specific functions. Hence poison can never be digested or assimilated in the system. It stops the power of inhaling. Expiration (exhalation of the breath) becomes impossible owing to the internal passages having been choked by the deranged Kapha. Consequently a poisoned person drops down in an unconscious state even when life is still present within his body. 14.
Nature and Location of Snake-poison! - The poison of a snake like the semen in an adult male lies diffused all through its organism. As semen is gathered up, dislodged and subsequently emitted through the urethra by being agitated (by contact with woman, etc.), so the poison in a snake is gathered up and secreted through the holes of its fangs under the conditions of anger and agitation. The fangs being hook-shaped, a snake cannot secrete its poison without lowering its hood just after a bite. I 5.
 
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