This section is from the book "The Sushruta Samhita", by Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna. Also available from Amazon: The Sushruta Samhita.
Fasting is prohibited in a case of fever due to a wasting process in the bod\' or incidental to the action of the deranged bodily Vayu or appearing in consequence of any serious state of the mind (e. g. lust, anger, grief, etc,) as well as in cases in which fasting has been forbidden as in the chapter on Divi-vrana (Chapter I (Medical Treatment Of The Two Kinds Of Inflamed Ulcers (Dvivraniya Chikitsitam)), 25 - Chikitsa-sthana). 42.
Fasting in the case of a patient in whom the bodily Doshas have been deranged and of whom the digestive fire has become dull, lead to an assimilation of the deranged Doshas and kindles the digestive fire, produces remission of fever, lightness of the body and relish for food. 43.
Easy and natural passing of Vayu and stool and urine, intolerable keenness of thirst and appetite, lightness of the body, sprightly) action of the mind and the sense-organs and a weakness of the body arc the results which spring from Satifactory fasting; while such symptoms as loss of strength, thirst, dryness (of the month), insomnia, vertigo, doziness, fatigue and such other supervening symptoms (as difficult breathing, cough, fever, hic-cup) mark an excessive fasting. 44 - 45
Tepid (boiled) water is appetising and it tends to disintegrate the accumulation of Kapha and restores the deranged bodily Pitta and
Vayu to their normal condition. The use of tepid water which allays thirst is highly efficacious in cases of fever due to the actions of the deranged bodily Kapha and Vayu, as it tends to cleanse the internal passages of the body and helps in the easy movement of the deranged bodily Doshas in the organism. The effect of cold water is just the reverse and its inherent cold tends to aggravate fever. 46
Peya: - A potion consisting of water boiled with the admixture of the following bitter drugs viz. Gangeya (Musta), Nagara, Us'ira, Parpata, Udichya (Balaka) and red sandal-wood should be given, when cooled, for drinking in a case of Pittaja fever, as well as in one due to the effect of any liquor or poison *. A Peya prepared with digestive drugs should be given to the patient when hungry in as much as it is digestive, appetising, light and febrifugal Tasteful decoctions of digestive drugs, which alleviate thirst, remove bad taste in the mouth, bring about a fresh relish for food and prove remedial for fever, should be given after the seventh day in a case of fever which, in consequence of a plethora of deranged Dosha in the system, would not abate even after the observance of fasting and the subsequent use of Yavagu and where the digestive-power of the patient has been impaired. 47 - 49.
A decoction of Pancha-mula assimilates the bodily Dosha in a case of Vataja fever, while a decoction of Musta, Katuka and Indra-yava mixed with honey (when cold) proves curative in a case of Pittaja fever, and a decoction of the component drugs of the Pippalyddi group helps the assimilation of the deranged bodily Dosha in a case of Kaphaja fever. Decoctions remcdial to each of the deranged bodily Doshas should be administered in combination in a case of fever due to the concerted action of any two deranged Doshas of the body. A decoction should not be given to a patient immediately after eating, drinking or fasting, nor to a patient afflicted with thirst, extreme weakness, emaciation and indigestion. 50.
* According to different authori ies purely boiled water, when cooled, may also be given in such cases.
 
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