NUX VOMICA 223 



No mention of nux vomica can be found in the older 

 Sanskrit medical works. A drug called Vishamushti, 

 mentioned by Sarangadhara, has by some been sup- 

 posed to be nux vomica, but according to the Bhava- 

 prakasha, Vishamushti has an edible fruit, and is 

 called Karerna in Hindi. The latter work gives Kupilu 

 and Kulaka as Sanskrit names for Kuchila, but these 

 names are generally referred to a kind of ebony. An- 

 other Sanskrit name given to the drug in recently 

 compiled works is Kurachilla, an incorrect form of 

 Kuruchilla, "a crab," to which animal the seeds bear 

 some resemblance in shape. We think there can be 

 little doubt that nux vomica was not used medicinally 

 by the ancient Hindus, but the Hindi name Kuchila or 

 Kuchula occurs in ancient Persian, and appears to be 

 derived from the Sanskrit kunch, to make crooked. 

 We also find an unidentified plant called Kuchela, 

 mentioned by Sanskrit writers, with the synonyms of 

 Avi-karni and Viddha-parni; the name Kunchaphala 

 is also met with, but it may possibly be only an in- 

 correct rendering of Kucha-phala, a term for the pome- 

 granate. We can hardly suppose that a plant having 

 such marked poisonous properties can have escaped 

 the notice of the earliest settlers in India, and there can 

 be no doubt that the wood has been in use from a very 

 early date as one of the kinds of Mushadi in Southern 

 and Western India. We also find that in the Indian 

 Archipelago, which was colonized at a very early date 

 by the Hindus, the wood is used as a popular remedy 

 for dysentery, fevers and dyspepsia, under the name of 

 Bidara-laut by the Malays. This name appears to be 

 of Sanskrit origin and to be derived from Vidara, "split- 

 ting or rending," and lata, "a tree or shrub," in allusion 



