160 Dr. W. Munroe — On Leprosy in Ancient India. [August, 



with the animal in its wild state, an erroneous idea of its habits. It has 

 therefore often occurred to me, and doubtless to many others besides, that it 

 would be well if scientific nomenclators could be induced to change its 

 specific appellation palmarum for striata* especially as none of the other 

 several species of the striped squirrels, to wit, the jungle, the Travankor, 

 and Nilgiri squirrels have that specific designation, being denominated, 

 respectively, S. tristriatus, S. Layardi, et S. sublineatus. 



2. From Dr. W. Munroe, Fife, Scotland, requesting information 

 regarding the mention of Leprosy by ancient Hindu writers. Dr. Munroe 

 asks — 



1. Can the time at which mention is first made of Leprosy be 

 indicated approximately ? 



2. Is it when first spoken of mentioned as a disease then common all 

 over India, or is there any indication of its having been imported from the 

 West ? 



3. Are any of the books from which the Susrutas is compiled as old 

 as 1300 years B. C. and are the notices in regard to Leprosy contained in 

 these very oldest parts of the work ? 



I am inclined to think from my inquiries on the subject, that leprosy 

 was originally a disease of Central Africa which has spread and is still 

 spreading wherever constant and continued human intercourse has been or 

 is carried on. 



My reference to the time 1300 years B. C. has of course reference to 

 the Exodus of the Israelites. 



P. S. I would be very grateful for any references to translations into 

 English or French, likely to be available in this country of Hindu works, 

 referring to leprosy. 



These questions were referred to Babu Bajendralala Mitra, who has 

 been good enough to supply the following information on the subject — 



" I regret I cannot answer the first question of the Doctor categorically. 

 Taking Sus'ruta to be 400 B. C. (this date is Wilson's, I take him to be 

 two centuries older) we must look for the date of Charaka whom he 

 quotes, in the sixth century B. C. Sus'ruta professes to record the lectures 

 of his tutor Dhanvantari, and very sparingly quotes his predecessors ; but 

 his chapter on Leprosy is founded on Charaka, as Dr. Munroe will easily 

 perceive by comparing Hesseler's translation in Latin (published at Leipzig) 

 with the enclosed from Charaka, which I have got prepared from him. In 

 Sus'ruta' s time Charaka was an old authority of great weight, and an interval 

 of two centuries between the two is by no means an extravagant guess. Now 

 Charaka quotes Atreya who was a son of Atri, a sage of great renown, who 



* Penstriata would perhaps be better still, in contradistinction to Tristriata. 



