1891.] Dr. Hoernle — Uemarhs on Birch Bark MS. 57 



Translation.* 



* Salutation to the Tathagatas. — I am going to write an approved 

 compendium (of medicine), called the Navanitaka, based on the excellent 

 system of the Maharshis as composed by them in olden times. What- 

 ever is useful to men and women afflicted with various diseases ; 

 whatever is also useful for children, that will all be declared in this 

 book. It will commend itself to those physicians whose minds delight 

 in conciseness ; but on account of the multiplicity of its prescriptions, it 

 will also be welcome to those whose minds love many details. 



' The first chapter will give prescriptions of powders ; the second 

 of clarified butter ; the third will be concerned with oils. The 

 fourth will be about the mixtures which are used in the treatment of 

 various diseases. The fifth will give prescriptions of clysters, the 

 sixth rules about elixirs. The seventh will be about gruels, the eighth 

 about aphrodisiacs, the ninth about eyewashes, the tenth about hair- 

 dyes. The eleventh will be concerned with applications of the yellow 

 myrobalan.f The twelfth will be about bitumen, the thirteenth about 

 castor-oil. The fourteenth will be concerned with the treatment of 

 children ; the fifteenth will deal with the treatment of barren women. 

 Lastly the sixteenth will be about the treatment of women who have 

 children. These sixteen chapters will constitute the Navanitaka. It 

 should not be given to any one who has no son, nor to any one who has 

 no brother ; nor should it be taught to any one who has no disciple.' 



" After this commences the first chapter on the chdrnas or powders ; 

 it extends down to the obverse of the fourth leaf, where its end is indi- 

 cated by the words iflW^IlT^ "^^^^^mHT? I SR^ftiHT^T^^^TTr*' i- e., ' in the 

 Navanitaka the prescriptions of powders are finished ; the first chapter is 

 finished.' The following are some of the names of the powders that I 

 have noticed : varddJiamdnaka, shadyddika, tiktaka, vrisha-dvddasaka^ 

 arishtay etc. 



" The second chapter on clarified butter extends to the obverse of 

 the ninth leaf, where we find the remark flf^^Sirr^: I ^^TrT^ ^T^^rf?? 

 ^Trf^^f^^^"!^ I -i. e., ' (here ends) the second chapter ; I shall (now) 

 explain the Vala oil, the cure for rheumatism.* The following are some 

 of the names of clarified butter ; after each name the number of slokas 

 about it are given : thus amrita-prdsa with 10 slokas, kalydnaka with 4, 

 tiktaka with 4, mahdtiktaka with 7, mridvikalwith. 3, mdydra with 7, etc. 



* The translation is tentative. Some of the medical terms are not known to 

 me, nor to those Kavirajs whom I consulted. 



t Abhayd, I am told by a Kaviraj, is a synonym of harttaU. See also Glossary 

 to the Bibliotheca Indica edition of the Asva Yaidyaka. 



