132  A ncient  and  Modern  Hindu  Medicine.    { ^i^h,  i<m?m' 
of  this  disordered  relation.  The  use  of  drugs  is  based  upon  this 
theory,  and  all  remedies  are  considered  with  reference  to  their  effects 
upon  these  three  humors. 
According  to  them,  every  substance,  whether  animal,  vegetable,  or 
mineral,  possesses  five  properties,  namely  rasa,  guna,  veerya,  vibaka, 
and  prabhava,  which  may  be  interpreted  as  taste,  virtue,  power,  con- 
sequence of  action  and  inherent  nature.  Some  of  the  remedies 
derived  from  the  animal  kingdom  are  the  bone  of  a  goat,  the  tooth 
of  an  elephant,  milk,  human  milk  in  eye  diseases  (this  is  very  com- 
mon),  goats'  milk  in  phthisis,  etc.  Kasturi  or  musk  and  the  venom 
of  snakes  are  much  in  use.  Urine  is  used  both  internally  and  ex- 
ternally. Among  the  minerals  used  are  metals,  salts,  precious  stones 
and  clay.  The  process  of  purification  of  the  metals  is  very  long 
and  tedious. 
The  application  of  remedies  to  the  eye  as  counterirritants,  and  to 
the  crown  of  the  head,  are  among  the  favorite  methods  in  use. 
Caste  to-day  rules  the  medical  as  well  as  every  other  profession 
in  India,  and  the  practice  of  the  native  doctor  is  well  expressed  in 
the  words  of  one  who  said  to  me  :  "  We  treat  all  castes,  but  in  cases 
where  we  find  it  objectionable  to  feel  the  pulse,  we  get  full  partic- 
ulars regarding  urine,  etc.,  and  then  give  necessary  treatment." 
Surgery  has  entirely  fallen  into  the  hands  of  Mohammedans  and 
barbers.  A  number  of  arms  and  legs  have  been  amputated  in  our 
hospitals  as  the  result  of  the  bamboo  splints  applied  by  the  bar- 
bers. Midwifery  is  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  barber  women,  or, 
as  they  are  called  in  Southern  India,  the  mantrasani.  These  women 
always  wash  their  hands  after  the  delivery  of  their  patient,  and  we 
have  had  hundreds  of  their  victims  come  to  us,  sometimes  too  late 
for  craniotomy  to  save  the  mother,  sometimes  suffering  from  acquired 
atresia  of  the  vagina,  or  it  may  be  with  vesico-vaginal  fistula  and 
other  injuries  of  the  birth-canal. 
Some  of  the  more  intelligent  of  the  Orthodox  Hindu  doctors  are 
recognizing  the  limitations  that  hinder  their  development,  and  are 
endeavoring  to  bring  about  a  revival  of  the  Ayur  Vedic  system  of 
medicine.  The  late  Maharajah  of  Mysore  established  a  college 
wherein  a  complete  training,  according  to  the  Ayur  Vedic  system,  is 
available.  This  system  is  also  taught  in  Calcutta,  Benares,  Bombay, 
Madras  and  other  cities. 
The  oldest  and  largest  of  the  two  schools  of  this  kind  in  Madras 
