Viparitaviparita Swapna Nidarshaniya Adhyaya – 29th Chapter of Sushruta Samhita

Abstract

Viparitaviparita Swapna Nidarshaniya tells us about the Auspicious and inauspicious dreams which are further revealed by Lord Dhanwantri. Susrutha Samhita, a treatise that is one of the most significant foundational texts in Ayurveda, provides a thorough explanation of this chapter. Because it incorporates surgical instruction and the numerous methods that are mostly used in modern surgery, the Sushruta Samhita is an ancient Sanskrit literature. One of the earliest palm-leaf manuscripts of the Sushruta Samhita can be found in the Kaiser Library in Nepal. The Suruta-Samhita is believed to have been known to the scholar Dhabala (c. 300–500 CE), giving the most recent date for the work’s current form. Many academic studies have been conducted on the Suruta-samhita, most of which are based on texts that were published in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Sushruta Samhita, which is still in use today, has 186 chapters and lists 700 medicinal herbs, 64 mineral preparations, and 57 preparations derived from animal sources in addition to 1,120 ailments.

Viparitaviparita Swapna Nidarshaniya Adhyaya, 29th Chapter of Sushruta Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, Ayurvedic Book, Sushruta Samhita Sutrasthana, Maharshi Sushruta, Classical Book, Classical Ayurvedic Medicines

Introduction

Susruta Samhita, recognised for both health and disease in Atharavada and the Rigveda, is the father of surgery. The three classics, Charak Samhita, Susruta Samhita, and Ashtanga Hridya, which are further divided into eight branches, including Surgery, Ear, Nose, and Throat, as well as the many supernatural ailments, which are treated by Therapeutics, Paediatrics, and rejuvenation. The Susruta Samhita is divided into six sections:

  • Sutra Sthana – It is where medicine and therapeutic methods first emerged, and it also offers Vaidyans guidance.
  • Nidana Sthana – Which provides pathology information.
  • Sharira Sthana – Describes human anatomy.
  • Chikitsa Sthana – A unique technique of treatment is available.
  • Kalpa Sthana – Explains how medicines are made.
  • Uttar Sthana – Provides information on numerous eye, nervous system, and general health diseases.

Ayurveda has a long tradition which was introduced 3000 years ago and taught about the various concepts of Shalya Tantra which includes Rhinoplasty, removal of the foetus and the whole process of lithotomy.

1. Factors Influence Prognosis

The Good or bad condition of the patient will be based upon these factors-

  • Appearance of the Messenger – Sight, Conversation, Dress, activities of the messenger, Omen, Breeze, Star.
  • Related to the Physician – Region (habitat), speech, body and mind indicate the good or bad condition of the patient.

2. Shubh Duta (Good Messenger)

The auspicious messenger who belongs to the patient such as Kapalika, Saugata and various stages of life such as Student, householder and caste (Brahma, Ksatriya, Shudra and Vaishya) succeed in the treatment. Whereas the messenger belonging to another category causes failure in the treatment.

3. Asubha Duta (Inauspicious Messenger)

The messenger who is a woman, neuter or having many other works, who is jealous or riding a donkey or camel or chariot messenger coming one after other and it is inauspicious when patients approach the doctor one at a time in succession.

4. Dressing Code Of Messenger

  • The man who holds the rope and weapon in his hand
  •  Wearing clothes of different colors other than white (Red and black)
  • Which are wet, worn in the wrong manner, dirty and torn
  • Has many or fewer parts of the body than usual body
  • Terrifying appearance (fierce-looking)
  • Such messengers are inauspicious.

5. Speech Of Messenger

  • Who speaks very harshly, in abusive language and Inauspicious speech is considered an inauspicious messenger.

6. Effort Of Messengers

  • The person who is cutting grass or wood
  • Touching his own nose and breast, picking the edges of the cloth with his ring finger, picks the hair, nails and body hair
  • Who keeps touching his hands over the orifice
  • On the heart, cheeks, head, chest and abdomen region
  • Who is holding the pieces of skull, husk, coal, ash and bone
  • Scratching the  ground using nails
  • Throwing stone or oil
  • Who is wearing a red colour garland
  • Holding over-ripened or unripened fruits or other similar objects in the hands.
  • Handling the feet or hands or pulling the leather bands of footwear
  • He suffers from various problems
  • Indulges in many banned activities
  • Stands only on one leg
  • Distortion of the eyes

These messengers who are seeking any kind of medical attention are inauspicious (Bad).

7. The Messenger Is Said To Auspicious As Follows

  • When he enters from the Southern direction
  • Sits on the dirty place
  • Who is engaged in cooking over the fire
  • Involved in a cruel act
  • Lies on the floor
  • Who is voiding waste in the act
  • Is dirty
  • Spreading his hairs
  • Undergone sudation therapy

So, when the Messenger reaches this time, it is considered to be auspicious.

8. Messenger Is Said To Be Inauspicious If The Physician Reaches During

  • During the rituals of forefathers or of Gods.
  • Unnatural events (thunderstorms, hurricanes and cyclones).
  • Midnight and Midday.
  • Union of the full moon and new moon days.
  • The two union of Early morning and early night.
  • Star constellation of Krittika, Ardra, Magha, Mula.

9. Messenger Is Said To Be Inauspicious

  • The Messenger who is sweating severely and visiting a doctor in the middle of the day and next to a bonfire is unlucky for illnesses caused by pitta.
  • However, the same predicts success in disorders brought on by kapha.
  • Meeting the messenger and doctor close to the bridge (built over a water reserve) is said to be fortunate for Raktapitta, Atisara, and Prameha patients.
  • The other diseases to be understood well by the Doctor (Physician).

10. Subha Duta (Auspicious Messenger)

  • The Messenger who is auspicious wears a white clean dress which is white and brown in colour and is pleasing in appearance and belonging to the same caste or family indicates success in treatment.
  • A messenger indicates success if-
    • Riding a chariot drawn by oxen
    • Is engaged in auspicious activities
    • Has good memory
    • Is independent to speak or act
    • Understands the danger
    • Knows how to act on every occasion
    • Well Adorned
    • Who approaches the physician if he is healthy, sitting towards the east direction and is in a safe clean area and pretends to find success in treatment.

11. Subha Nimitta (Auspicious Omen)

When the physician visits the patient’s house during the below-mentioned points is said to be Auspicious-

  • Meat (fresh or uncooked)
  • Pot of water
  • Umbrella
  • Brahman
  • Elephant
  • Cow, Bull
  • Things of white colour
  • A woman with her child
  • Cow with Calf
  • Virgin Girls
  • Fish
  • Unripened fruits
  • Swastika signs
  • Modak (sweet)
  • A bowl full of rice
  • Gems and flowers
  • King and burning fire
  • Horse
  • Swan
  • Bow or a peacock
  • If one is hearing the sounds of Brahma’s, one is chanting the Vedas, drum, clouds, flute and chariot.
  • Roaring sounds of bull, horse and elephant
  • Sounds of weeping swan
  • Men/Women or Owl coming from the left side
  • Words pleasing to the mind

12. Portends Of Birds

  • Watching birds sitting on healthy trees full of leaves, flowers and fruits
  • Flying in the sky, sitting on houses, pillars and bunting of plants and decorated pedestals
  • Crying of birds
  • Uttering sweetly from the back and from the front and left-right sides indicates success

13. Not Indicative Of Success

  • Birds sitting on trees without leaving
  • Hit by lightning
  • Or placed on rocks, heaps of ash, bones, waste products, husk, dust, or a tree in harsh ground, covered by creepers and full of birds.
  • Making loud and harsh sounds which are coming from the front direction and glowing (Agneya, Yamya and Nairutya) are not indicative of success.

14. Movements Which Are Auspicious And Inauspicious (Shubasubha Sakunam)

  • Birds that are masculine in nature are flying on the left side and the bird’s name from feminine nature flying on the right side are auspicious in nature.
  • The movement of the dog and jackal from the right to the left side and of the mongoose and bird which is moving from the left side are auspicious in nature.
  • The movement of the Rabbit, Snake, head vulture and Owl from any side is said to be inauspicious in nature.
  • The hearing sound of Lguana Lizards and chameleons is inauspicious in nature.
  • Seeing undesirable people such as messengers, vessels which are filled with horse gram, cotton, Husk, ash, Oil, Slush
  • The Vessels which are filled with Sura and Rakta sarsapa are said to be inauspicious.
  • Watching a dead body or dried wooden branches is said to be Inauspicious
  • Meeting a person who belongs to sinners, belongs to a low caste and is blind is Inauspicious.

15. Subhasubha Anila (Good-Bad Wind)

Good Wind

  • Hearing the sound of cutting things is good for disease (tumours- benign and malignant)
  • Sounds of piercing abscesses, abdominal enlargement and tumours of the abdomen.
  • Sounds of the obstructed bleeding diseases, diarrhoea is auspicious in nature.

Bad Wind

  • Healing the sounds of shouting, the cry of a person who is being assaulted.
  • Crying loudly, crying softly, the sound of passing flatus, faeces.
  • The Cries of donkeys and camels are considered to be inauspicious.

16. Action Of Physician- Good – Bad

  • The physician while starting from his house or on the way to his patient’s house hears the sound of somebody who is stopping him
  • Sounds of destruction
  • Breaking the part of the patient’s home
  • Sound of sneezing
  • Gets injured
  • Present in a bad state of mind. These are considered to be Inauspicious in nature (not a good sign)
  • Seeing various things such as Hair, Ash, Bones, Stone, cotton, Thorns, vessels of wine, water and Tila (sesame)
  • Has a pigmentation patch on the face
  • Who is fractured, Nude, Wearing black clothes, Are considered suspicious at the time of entrance and coming out of the house of the patient.

17. Bad Omens In The Patient’s House

The following events that take place in the house of the patients are as follows which are considered Inauspicious-

  • Vessels are arranged in order of moving from place or falling down
  • Digging the ground
  • Plucking
  • Something get distorted
  • Something which is slipping from hand or getting out of the house
  • The chair of the physician slips or breaks down
  • The patient sleeps with his face in a downward direction
  • Scratching his body
  • Shaking his head, back and hand vigorously
  • Pulling the hands of the physician and keeping his hands over his chest
  •  Squeezing his hands or body in the upward direction
  • The physician does not succeed in the house if he is not worshipped, he succeeds where he gets respects

There is no doubt that the patient experiences favourable and unfavourable impacts from auspicious and unfavourable messengers, respectively. The Physician should therefore pay close attention to these messengers.

18. Svapna (Dreams)

We will describe the dreams told about death and happiness by friends patients or physicians-

  • Asubha Svapna (Inauspicious Dreams)
    • The person who is using oleation therapy then sits on a camel and other carnivorous animals, donkey, buffalo and then travels in the southern direction
    • Who forcibly pulls and moves in the south direction and is tied to the woman wearing red clothes and a black complexion who is laughing and dancing
    • Who is dragged in the southern direction, by a person of a lower caste and is comforted by hermits and ghosts
    • Wild creatures and scary faces smelling him
    • Sees himself drinking honey and oil and sinking in mud all over his body, dancing and laughing.
    • Wearing a red garland on his head and completely naked sees Tala, bamboo growing over the chest region
    • Sees as he is swallowed by a fish who is entering the womb falls from the mountain and is pulled into the dark tunnel.
    • Carried with a flow of water and sees himself half-shaved and surrounded by crows and vultures.
    • Sees the falling of the stars, destruction of the lamps, scriptures of gods and earthquakes.
    • Sees himself vomiting, falling his teeth off
    • Climbing trees such as Salmalim the sacrificial anthill, the trees full of Flowers and a funeral heap.

So, if a healthy person sees these kinds of dreams he is likely to get diseased or if the diseased person sees them, he dies.

19. Ineffective Dreams

  • Dreams which are seen by different prakriti and different types of dreams
  • Which are forgotten easily
  • Those who see dreams when in worry
  • Dreams which are normal to one constitution and are forgotten or destroyed
  • All dreams are ineffective

20. Dreams Indicating Death

  • A patient suffering from fever sees in dreams having friendships with dogs
  • Consumption of having friendships with monkeys, moving with demons
  • Patients with epilepsy who are moving with goats, patients with diabetes and loose stools
  • Patient with leprosy drinks fat
  • Patient with an abdominal tumor sees plants growing in the region of the abdomen and on the head
  • Consuming rice boiled with haridra
  • Vomits if he/she sees fried pastry
  • Patient of bleeding disease who drinks blood
  • Having headache

These patients are going to die.

21. Getting Rid Of Bad Dreams

  • Seeing dreams at night and waking in the morning offers Black gram, Sesame Iron and gold to the Brahmanas
  • Chants the auspicious sounds such as Gayatri, which are seen in the dreams during the first 3 hours of the night
  • Sleeps thinking and thinking about the strange events
  • Recite the Vedas and other scriptures
  • Sleeps in a temple for three nights
  • Offers worship to the Brahmas
  • Avoid Sexual activities
  • Do not reveal inauspicious dreams to anyone.

These are the following points to get rid of the bad dreams

22. Auspicious Dreams

  • Sees dreams of the God, Brahmanas, Cows and bulls
  • Sees obtaining fresh meat, fish, garlands, lots and fruits which are white in colour which indicates the wealth and cure of the diseases
  • Sitting in big places such as trees bearing fruits, elephants and mountains which indicates the wealth and cure of disease
  • Sees river seas with turbid water and acquires wealth and cure of disease
  • The person who gets bitten by a snake, or leech and sees in his dreams is said to acquire wealth

If these kinds of dreams are indicative signs of a long life the treatment can be given suitably.

Conclusion

Susruta Samhita, recognised for both health and disease in Atharavada and the Rigveda, is the father of surgery. The three classics, Charak Samhita, Susruta Samhita, and Ashtanga Hridya. One of the earliest palm-leaf manuscripts of the Sushruta Samhita can be found in the Kaiser Library in Nepal. Further in this article we discussed the various auspicious and inauspicious occasions and about dreams which are good and bad dreams in detail.