Article by Dr Raghuram Y.S. MD (Ay) & Dr Manasa S, B.A.M.S
Kalpa Sthana is an important section in Ayurveda treatises, mainly Brihat Trayi – the greater trio – Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita and Ashtanga Hridaya / Ashtanga Sangraha.
Kalpa Sthanas of Charaka and Sushruta Samhita are widely followed for clinical practice but their way of presentation and the entire contents of Kalpa Sthana of both these praised treatises are totally different.
In this article we shall have a look at these differences in presentation and content of the Kalpa Sthanas of both these treatises.
Kalpa Sthanas of Charaka and Sushruta Samhita – a differential look into the sections
Content
The content of Kalpa Sthanas of Charaka and Sushruta Samhita itself is totally different. There is nothing common in them except the name of the section ‘Kalpa Sthana’.
Acharya Charaka has dedicated the Kalpa Sthana section to explain the herbs useful in Vamana – therapeutic emesis and Virechana – therapeutic purgation therapies. He also has explained in detail about –
– The places in which these herbs are available,
– Method of collection, purification and preservation,
– Medicinal properties,
– Mode of action in effecting vamana or virechana,
– Therapeutic effects in different diseases,
– Various formulations and dosage forms that can be prepared from these herbs – like juices, decoctions, confections, powders, etc.
Acharya Sushruta has on the other side dedicated the Kalpa Sthana section of Sushruta Samhita to explain various types of Visha – poisons. The entire section seems to be dedicated to one of the eight elite branches of Ayurveda – Damstra Chikitsa or Visha Chikitsa – toxicology. He has explained in detail about –
– Signs of the person who poisons foods etc of the king,
– Signs of different materials which have been poisoned,
– Role of royal physician in identifying the materials poisoned and persons who poison them and in protecting the king,
– Qualities of poison,
– Types of poisons – sthavara – plant and mineral origin, jangama – animal origin and dusi visa – weak poisons
– Treatment principles and recipes for treating the poisons and use of different types of Agada – anti-poisonous medicines
– Snake, scorpion, spider, insect bite poisons, their signs and symptoms and treatment
It is important to note that Acharya Sushruta has explained herbs useful in vamana and virechana in chapter 43 and 44 of Sutra Sthana respectively.
Placement in the treatise
In Charaka Samhita, Kalpa Sthana has been placed between Chikitsa Sthana (previous section) which deals with treatment of diseases and Siddhi Sthana (following section) which mainly deals with description of Vasti – enema treatments and different formulations useful for enema therapy.
In Sushruta Samhita, it is technically the last section of the treatise but since we also have Uttara Tantra as the last section, Kalpa Sthana is placed between Chikitsa Sthana (previous section) and Uttara Tantra (following section) which deals with diseases of the eyes, nose, mouth, ears and scalp and other health related topics.
Number of chapters
Acharya Charaka has dedicated twelve chapters of discussing the herbs and their recipes related to vamana and virechana therapies. He has enumerated six vamana herbs and their formulations in the first six chapters. The next six chapters are dedicated to nine herbs which are useful in virechana therapy. In total, 600 recipes involving these 15 herbs are explained for use in vamana and virechana therapies.
Acharya Sushruta has dedicated eight chapters for dedicated explanation of various types of poisons, poisoning, their symptoms and diagnosis and their general and specific treatments.
Summary of the discussion
Charaka and Sushruta Samita – both have Kalpa Sthana as a section but the content of these sections and the focus on what needs to be included therein varies between these treatises.
While Charaka has explained Vamana and Virechana Yogas in the 12 chapters of his Kalpa Sthana, Sushruta has explained in detail about the poisons and dedicated his Kalpa Sthana to the study of toxicology.
Acharya Charaka has dedicated twelve chapters for explaining 600 yogas of vamana and virechana while Acharya Sushruta briefly enumerates the vamana and virechana herbs and their recipes in just two chapters of Sutra Sthana.
On the other hand, we also need to observe that Acharya Charaka has elaborated the vamana and virechana yogas and dedicated a section for the same but he has not dedicated an entire section for explanation of Visha – poisons. Similarly, Acharya Sushruta has elaborated the poisons and dedicated an entire section to the Visa – poisons but has not dedicated a separate section for explanation of vamana and virechana yogas.
The reasons for this gross difference may include the below mentioned factors
The art and styling, the editing, placement and presentation of the sections in both Samhitas is different. Obviously, the content of each section and the chronology of chapters or content will not match up.
The priority of placing each chapter or particular content, the why, where, how and logics of doing the same differs due to different thought processes of the Acharyas, the requirements of the Samhita, the time period in which they were written, composed and edited or revised, or redacted, the evolution of Samhitas, the number of authors involved in reediting process over the timeline of evolution, the writing culture and what was trending in those times and the school and culture of learning of both Sampradayas.
From this angle, both Acharyas have explained Vamana and Virechana Yogas but in different sections and in different magnitudes. Both have explained about Visha but in different sections and in different magnitudes. They were done according to one’s style of writing and one’s time period.
It also points out one more thing. Since Charaka Samhita is a predominant ‘Kaya Chikitsa’ culture of medicine, they needed more Vamana and Virechana recipes for treating the general and systemic diseases which they predominantly dealt with. They probably did not deal with a lot of cases of poisoning and hence there was no need for elaborate discussion about the Visas and their management. A lot of research was done to prepare as many vamana and virechana recipes as possible to play to their strength and hence came their documentation with dedication in an entire Kalpa Sthana Section of Charaka Samhita.
The same rule is also true for Sushruta Samhita. It is a predominant ‘Shalya Chikitsa’ culture of medicine. They probably dealt with more cases of poisons and poisoning and their culture of medicine mastered and developed an expertise of the same. They too needed vamana and virechana recipes for treating many conditions and also for treating poisons, but probably they selectively used the same and hence only two dedicated chapters for the same are available in Sutra Sthana and an entire section was not dedicated for the same. A lot of research was done to study the poisons and explore their treatments and hence came their documentation with dedication in an entire Kalpa Sthana Section of Sushruta Samhita.
To Conclude
Both Acharya Charaka and Sushruta have explained Vamana-Virechana Yogas and Visa, but in different sections and in different magnitudes, depending on what they mastered and frequently used in their culture of practice.
