Parasitology in the Atharva Veda_Rulia Ram Kashyap

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PARASITOLOGY IN THE ATHARVA VEDA .

By RULlARAM KASHYAP

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Reprinted trom . Indian Culture', Vol. II . No. I.

PARASITOLOGY IN THE ATHARVA VEDA

By RULIA RAM KASHYAP

An attempt is made in this article at giving a rationalinterpretation of those passages of the Atharva Veda which dealwith the Krimis. It is not intended to discuss the meanings of thosepassages as propounded by the previous commentators, nor to supportthe explanation given by quotations from scientific treatises, as.both these will lengthen the article unnecessarily. However, if anyof the learned readers requires this information same will be supplied.

These passages may be termed the' Krimihsuktas' on the basesof the subject dealt with therein. There are only three full Suktasdealing with this subject. These are Atharva Veda, Kanda II~Suktas 31 and 32 and Kanda V, Sftkta 23.

Apart from these the word ~: occurs only twice in all the fourVedas, viz. Atharv-a Veda, Kanda XI, Sftkta Il, Mantra 10 reading:-

,,~~ ~ ..f1:Q..It~:~: ..."which means

, . . . . . may the le.apingand jumping common housefly. . . 'and At.harva Veda, Kanda XII, Sukta I, Mantra 46 reading:-

"CRiJ~ ... rSf\r41~-qC1~ ..."which means :-

, The creeping snake that propells itsetf forward in contactwith the ground. . . . . . '

These two examples may be taken to illustrate the statement madein Nurukta Naigama Kanda, Adhyay 6, Khanda 12 reading asunder :-

and meaning:. The word fstm:f: is derivable from the root giving 5Ii1W;

and meaning" creeping along or propelling oneself for-ward." Also it may be derived from the root giving~ or ~ (and meaning leaping up or jumping).'

The housefly is an instance of the leaping up, jumping Krimih andthe snake that of a crawling, creeping Krimih which moves by pro-pelling itself forward. .

Another very similar word bearing more or less the samemeaniRg and often used as a synonym for fstm:f:: is the word

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94 INDIAN CULTURE

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m: occurring only once in all the four Vedas, in Yajura Veda,Adhyay 24, Mantra 30 as under :-

" ~.~. "... ... ""''Q1.,.-,.1!\l'" ... ,.,which means :-

, . . . a worm or small insect (as food) for the Indigo-visitor(insect) . . . '

In these stray references then the word fstrt1f: is used toqualify a house fly or a snake in the sense of a jumping and leapingup insect or a crawling, creeping creature which moves by propellingitself forward. The word~: has been used to denote a wormor small insect serving as food for another insect such as theIndigo-visitor.

Having thus dealt with the stray references the Krimih-Suktascan next be taken up. What does the. word Krimih stand for inthese Suktas? Veda itself should be allowed to interpret this Vedicword. Says Atharva Veda, Kanda V, Sukta 23, Mantra 3:- ~ .,

,,~~ Itr~~~fC1~ mt ~1{fc; I ~

~ ~ ~ ~ etfsfif#~~I...f~ 11"which means :-

(We kill that Krimih which moves into the place between acouple of teeth and even into a tooth itself, which crawlsinto the nostrils, or which creeps along into the eyesby propelling itself forward towards them.'

Illustrating, as it does, the above referred to Nirukta interpreta..-non, it furnishes us with two very important diagnostic characteristicsof a Krimih. These are:-

(I) A Krimih is something which can creep along, crawl,move or propeU itself forwards towards a definitedirection.

(2) A Krimih is something which we have to kill. It isnecessarily destroyable.

Again it is stated in Atharva Veda, Kanda Il, S6kta 31,}\ilantra 5 that :-

" ...it ~ C1-q...1rq rq~: ~ ~f.JJ '!J!fir1; rsn..rttill... 11"...

meamng :-( . . . I destroy the whole generation of Krimis which have -

entered the various parts of our bodies'.

This gives us two more distinguishing features for a Krimih,whichare:- ,

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PARASITOLOGY IN THE ATHARVA VEDA 95

(3) Krimis have a generation or race as well, i.e. they arenecessarily living organisms. Moreover, the need fordestroying them is emphasized upon here as well.

(4) They enter the organs of the bodies of the human beingsfrom without. In other words they live outside toobut therefrom they make their way into the humanframes somehow.

Regarding the size of the Krimihs Veda states :-

(~) "~~t1~~t1(l.~... ~ ... 11 "Atharva Veda, Kanda Il, Sukta 31, Mantra 2:

meanmg :-, I have killed the visible and the invisible Krimis. . . '

(~) "... ~ ":I~~i~ ~ ~ ~ 11"

Atharva Kanda V, Sukta 23, Mantra 6 :meanmg :-

, . . . Injuring the visible and the invisible ones and in fac~destroying all the Krimis. '

(~) "... ~ ir-QCit r~rt14lC1I~~~ "fi~C1I+t.II"

Atharva, Kanda V, Sukta 23, Mantra 7 :meamng :-

, . . . The visible Krimih may please be destroyed as also theinvisible one.' '

These references furnish us with another very important pointregarding the Krimis. This is regarding their size. It runs :'-

(5) The Krimis may be visible to the naked eye or they maybe altogether invisible to the unaided eye.

Veda was not unaware of the microscopic invisible Krimisrevealed' by modem scientific appliances. This fact is fully borneout by the insistence on the destruction of the invisible Krimis inthe Vedas. Three references to this effect have been given abovebut the fourth one is still more emphatic. In the No. (~) givenabove we have only an amplification of the previous half of thatvery mantra which running as under :-

(s) "'31'i ~~ ~ ~ ~~ ~~ I ..."Atharva, Kanda V, Sukta 23, Mantra 6 :

means :-, . . . Seen by all, the sun rises in the east, killing the invisible

ones.. .'

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96 INDIAN CULTURE

and adding to it the above given half:-, injuring the visible and invisible ones and in fact destroying ~

all the Krimis,'

would suffice to convince every seeker after truth that Veda reallymeans the invisible Krimis here; otherwise there would be no sensein the use of the word' invisible' twice in one and the same mantra.

Combining all the five deductions into one will give a correctidea of what the word Krimih stands for in the Krimih-suktas asthose deductions are based upon actual quotations from these verySuktas. Thus the following definition of a Krimih is arrived at :-

'A Krimih is a living organism capable of running intogenerations or races. It can move, crawl or creep orpropell itself forward towards a definite direction too ifit so chooses. It lives outside but therefrom enters thehuman organisms too somehow. It is therefore destroy-able and has to be entirely got rid of. By virtue of itssize it may be visible to the naked eye or absolutelyinvisible'to the unaided eye.'

It need hardly be added that another name for such an organismis a ' parasite of man'. This scientific term can safely be taken as acorrect rendering of the Vedic word Krimih especially as used in theKrimih-suktas. Any parasite naturally causes some disease in thebody of the host. Therefore it is briefly termed a ' disease germ'or even simply a ' germ'. We shall therefore use either of thesethree terms in our explanation of the Sukta as and when convenient.

The germ-destroying action of the sun has already been referredto previously in the evidence No. (8) for the deduction No. (5). Theparticular germs that are successfully destroyed by the sun are theinvisible ones as is evident from the double use of this word in thesame Mantra, viz. Atharva, Kanda V, Sukta 23, Mantra 6.

The last two Mantras of the 31~ukta and the first Mantra ofthe 32nd of Kanda Il, Atharva Veda, discuss this subject in detail,and may therefore be studied together with advantage. The lastbut one Mantra of the 31st Sfikta reads:-

""II~I-t=i.lilcf~...~1 m ~ I

~~~~~~I...r~ n"Atharva Kanda Il, Sfikta 31, Mantra 4 :

and means :-

, By means of Vacha we kill the germs residing in the smallintestine, brain and nervous tissue or ribs and side wallsof the lungs. (We also destroy the germs) that are as if

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. fallen down and those which make one prone towardsindecent actions.'

A discussion on individual words of the mantras will follow aliteral translation of the Mantra-trio referred to above and at presentbeing translated. This Mantra beautifully describes the humanabodes of the invisible disease germs or Krimis.

The next Mantra similarly describes the abodes of these invisiblegerms outside the human body. It reads:-

"it ~: ~ ~:jlqlq~ ~~: I

it ~ C1-q+1lr~fCP.J:~ ~ ~f.f~ rSf\J\(JJI~11"Atharva, Kanda Il, Sukta 31, Mantra 5 :

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and means :-, I destroy that whole generation of germs who have entered

the organs of our bodies (but origh..ally resided) on hillsand mountains, in forests, on plants, in animals and even. , -1ll wate~ -

Having thus described the abodes of human parasites both inthe human body and outside Veda next sums up in the nextMantra reading :-

"~~: ~ ~ f.f~ "«l~"~~: Iit ~: fsfiifit ~ n"

Atharva, Kanda Il, Sukta 32, Mantra I which means:'May the rising sun destroy the disease germs and the setting

one too do the same by means of its rays-the germsthat have penetrated below the surface la~er of the soi1.'

This Mantra-trio thus beautifully summarises the humanabodes of the invisible germs, as also their natural abodes outsidethe human frames. It, in the end, discusses the continuous effortsof the sun to eradicate them and thereby to diminish disease. Itwould therefore not be irrelevant to quote here some examples ofthe invisible germs by discussing the individual words of the Mantrasgiving the abodes of the germs.

1. ",,-ql~~:-At;1va1;1trya1;1is some one who resides in the ~which may be taken to be 'IRU+~ meaning' narrow and in-testine '. In medical books 's~all intestine' is the term appliedto the narrower part of the intestines. There is a special diseasegerm which is killed by the gastric acid or other juices in the stomachbut thrives quite undisturbed in the alkaline juices of the smallintestine if it happens to tide over the stomach portion somehow.

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98 INDIAN CULTURE

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Naturally this would be the germ referred to by the name ~"lI~.Iin this Mantra of the Krimih-Suktas. Modem science names thisgerm Cholera Vibrio as its shape is like a minute curved rodand it causes the wellknown disease Cholera. Outside the humanbody this ,germ is met with in contaminated water or food con-taminated with such water and thus it exemplifies the Vedic words,~: and ~qJt~ of the next mantra. From there it entersthe human stomach when man swallows contaminated water orfood. Thus it fulfils the Vedic condition" it ~ Ct"l+H[q(q":!:"putdown in the same Mantra. If thus swallowed on empty stomach(when there is very little gastric juice present there) it is liable topass on into the small intestine quite hale and hearty and quiteuninjured by the juices of the stomach. If, however, it is taken on afull stomach the ample gastric juice present destroys it and does notallow it to pass, in a living condition, into the small intestine. Inthe former condition it thrives in the small intestine and is thus~"lI-it and causes a disease, i.e. Cholera and is worth being destroyed.The sun's rays dry up the moist substratum in which it thrives out-side the human frame and ultimately kills all the germs in th~tsubstratum. Thus the Cholera Vibrio not only fu1:fi1sthe ordinarycharacteristics of a Krimih but at the same time fulfils the specificconditions for being an "'I"ll-t=i.land, .",.tq~, ~: and also the con-dition laid down in "it ~ Ct"l+Hfq[q":ji".

Il. ~ :-Shirsha:t;Lya:t;L is that which resides in the heador brain. Naturally it implies germs living upon the tissues of thebr~ and nerves. These parasites cause diseases like lunacy andmama.

Ill. ~:-Parshteya1}. is that which attacks the m which isa name for the side walls of the lungs and ribs supporting them.The well known' disease of the side' called '~kkhika Dard' inthe Punjabi language is ' Pneumonia' of the modem medical science.The germs referred to as living in the side walls are obviously thePneumococcii of Pneumonia.

IV. ~:-Avaskavan means fallen below and also thatwhich causes a disease in which the patient's whole body resortsto involuntary leaps and jumps. This disease is the Tetanus andthe germ causing same is the Tetanus bacillus. The disease ischaracterized by forceful involuntary stimulation and contractionof the muscles of the whole body especially the extremities, and thegerm is characterized by being met with in ordinary dry soil where-from it enters any wound that the human foot may happen to havebeen inflicted upon previously. Thus the word ~ is very

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PARASITOLOGY IN TH~ ATHARVA WDA r 99---

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suggestive as to the germ and the disea~e it causes by entering thehuman body.

V. ~:-VyadhwaraQ. means fcf+~ reverse of Yajnasor noble deeds. It thus implies germs causing diseases whicb- upsetthe moral balance of the human patient and make him Lclinedtowards the committment of ignoble deeds or indecent acti0D.. Suchgerms are the Gonococcii and the Spirochaeta pallida, causingGonorrhcea and Syphilis respectively. Under the effect of thesedeadly foes the human society is every day going from bad to worseand all well-wishers of the human race are trying their level best toeradicate them.

VI. it fsfiwr:~:-The disease germs met with on hills andmountains. An example is met with in the germs of a troublesomefever prevailing in Gujhandi, a small town, in Northern Bengal,situated on the dry Vindhyachal hills. In external characters itmore or less resembles malaria but it is more or less a local maladyrestricted to those dry hills.

VII. ~ :-In the forests of Assam is met with the blackfever termed' Kala-azar'. Germs causing such ailments are hintedat by this word.

VIII and IX. ~ and ~:-These two words have already"been illustrated under the heading I, ""I-ql~ .

X. ~ :-In the animals are to be met with germs of someserious human diseases. A parasite of man is swallowed by him inwrongly cooked measly pork, another in uncooked beef and a thirdin improperly treated fish. All the three are diffic1L.~to be got ridof mice they have caught hold of the human intestines. Theancient Indians were wise in condemning beef as an article of dietand so was the Prophet Mohammed in similarly condemning pork.

According to the Vedas the sun is constantly trying to eradicatethese germs from morning till evening and is successfully destroyingthem, the invisible ones in all their forms and the visible ones intheir spore or cyst forms in which they are usually met with outsidethe human body or the bodies of their animal hosts. We shouldassist the sun in this job by adopting methods for the entire annihila-tion of the race or generation of the disease germs-the parasites ofman-the Krimis referred to in the Vedas.

The ending Mantra-half, of the Mantra-trio discussed fully inthe preceding pages, reads as under:-

"... it~: ~m 0"

Atharva, Kanda II, Sukta 32, Mantra I :

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100 INDIAN CULTURE

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and translated above as under :-

t. . . the germs that have penetrated below the surface layerof the soil.'

has been translated by Acha0Sayat1 as under:-

":J\"'~I1. ~ m ~ I it~: lIfcf.¥-

~1(l1~c:nq-q~f1.I 4i1¥l.)(.~~: ri ~o(

CfTi!~m~~:II"

Sayat;t's commentary on the Atharva Veda, Kanda Il.Anuvak 6, Sukta 32, Mantra I.

It clearly shows that Acharya Sayat;la takes this Mantra-frag-ment to mean t the Krimis in the body of the cow'. In the fqf~~14\or application given as introduction to his commentary on thisSukta he also refers to this fact by the words :-

" ... 4i1f~f+i:tq~"1IJf~ ... 4~~1~~1"fi"'I<I:t\rc.fCt... "

which also means that the S6kta is to be used for curing the cow ofits Krimis.

Our justification for translating as above is to be met with in :-" ~ ~ "... ~("'{Cf ~l"4~l ~<i ...

Nirukta Naigama Kanda, Adh. 2, Khanda 4:meamng-

'the word it: is also a name of the earth' but AcharyaSayat;ta's simple translation of the word it: int~ a t cow' helps usimmensely at this juncture. It acts as a very suggestive hint forthe proper understanding of the next mantra which reads:-

"rc.~~4 ~ fsfit1:i <I:t\..."1iW~~i!.I

,",~I~~ \!ll,'1...fl4~~: 11"

Atharva, Kanda II, S6kta 32, Mantra 2.and means :-

, I cut off and crush and reduce to a fine powder the head,sides (and in fact the whole body) of this parasite, whichthough coldurless is yet spotted (on the head), is all-formed, and possesses four organs functioning to save it -from being destroyed.'

Modern Science has described the life history of such a parasite ofman. In its mature form it is met with in the human host but theembryonic form termed Cysticercus is met with in the bovine species.

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It is all formed in the sense that it has a more or less roundedhead, narrow thread like neck, whence backwards the body graduallybecomes thicker and wider ultimately assuming the ribbon form.The segments when mature are longer; when immature they arebroader. Thus practically all forms of shape are exhibited by theparasite.

It is Chaturaksh not in the sense of being four-eyed as translatedby the previous scholars but in the sense of being possessed of fourAkshas or organs that do not allow it to get perished. These areits four suckers which it has at its anterior end on the four sides ofits head. It is these suckers which fix it into the intestinal wall.So long as these suckers are so fixed the parasite is quite safe andgoes on developing and shedding the last segments full of fertilizedova which passing out with the human freces go on reproducing theparasite. Once suckers lose hold, off goes the head from the in-testinal wall and by means of purgatives, etc. the parasite can thenbe easily got rid of by its human host; it has to leave him and passout with his faeces and natural1'y perish. Suckers are thus its realsaviours from destruction and are Akshas in the true sense of that

word ('Il=not, ~ ~ be destroyed). Moreover, these suckers arefixed in the wall of the intestine, therefore, they, so to say, pervadethe intestinal wall and enjoy an abode there. In this case the word,~ would be derivable from ~~. Both the root meanings

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.of the word ~ thus give the correct zoological interpretation.Undoubtedly it is a parasite of man, living in his intestine and

causing disease. .

Spotted it is in the sense that round the suckers coloured spotsare met with.

It is colourless or white as almost all the internal parasitesusually are. This is due to the dark environment in which theylive where eyes or colour would be of no use and is therefore usuallynot developed. The segments as they leave the body are definitelystated to be white.

Regarding the special mention of the head as the organ thatmust be crushed we might state that it is the head which possessesthe capacity for redeveloping the whole posterior portion. Thereforeunless the head is got rid of the worm is there in its full vigour andthe patient is in reality as sick as ever. Therefore does the Vedainsist so much upon the destruction of the head. Sides may betaken to signify the remaining portions of the body, thus simplymeant to emphasize upon a thorough destruction of the parasite asa whole.

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102 INDIAN CULTURE.

The scientific name of the parasite described above is TreniaSaginata, popularly known as the Beef-Tape-Worm. Its othernames are Trenia mediocanellata and the' Unarmed' Tape worm.

The next three mantras of this Sukta, viz. Atharva Veda, KandaIl, Sukta 32, Mantras 3, 4, and 5, are almost identical with Mantras 10,n, and 12, respectively, of Atharva Veda, Kanda V, Sukta 23.We shall therefore take these up together later on.

The Mantra following, which is also the last Mantra of thepresent Sukta, runs as under:-

"!;[ ~ ~ ~ ~ r<4~~I~r~I

fWrfif~~~~: 11"

Atharva, Kanda H, Sukta 32, Mantra 6 :and means :-

'I utterly destroy your horny hooklets-(their) double(circle), by means of which you cause your specificirritation. I break open your most destructive organ,the storehouse of your (living) venom.'

This Mantra is very instructive. Whereas in its first half itdescribes the specific differentiating character of another closelyrelated parasite, in the latter half it gives the most important com-mon feature of the two species. The Pork Tape Worm named'Trenia Solium' differs from the beef tape worm mainly in thepossession of a double circle of horny hooklets surrounding acentral protrusion from the anterior end termed rostellum, behindwhich the four suckers like those of the Beef Tape Worm are metwith on the four sides of the head. Other differences amongst thetwo species are only minor.

Ordinarily a ~ is translated as a 'horn' . These

hooklets have the shape of a horn in being curved and pointed.Moreover they fulfil the conditions laid down in Yaska NiruktaNaigama Kanda, Adhy. H, Khanda 7, in the following manner:-

(I) They protrude from the head.(2) They are protruded for the protection of him who bears

them, as they penetrate into the intestinal wall, fixthe parasite into the same and thus help the suckers insaving the parasite from destruction.

(3) These, themselves too, do dwindle and break and medicalmen try their level best to disentangle these afterwhich they must perish as also the remaining portionsof the body of the parasite.

and (4) They take the support of the intestinal wall.

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The Pork Tapeworm passes its embryonic stage in the musclesof the pig exactly as the Beef form does in the muscles of the ox.

In both the segments become maturer as we proceed towardsthe posterior end and in fact the end segments are merely store-houses of ripe fertilized ova enclosed in the greatly distendeduterus. When it is remembered that every segment contains agreat number of ova, each ultimately capable of infecting a humanbeing and causing disease there, one immediately realizes that everysuch ripe segment is veritably a store-house of poison-actually livingvenom, capable of reproducing itself enormously. He then feelsthe supreme necessity of destroying everyone of them. They arethen realized to be really destroyable (~~ from ~ 'iijit) store-houses of poison (~ ). The word fc!1I~ describes thespecific irritation, itching, etc., caused by these parasites in thehuman host.

Exactly as the two mantras just discussed specifically describethe Trenias-Saginata and Solium, so does Atharva Veda, Kanda V,Sukta 23, Mantra 9, describe another important parasite of man. Itsays :--

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and means :-t I cut and crush and reduce to powder the head and sides of

the colourless parasite with a floating head and threeraised papillre. It creeps along and travels far andwide.'

This Mantra immediately precedes the three Mantras, commonto both the Kandas and referred to above which insist on a completeannihilation of the whole race of parasites. This Mantra, therefore,is technically quite as important as the Trenia mantras.

The word ~ need not compel the interpreters to imaginea hypothetical three-headed imaginary being as it can equally wellmean t one with floating head' (<fDt: f:r:). This is a specificdiagnostic character as its opposite t a fixed head' is the charac-teristic of the Trenias. Against same the parasite now underdiscussion possesses a head which floats free in the juices of theintestine and is not fixed into its wall.

Similarly the word r~'4I$~ does not signify the three-humpedbut one possessed of three raised surfaces or projections from thebody. The parasite under discussion bears three papi11reor raisedlips round the mouth and is thus really f~'4I'!\~.

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104 INDIAN CULTURE

Being a parasite of man it is a fsfif1:r:.Being more or less colourless it is ~, i.e. greyish white or

pinkish.Although it usually inhabits the small intestine, it wanders far

and wide reaching even the nose, ears, and throat. Its very wander-ing habits thus give it the specific name ~, Le. ~ ~ ;r

meaning' creeping along it changes on its position and travels overgreat distances'.

Another Mantra more or less dealing with this parasite ex-clusively is the last Mantra of this Sukta. It states :-

,,~ 'if rsn~~4IJi~ 'if rsnJl4IJt~.I

fi.t8l"\~1fl8ltfit"it ~'1it~r"l8lt~ 11"

Atharva: Kanda V, Sukta 23, Mantra 13and means :-

'Of all the male and female parasites, I fatally injure themouth and benumb the head as if fire had burnt theirmouths and a stone crushed their heads.'

This is simply a poetical way of emphasizing upon making themouth and head of the parasite functionless as if the papillre andbrain get fatally affected it would then be easy for the parasite tobe got rid of by means of purgatives etc.

Such a parasite is named Ascaris lumbricoides in the descriptivetext books of Zoology and Parasitology and is popularly known asthe common' Round Worm'.

Another parasite, belonging to the same class Nematodes, alsofulfills the conditions laid down in the Mantra "r ~'iqi~... "Atharva, Kanda V, Sukta 23, Mantra 9, discussed above in detail,with the following slight amendments in the above description :-

(I) It is ~ because it is white.(2) It is ~ because though usually inhabiting the small

intestine, it often wanders downwards so much so that it may evenwriggle out of the anus-the excretory aperture.

In all other respects as well it fulfills the conditions laid downin that Mantra but it does not confirm to the Mantra ,,~ ...J'Atharva, Kanda V, Sukta 23, Mantra 13, because in its case the maleautomatically dies after impregnating the female and passes outwith the freces.

The Mantra preceding, however, beautifully describes a specificcharacter of this parasite. It reads :-


,,~~~~~~: IIr~q~~: I

~ it ~ 1:<f~ =a-fsnirit ~: " "...

Atharva: Kanda V, Sukta 23, Mantra 12and means:-

'Its inner and outer (egg) coats have been destroyed and evenall the parasites who were yet in the form of embryoshave been entirely annihilated.'

The real purport of this Mantra becomes manifest to us whenwe read in the Parasitological literature that the Nematode worm,under discussion now, does possess eggs having three coats each, ofwhich the middle coat falls short of the two ends, through either ofwhich the larva may hatch out. Veda requires the egg coats-theinner and the outer both, as well as the larva or embryo within, tobe all entirely destroyed.

This Nematode worm possessing such eggs and all the othercharacteristics given in the "~i..." Mantra is, in the Parasi-tological literature, named, Oxyuris Vermicularis (the' ThreadWorm " , Pin Worm " or ' Seat Worm ').

In the case of Trenias too has the Mantra ,,~ ...," justinterpreted above, been formulated by the Veda in the form ofAtharva Veda, Kanda II, Sukta 32, Mantra 5, where, with referenceto the Trenias, it means :-

'The egg-shells and the walls of the ripe segments, con-taining them, have been destroyed as also all the parasiteswho were yet in the form of embryos.

This difference in interpretation is borne out by a reference tothe context. In the case of the Chaturaksh Trenia parasites theeggs have a shell and further they leave the host while still enclosedin the segment containing them. Therefore the two coats round theembryos are the egg-shell and the segment wall, whereas in the caseof the f-=nfti Oxyuris, eggs leave the host singly, i.e. unenclosed inany other organs, and thereore the only coats requiring to bedestroyed are their own coats. This justifies our differently inter-preting the identical Mantras occurring in the two Kandas as doneabove.

Atharva Veda, Kanda II, Sukta 32, Mantra 4, is identical withMantra 11 of Sukta 23 of Kanda V of the same Veda and runs asunder :-

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106 INDIAN CULTURE

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and means :-'The king of the parasites has been killed. Their minister

or guardian too has been destroyed. All the parasiteshave been killed as also their mothers, brothers, andsisters.'

Apparently this is only a poetical way of emphasizing upon thesupreme importance of killing all the young and old, thick and thin,mature and immature forms of the parasite in question.

Atharva, Kat;lda II, Sukta 32, Mantra 3 is identical with Mantra10 of Sukta 23 of Kanda V of the same Veda and runs:-

" "'Ir~CI'\q: ~ ~ ""(!9C1=1f1~rtolClCtI~ . ~ "

"'I41~~ ~ 'l:H'1'"111Til15{\~ 1"1.11

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Meaning :-'By means of the knowledge imparted by Agastya do I

annihilate the parasites. 0 parasites! I kill you, as doAttrih, Kat;lvahand Jamadagnih.'

Here it appears necessary to find out the relevant meanings ofthe words Agastyah, Attrih, Kat;lvah and Jamadagnih, ~: is~~ and, ~: is ~ ~ m. Again ~ means if ~ m,i.e. a fixed parasite like the Trenias and ~ means r~t.qfc't, ~<'il~q~

or ~ t.~""..lfCt meaning disentangles and thus removes. Thus,~: would mean a physician who can rid the patient of his oldwell-established parasites even. Agastyah is his son who has in-herited from his father some useful formulre for destroying parasites.Therefore do others too destroy the disease germs by applyingAgastyan formulre.

~: is one who has freed himself from all the three sorts oftroubles, who as if eats into the very root cause of all troubles.Thus he can quite easily destroy the parasites too. Yaska NiruktaNaigama Kanda Adhy. 3, Khanda 17, supports the first derivationby saying: "~"St<l m 11 "

~: is one whose fame is sung far and wide (~ ~: and~ rnfi in Dhatupatha ~ roots ~~: and aq"l~q: respectively).Naturally in connection with the Krimih Suktas it should meanone reputed for removing parasitic diseases.

~f1~rtol:is one reputed for kindling the sacrificial fires correctly.Yaska Nirukta Daiv. Kanda Adhy. I, Khanda 24, says: "~f1~toIq:...!oI~fi!1Ctltolq:... 11" Naturally in the Krimih Suktas fires can only meanfumigation fires meant to disinfect the lungs or other organs of a

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patient or his house and other articles. Therefore, Jamadagnihin this connection would mean the physician well versed in thedestruction of parasites by fumigation and allied processes.

. We have discussed these words at length but it was absolutelynecessary to do so in order to remove the misunderstanding usuallycaused by taking them to mean the seers who preceded the formula-tion of the Krimih Suktas.

Having thus described the Mantras dealing with the twospecies of Trenia, with Ascaris and with Oxyuris, and also discussedthe Mantra- Trio common to both the texts, we may now take up aMantra and a half which according to the philological mode ofthought deals with Ascaris and Oxyuris. This Mantra and a halfruns as under :-

" ... ""I<!.I~"~<.1iOfomr.rr.,. fsnirt.,. Cf'tRfT~~I~f~ n ~ n0 c.':3 -u ... ....

""I<:!.I~"!.;rf.'ir ~ m ~ ~~ifT ~ ~ I0-

f'n~I..r'M~I"!. fir ~ CITtIT~T rsn.f\tl.li ..f<4lCl~ql~ n ~ n"Atharva Kanda Il, Sukta 31, Mantras 2 and 3

and means :-, By means of Vacha we kill all the Ascaris type parasites

and the Oxyuris type ones. By means of a strong germi-cide I kill the Ascaris ones, making all the old andyoung, mature and immature ones, paralysed; theremaining evil ones do I scatter about and destroy bymeans of Vacha, so that none of the parasites lagsbehind. '

Now about the evidence in support of this rendering. Sushruta

Sa111hita mentions ~: amongst the parasites met with in thehuman freces (Sushruta Satp.hita, English translation by KunjalalM.R.A.S., Vol. Ill, Page 339, lines I and 2, year 1916 Edition).In the Hindi translation by Pt. Ravi Datta this word has beentranslated as ~1~"'Ii1(2nd Edition, year 1894, page 716, line 23).In the Punjab ~T is the name of the Earth-worm which bearsa superficial resemblance to Ascaris in its external shape whichalone is visible to all and sundry. Thus the superficial resemblance

... of the words .Itl!!il""ll,~ and ~ is the only evidence in support0- 0-

of the above rendering of the word, ~ into an Ascaris. External0..

appearance too does support this rendering.Similarly does Charak mention 'l1~f.1"II:amongst the parasites

met with in the human freces. Pt. Ravi Datta translates it into

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lIindi too as ~I~~~ (see Charak with Ravi Datta's Commentary,page 92, lines 10 and 24, year I9II Edition). ~ is the word-usedby the Veda. In the Punjabi language one of the frecal parasitesis termed a ~. Its characteristic is the itching sensation aboutthe anus and it mostly infects children, which characteristic and the

:superficial resemblance of the words ~, ~1'Rf.tonand ~ supportthe rendering of these into an Oxyuris.

The strong germicide, for these parasites, termed ~ ift:f,in the Veda would be something like Kabila used by the nativephysicians of the Punjab or Santonin used by the modern scientists.It is some strong antidote for these nematode worms which killmost of them and paralyzes others. The few that are left behindare got rid off by administering Vacha which according to Kirtikar.and Basu is Acorus calamus, Linn. H.F.B.I., VI, 555. Roxb. 296.They have illustrated this plant as per Plate No. IooB and describedit as fully as they could on page 1349, line 29, and onwards till the~nd of page 1352, of the year 1918 edition of their famous work,Indian Medicinal Plants, V01.H. On the basis of various authorities,they describe the rhizome of this plant as insectifuge, especially forfleas on page 135°, lines 17-19, as an insecticide on page 1351, lines21-22, and for removing fleas from water.. . and also as beinggiven to fowls for the same purpose on page 1352, lines 12-14.

In this way Veda requires all the parasites to be got rid offentirely.

The remaining Mantras of Sukta 31of Kanda H of the AtharvaVeda may now be taken up. The 1st Mantra reads as follows :-

"~ ~ wWttpf~ mfcf~ ~ I

crmmf'lr~~~~~ 11" 11":and means :-

, Like grams on a grind-stone, I crush the parasites, by meansof the mighty grinding wheel of Indra-the Solar Disc-the destroyer of all forms of parasites.'

The writer happened to throw some brown ants on an olddusty brown wooden packing case lying in bright sunshine on the.afternoon of May 1st, 1935, say, at about 2 P.M. He was surprisedto find them roasted up only in a few seconds. More or less non- ~

plussed by this strange phenomenon he repeated same three or fourtimes. Every time the ants were roasted up only in a few seconds.The writer at once grasped the meaning of the above Mantra. TheSolar Disc is really the mighty grinding stone of Indrah, from itssuperficial resemblance to the stone of an Atta Chakkie. Moreover

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PARASITOLOGY IN THE ATHARVA VEDA 1°9'

it crushes all forms of parasites into a fine powder sooner or later.A natural phenomenon as well supports this view. It consists ofthe strange reduction in the number, of mosquitoes visiting the-sleeping humanity at night in their beds in the Tropics, after the-mid-summer months of June and Mayor July; and of the strange'increase in their number after a rainfall. This is due to the strong"sunshine destroying them in large numbers. Indra's mighty grinding --'wheel then is the Solar Disc which sheds strong sunshine all round"- -=-and thereby destroys the disease germs so swiftly.

This is the natural interpretation of this Mantra. One more-interpretation is possible as well. Same too is given hereunder,"being very suggestive and in harmony with the Mantras that follow~

This interpretation is suggested by Mantras like the following :-

(~) "~~lrCt~1~.Hr~~l ~<fiT~ ~~ I

r1i~ ~~r~(4rJ.(QI4jIt~I~~ 11\8 11

~1(j~41'" mn f111f2fi 'tr";l1illt~lr'7lCt: I... 'I"" ...

~ ~ ~~ "5\'1Jlif~-lr"a~~ "if 11 ~t. 11

~~~q~1 cmrr~~II\t(1I

~~r1i~~~~"if~1

~ ~uf5i Cfi~.HIJ~~~I... r~f1. 11\ -s n

~ of. - "1:-';1 ~Tif ~ ~ ...Ctl~~~ (fef 000 11 \~ 11

Atharva Kanda X, ~ukta 4, Mantras I4-18~

These Mantras apparently describe Indrah as a young physician,expert in the science of snakes and scorpions. He is referred to as..approaching a hilly hunter's daughter who is digging out a medicinalherb on a mountain table-land near the foot of the mountain crest.Apparently the word Indrah here stands for a physician, as also.do the words Mittrah, Varu~ah, Vatah and Parjanyah. Anotherinstance where Agnih is described as a physician is met with in theAtharva: Kanda V, Sukta 29, Mantra I, which reads as under:-

"~ mfit crv~m~ ~ fsn~~l~~ I

o-*=,~~ f.~ 0 0", "(CI'lotolQ4!.. q~~l ~ "1\(11 (C(CIT ~~~ 11

In this Mantra Agnih is addressed as a physician who manu-.factures medicines and administers them to patients.

In the light of these Mantras it would be only reasonable for the-Vedic student to translate the word Indrah, occurring in the KrimihSuktas, into a physician. In that case his ~ ~ would not be-

(~)

(~)

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the grinding wheel but the medicine by which he crushes the parasitesinto their finest particles according to the derivation, ,,~ 1lm~ ~," of the word ~. Now the question arises as to whatis that parasiticide of the physician Indrah, which destroys all theforms of parasites. This is replied to in the next Mantra whichreads :--.

..J>------- " C{~+tc{~~~ ~~+t~"Il~ I

""~I(!§.~qi'"ll!~.It"1.~ ~ ~~,+tf~ n"'"

Atharva: Kanda Il, Sukta 3I, Mantra 2.and means :-

, I have killed the visible and the invisible ones. I have alsodestroyed the Thigh-borer. By means of Vacha do wekill all the Ascaris and Oxyuris types.'

Apparently this Mantra names the strong germicide of Indrah,as Vacha, by stating that the visible, invisible, the thigh-borer,and the Ascaris and Oxyuris types can all be killed by meansof this single drug. This point is also emphasized upon in the nexttwo Mantras. One of them reads:-

" ""~I(!§~~ 1JifflT«rifif~ ~ ~~ ~ I'"t":..-.-r:..- .- fir fet...,f+tcmrrverTf5fl+tl~iif fca4l~q,~ n"

Atharva: Kanda II, Sukta 3I, Mantra 3.and means :-

, I kill the Ascaris types by administering a strong germicideso that their mature and immature forms get para-lyzed ; then I clear off the remaining evil ones by meansof Vacha so that none of the parasites survives my treat-ment. '

and the other reads:-

" ""I.ql~ 'it~~~+t ~( ~ ~ I

'Il~~~ ~ ~fu 11"

Atharva: Kanda Il, Sukta 3I, Mantra 4.meamng :-

, The cholera germ (of the small intestine), the germs of thebrain and nervous tissue diseases, the pneumococcii (ofthe sides and lungs), the tetanus bacilli (which keepfallen down and cause jumping of the whole body), thegonococcii and syphilis germs (making one prone to

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PARASITOLOGY IN THE ATHARVA VEDA III

indecent actions)-(all of these) germs do we destroy bymeans of Vacha.'

This germ destroying action of Vacha is also mentioned in thefollowing Mantra :-

"~~fotl~~~~ml~fcpm~~m~~II"

Atharva: Kanda V, Sukta 23, Mantra 2.

!.

meamng :-, 0 wealthy (physician) Indra! kindly destroy the parasites

infecting this lad. All (your) enemies have been killedby my strong Vacha.'

This Mantra from the Krimih Sukta itself, conclusively provesthat translating' Indrah' into a physician who has specialized inParasitology and his ifit ~ into Vacha would not be out of placeat. all, because when, according to this Mantra, the guardians, of alad suffering from parasites, go to the wealthy Indrah, they requesthim to cure their child of his Krimis and he encourages them by thewords' (Dear Sirs, do you not worry any longer). (Believe) all(your) enemies-(the parasites of this lad) to .have been actuallykilled by my strong (smelling) Vacha'. In this connection it isinteresting to note that Ugragandha (strong-smelling) is one of theepithets of Vacha according to Bha va Prakash and Indian MedicinalPlants. The former too describes it as a parasiticide as under:-

"Cr-qlot.l4I-t:11... cn'tlI~I~~C't~otqr81C!II"!~ n""'eR ~ ... <:r'W"!i 'ifm' ~ 'eR ~4.-t:lctlC!1'l ... ~ ~ ~ (f'eIT

qr~81I¥1.cnm ~ n"Bhava Prakash, Ist Vol., Ist Part, Page I74, Shloka I22, lines 23,

-25, 27, 28, and 29 of the text with Kali Charan's Hindi Commentaryof the year I894 edition.

As regards the Indian Medicinal Plants, page I349 of its 2nd Vol.may be referred to for the name Ugragandha amongst the names ofAcorus Calamus (Vacha).

These Mantras thus leave no doubt that Indra's Mahi Drishatmeans (I) the Solar Disc, and (2) Vacha; Indra himself being thesun in the former case and the parasite-specialist in the latter.

-What a pity that Acharya Sayana always translated Vacha intQa Mantra (being composed of~words or speech only) in his com-mentary on these Mantras of the Krimih Suktas. The word Kunioccurring in Mantra 2, Sukta3I, Kanda Il, has been translated into

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a Thigh-borer in the preceding discussion. This requires amplifica-tion. Acharya Sayana, in his commentary on this Mantra, firstreads the word ~ as ~ and then translates same into a~ or more or less a network of the parasites inside the body of

is the patient. We, on the other hand, simply split the original word:fm:. ~ into its actual parts ~ and ~~. In Dhatupath of Pat;l~i

,...,,-./ - - .r..'~m:roots ~: we read "~ ~~:; " and ~ occurring so oftenin the Vedas means' a thigh' ; combining the two we have inter-preted the word ~ as the Thigh-borer. This parasite is known tothe laymen in our own parts under the name' Narva' and itsscientific name is Dranunculus medinensis (Filaria medinensis, Guineaworm, Medina worm). Its main characteristic is that ultimatelyit comes to lie under the skin of the patient and then bores throughit on the foot or leg or near about and then may also leave thebody of the host if properly handled.

Thus in the preceding pages light has been thrown on thefollowing points :- .

(I) The meanings of the words ~: and fsnf1f:.(2) The germ-destroying action of the sun.(3) The Vedic reference to some bacterial parasites of man.(4) The Vedic description of the two species of Trenia.(5) Ascaris Lumbricoides, Oxyuris Vermicularis, and Dranun-

culus medinensis, as described in the Vedas.(6) The methods by which all forms in all stages of Nos. 3,

4, and 5 must be got rid of.(7) The technical meanings of the words Indrah, Drishat,

Vacha, Mahan Badha, etc.(8) The supreme importance of destroying all the types of the

disease germs.

In doing so, Suktas 3I and 32 of Kanda II of the Atharva Vedahave been commented upon wholly and Sukta 23 of the Vth Kandaof the same Veda only partially. Thus out of the Krimih Suktasonly Mantras I, 4, 5,7, and 8 of this Sukta 23 remain uncommentedupon as yet. These however deal with a number of parasites mostlycausing the various types of leprosy, and for the proper translation ofthese Mantras no clue is available except the structure of the wordsby which they are named or hunting out some philological resemblanceif any amongst the names of the Krimis as given in the ancientIndian Medical books-Charak, Sushruta, etc. We therefore for thepresent keep a discussion of these parasites and these Mantras pendingfor some future date.


Parasitology is dealt with in some other S6.ktas as. well in theVedas but as the word Krimih is not used there, we have thought itbetter to discuss them separately. 1;'

It is now for the readers to judge the merits of a study of tne--Vedas by specialists in various branches of the Modern Sciences, toillustrate which we have dealt with the subject of Parasitology in theVedas in the foregoing pages.

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Parasitology in the Atharva Veda_Rulia Ram Kashyap

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