Sushruta Samhita Uttaratantra Chapter 25 Široroga Vijñaniya (Knowledge of Diseases of the Head)
The 25th chapter of Uttaratantra of Sushruta Samhita is named as Široroga Vijñaniya Adhyaya. This chapter deals with the Knowledge of Diseases of the Head.
अथातः शिरोरोगविज्ञानीयमध्यायं व्याख्यास्यामः ।। १ ।।
यथोवाच भगवान् धन्वन्तरिः ।। २ ।।
We will now expound the chapter by name Siroroga vijñānīya – knowledge of diseases of the head (headaches); as revealed by the venerable Dhañvañtari .
Roganāma sankhya – names and number of headaches
शिरो रुजति मर्त्यानां वातपित्तकफैस्त्रिभिः ।।
सन्निपातेन रक्तेन क्षयेण क्रिमिभिस्तथा ।। ३ ।।
सूर्यावर्तानन्तवातार्थावभेदकशङ्खकैः ।।
एकादशप्रकारस्य लक्षणं संप्रवक्ष्यते || ४ ||
In human beings, the headaches are caused by –
– Vata, Pitta and Kapha – separately
– All the doshas together,
– Rakta – blood
– Ksaya – depletion of tissues and
– Krimi – worms, bacteria etc.
The above said eight types of headaches along with Suryavarta, Anantavata, Ardhavabhedaka and Sankhaka all together make eleven kinds of headaches.
Vataja Siroroga
यस्यानिमित्तं शिरसो रुजश्च भवन्ति तीव्रा निशि चातिमात्रम् |
बन्धोपतापैश्च भवेद्विशेषः शिरोभितापः स समीरणेन ||५||
Features of headache produced by vata –
– Headache occurs without any apparent cause,
– Severe at night,
– Subsides by binding and mild fomentation / sudation
Pittaja siroroga
यस्योष्णमङ्गारचितं यथैव दह्येत धूप्येत शिरोक्षिनासम् ।।
शीतेन रात्रौ च भवेद्विशेष : शिरोभितापः स तु पित्तकोपात् ।। ६ ।।
Features of headache caused by pitta –
– Feeling as though burning coal has been spread on (in) the head,
– Feeling as though hot fumes are coming out of his head and nose,
– Pain subsides especially by cold things and
– Pain subsides mainly at night
Kaphaja siroroga
शिरोगलं यस्य कफोपदिग्धं गुरु प्रतिष्टब्धमथो हिमं च ।।
शूनाक्षिकूटं वदनं च यस्य शिरोभितापः स कफप्रकोपात् ।। ७ ।।
Features of headache caused by kapha –
– Feeling as if head and throat is smeared with kapha,
– Feeling of heaviness in the body,
– Inactive and cold,
– Swelling of the eye, orbit and face
Tridoşaja Siroroga
शिरोभितापे त्रितयप्रवृत्ते सर्वाणि लिङ्गानि समुद्भवन्ति ।।
Features of headache caused by all three doshas together – Symptoms of all the three individual doshas mentioned above will appear together.
Raktaja Siroroga
रक्तात्मकः पित्तसमानलिङ्गः स्पर्शासहत्वं शिरसो भवेच्च || ८ ||
Features of headache produced by Rakta
– Same symptoms as those of headache caused by pitta occur in this headache,
– Tenderness – inability to tolerate touching the head
Kşayaja Siroroga
वसाबलासक्षतसंभवानां शिरोगतानामिह संक्षयेण ।।
क्षयप्रवृत्तः शिरसोऽभितापः कष्टो भवेदुग्ररुजोऽतिमात्रम् ।। ९ ।।
संस्वेदनच्छर्दनधूमनस्यैरसृग्विमोक्षैश्च विवृद्धिमेति ।।
Ksayaja Siroroga – is a type of headache caused due to loss of (depletion of) fat and kapha of the head and by injury to the head.
Features of headache caused by Ksaya – depletion of tissues –
– Very severe pain,
– Pain increases by fomentation, emesis, smoke inhalation, nasal medication and bloodletting therapies
– Difficult to cure
Krimija Siroroga
निस्तुद्यते यस्य शिरोऽतिमात्रं संभक्ष्यमाणं स्फुटतीव चान्तः ।।१० ।।
घ्राणाच्च गच्छेत्सलिलं सरक्तं शिरोभितापः कृमिभिः स घोरः ।।
Features of headache produced by krimi – worms –
– Severe pain,
– Worm eats and destroys the interior of the head,
– Feeling as if the head is exploding,
– Flow of watery fluid mixed with blood from the nose,
The disease is dreadful due to the presence of above said symptoms.
Suryävarta
सूर्योदय या प्रति मन्दमन्दमक्षिवं रुक समुपैति गाढम् ।।१९।।
विवर्धते चांशुमता सहैव सूर्यापवृत्तौ विनिवर्तते च ॥
शीतेन शान्तिं लभते कदाचिदुष्णेन जन्तुः सुखमाप्नुयाच्च ।।१२।।
तं भास्करावर्तमुदाहरन्ति सर्वात्मकं कहतमं विकारम् ।।
Suryavarta headache presents with the below mentioned symptoms –
– Pain in eyes and brows,
– Pattern – headache starts mildly at sunrise and slowly increases along with movement of sun and subsides by sunset,
– Headache sometimes gets relieved by hot comforts and sometimes by cold comforts
This condition is produced by all three aggravated doshas combined together. It is difficult to cure.
Anantavata
दोषास्तु दुष्टास्त्रय एव मन्यां संपीड्य घाटासु रुजां सुतीव्राम् ।।१३।।
कुर्वन्ति साक्षिभुवि शङ्खदेशे स्थितिं करोत्याशु विशेषतस्तु ।।
गण्डस्य पार्श्वे तु करोति कम्पं हनुग्रहं लोचनजांश्च रोगान् ।।१४।।
अनन्तवातं तमुदाहरन्ति दोषत्रयोत्थं शिरसो विकारम् ।।
Anantavata is a headache produced by all three doshas together. The symptoms are produced by all three aggravated doshas. Below mentioned are its symptoms –
– Severe pain in the nape of the neck, eyes, eyebrows and temples,
– Throbbing at the sides of the cheeks,
– Loss of movement of the lower jaw and
– Diseases of the eyes
Ardhavabheda
यस्योत्तमाङ्गार्धमतीव जन्तोः संभेदतोदभ्रमशूलजुष्टम् ।। १५ ।।
पक्षाहशाहादथवाऽप्यकस्मात्तस्यार्धभेदं त्रितयाह्यवस्येत् ।।
Below mentioned are the symptoms of Ardhavabhedaka –
– Severe splitting pain in half of the head,
– Pricking pain,
– Giddiness,
– Severe pain etc.
The above said symptoms occur in half of the head. They appear in bouts of intervals of either fifteen days or ten days and also without any cause.
Sankhaka
शङ्खाश्रितो वायुरुदीर्णवेगः कृतानुयात्रः कफपित्तरक्तैः ।।१६।।
रुजः सुतीव्राः प्रतनोति मूर्ध्नि विशेषतश्चापि हि शङ्खयोस्तु ।।
सुकष्टमेनं खलु शङ्खकाख्यं महर्षयो वेदविदः पुराणाः ।।१७।।
व्याधिं वदन्त्युनतमृत्युकल्पं भिषक्सहस्त्रैरपि दुर्निवारम् ।। १८ ।।
Sankhaka is a headache which is marked by severe pain in the temples.
Vata residing in the temples gets aggravated. Later it gets associated with kapha, pitta and rakta and causes severe pain in the head, mainly in the temples.
The ancient great sages learned in Vedas have described this headache by the name ‘Sankhaka’. This disease is considered to be similar to death and also difficult to cure even by a thousand physicians.
इति श्रीसुश्रुतसंहितायामुत्तरतन्त्रान्तर्गत शालाक्यतन्त्रे शिरोरोगविज्ञानीयो नाम पञ्चविंशोऽध्यायः ।। २५ ।।
Thus ends the twenty fifth chapters by name Siroroga vijñānīya in Uttara Sthana of Suśruta Samhita.
