Sushruta Samhita Sutrasthana Chapter 32: Svabhava Vipratipatthi Adhyaya (Fatal Signs of Normal Features of the Body)
The 32nd chapter of Sutrasthana of Sushruta Samhita is named as Svabhava Vipratipatthi Adhyaya. This chapter deals with Fatal Signs of Normal Features of the Body.
अथातः स्वभावविप्रतिपत्तिमध्यायं व्याख्यास्यामः ॥१॥
यथोवाच भगवान् धन्वन्तरिः ॥२॥
We will now expound the chapter by name Svabhava Viparipatti fatal signs regarding normal features of the body, as revealed by the venerable Dhanvantari.
Anganam Anyatha Bhavitvam: Abnormal changes of the body parts
स्वभावसिद्धानां शरीरैकदेशानामन्यभावित्वं मरणाय। तद्याथा- शुक्लानां कृष्णत्वं कृष्णानां शुक्लता, रक्तानामन्यवर्णत्वं स्थिराणां मृदुत्वं ,मृदूनां स्थिरता, चलानामचलत्वम्, अचलनां चलता, पृथूनां संक्षिप्तत्वं, संक्षिप्तानां पृथुता, दिर्घणां ह्रस्वत्वं ह्रस्वानां दीर्घता, अपतनधर्मिणां पतनधर्मित्वं, पतनधर्मिणामपतनधर्मित्वमकस्मात् शैत्यौष्ण्यस्नैग्ध्यरौक्ष्यप्रस्तम्भवैवर्ण्यावसादनं चाङ्गानाम् ॥३॥
The different parts of the body undergoing change in their normal features, is indicative of death such as
– parts which are white (normally) becoming black,
– those which are black becoming white;
– those which are red becoming changed to any other colour;
– hard ones becoming soft and soft ones becoming hard;
– those which are movable becoming immovable and those which are immovable become movable
– those which are large (thick, more) becoming small (short, less) and small ones becoming large, (gross ones becoming subtle and subtle or minute ones becoming gross)
– those which are long becoming short and those which are short becoming long
– those having the nature of falling off do not fall and those having the nature of not falling would fall off,
– qualities such as cold, hot, unctuousness, dryness, profound rigidity, change of colour of the part etc. undergoing change to their opposite
All these abnormal changes happening without any other reason, is indicative of death.
स्वेभ्यः स्थानेभ्यः शरीरैकदेशानामवस्रस्तोत्क्षिप्तभ्रात्नावक्षिप्तपतितविमुक्तनिर्गतान्तर्गतगुरुलघुत्वानि,प्रवालवर्णव्यङ्गप्रादुर्भावो वाऽप्यकस्मात्, सिराणां च दर्शनं ललाटे, नासावंशे वा पिडकोत्पत्तिः; ललाटे वा प्रभातकाले स्वेदः; नेत्ररोगाद्विना वाऽ श्रृप्रवृत्तिः, गोमयचूर्णप्रकाशस्य वा रजसो दर्शनमुत्तमाङ्गे, निलयनं वा कपोतकङ्ककाकप्रभृतीनां, मूत्रपूरीषवृद्धिरभुञ्जानानां, तत्प्रणाशो वा भुञ्जानानां; स्तनमूलहृदयोरः सु च शूलोत्पत्तयः, मध्ये शूनत्वमन्तेषु परिम्लायित्वं विपर्ययो वा, तथाऽर्धाङ्गे श्वयथुः शोषोऽत्पत्तयः, मध्ये शूनत्वमन्तेषु परिम्लायित्वं विपर्ययो वा, तथाऽर्धाङ्गे श्वयथुः शोषोऽङ्गपक्षयोर्वा, नष्टहीनविकलविकृतस्वरता वा, विपर्णपुष्पप्रादुर्भावो वा दन्तमुखनखशरिरेषु, यस्य वाऽ प्सु कफपुरीषरेतांसि निमज्जन्ति, यस्य वा दुष्टिमण्डले भिन्नाविकृतानि रुपाण्यालिक्यन्ते, स्नेहाभ्यक्तकेशाङ्गा इव यो भाति, यश्च दुर्बलो भक्तद्वेषातिसारान्यां पीड्चते, कासमानश्च तृष्णाभिभूतः , क्षीणश्छर्दिभक्तद्वेषयुक्तः सफेनपूयरुधिरोद्वामी हतस्वरः शूलाभिपन्नाश्च मनुष्यः , शूनकरचरणवदनः क्षीणोऽन्नद्वेषी स्रस्तपीण्डिकाम्सपाणिपादो ज्वरकासाभिभूतः, यस्तु पुर्वाह्णे भुक्तमपराह्णे छर्धयत्यविदग्धमतिसार्यते वा स श्वासान्म्रियते, बस्तवद्धिलपन् यश्च भूमौ पतति स्रब्धमेढ्रो भग्रग्रीवः प्रनष्टमेहनश्च मनुष्यः, प्राग्विशुष्यमाणहृदय आर्द्रशरीरः, यश्च लोष्टं लोष्टेनाभिहन्ति काष्टं काष्ठेन,
Below mentioned things happening with the body or body parts are indicative of death –
– displacement from their normal place – downward, upward, roundabout or sidewards
– falling off
– getting loosened
– coming out
– getting in
– becoming heavy
– becoming light
Below mentioned are the signs which indicate death (coming shortly) –
– pigmented patches develop on the face or any other part of the body without any reason and they will have white colour just like a pearl
– veins which are prominent as well as elevated become visible on the forehead
– eruptions can be seen developing on the nose ridge
– sweating can be seen appearing on the forehead early in the morning
– tears flow from the eye in spite of absence of any kind of eye disease,
– dust like matter which resembles cow dung powder appear on the head,
– birds like pigeon, heron, crow etc would sit on the head of the patient,
– increase of urine and faeces even if food is not consumed or absence of urine and faeces in spite of food being consumed,
– pain manifests at the base of the breasts, heart and chest,
– oedema manifests in the trunk and is absence in the extremities or
– oedema is absent in the trunk while it is present at the extremities
– swelling can be seen in half of the body while the other half of the body is emaciated,
– voice of the person is either lost completely or diminished, he may also suffer from stammer or any other abnormal voice changes,
– discoloured flower marks develop on the teeth, face, nails or the skin
Signs of person who will die due to dyspnoea
A person who presents with the below mentioned features will die due to dyspnoea –
– a person whose sputum, faeces and semen sink in water;
– in whose area of vision (cornea of the eyes) images appear as torn / broken or distorted;
– he whose hairs and body appears as though anointed with oil;
– he who is weak (in strength) and suffers from aversion towards food or diarrhoea,
– he who is suffering from cough developing thirst;
– the emaciated person developing vomiting and aversion towards food,
– he who vomits froth, pus or blood and
– person who suffers from having loss of voice and pain in the abdomen,
– the person who is emaciated (weak) and develops swelling of the hands, feet and face
– has aversion to food, looseness / debility of the calves, shoulders, arms and legs;
– he who has taken food in the forenoon develops vomiting or purging of undigested food in the afternoon, and also suffers from fever and cough (such a person dies from dyspnoea)
Other signs which indicate the person’s lifespan has been completed (death is closer)
– he who makes sounds like bleating of the goat and falls on the ground,
– the person whose testes (scrotum) gets displaced and has flaccidity / rigidity (absence of movement) of his penis,
– he who has dropping of the neck or indrawn penis;
– the person whose chest (region of heart) will dry first after he has taken full body bath and he strikes a stone (mass or ball of mud) with yet another stone (mass or ball of mud) or a piece of wood with yet another piece of wood, or plucks (pulls out) grass,
– he who bites his lower lips or licks the upper lip;
– he who pulls out his ears or hairs;
– he who begins to hate Gods, Brahmanas, teachers, friends and the physician;
– he whose birth star and other planets moving from one malevolent place to another in their celestial cycle, or have remained in one unfavourable place giving troubles to him;
– he gets struck by meteors or thunderbolt either in person or at his birth place in the horoscope;
– or he whose house, wife, bed, furniture, vehicles, transport, riding animals, gems, jeweller, equipment etc. developing unfavourable features without any reason (all these are indicative of death)
चिकित्स्यमानः सम्यक् च विकारो योऽभिवर्धते।
प्रक्षीणबलमांसस्य लक्षणं तद्रतायुषः ॥५॥
निवर्तते महाव्याधिः सहसा यस्य देहिनः ।
न चाहारफलं यस्य दृश्यते स विनश्यति ॥६॥
एतान्यरिष्टरुपाणि सम्यग् बुध्येत यो भिषक्।
साध्यासाध्यपरीक्षायां स राज्ञः संमतो भवेत् ॥७॥
Some verses here:-
The patient, in whom there is an increase of diseases and decrease of strength and muscles greatly in spite of being treated properly, is going to die soon.
The person is sure to die in whom dreadful diseases disappear suddenly from the body or in whom effects of food (strength and growth of the body) are not seen.
The physician would become eligible to become the royal physician who decides the curability and incurability of the diseases after thoroughly understanding these signs of death.
इति श्रीसुश्रुतसंहितायां सुत्रस्थाने स्वभाविप्रतिपत्तिर्नाम् द्वात्रिंशोध्यायः ॥
Thus ends the thirty-second chapter by name Svabhava Vipratipatti in Sutra Sthana or Susruta Samhita.
