Page:Sushruta Samhita Vol 1.djvu/381

Chap.XXIX.] (Prasanna) should be deemed an omen of evil augury.

Similarly, the sight of a parched corpse, or of a withered tree or Palasha branch, is equally inauspicious. A physician, meeting a member of any of the vile or degraded castes or a blind or indigent person, or a man inimically disposed towards him, should consider the character of the disease to be unfavourable.

A gentle, cool and fragrant breeze, blowing from the direction of his destination, should be regarded as an auspicious omen by a physician. A wind, which is hot, dry, and is charged with the fetid exalations of putrid matter, and which blows from the direction of his starting point, should be regarded as an evil omen.

The word "cut," used by another and accidentallv heard by a physician (on his way) to the bed-side of a patient laid up with Granthi (aneurism) or Arvuda (tumour), should be regarded as a good omen; while the term "open", heard under similar circumstances and in connection with a case of Vidradhi (abscess), or Gulma (abdominal gland or Udara (ascites), should be regarded as an equally auspicious portent. Similarly, the term "stopped" is commended in a case of dysentery or haemoptysis. Thus the physician should interpret the auguries according to the nature of each individual case.