Walking Barefoot in the Bhavaprakasha: Upanah, Chhatra and Danda, the Shoes, Umbrella and Staff

📖 26 min read · Bhavaprakasha, Purva Khanda, verses 293–315 (printed pages 237–242 of a Hindi-commentary edition)

Walking Barefoot: The Bhavaprakasha's Answer (Verse 306)

Verse 306
पादाभ्यामनुपानद्भ्यां सदा चंक्रमणं नृणाम् । अनारोग्यमनायुष्यमिन्द्रियघ्नमदृष्टिदम् ॥
padabhyam anupanadbhyam sada chankramanam nrinam; anarogyam anayushyam indriyaghnam adrishtidam

In plain English: for people, always walking about on unshod feet is unhealthy (anarogya), against a long life (anayushya), harmful to the senses (indriyaghna) and a taker of sight (adrishti-da). Our edition's Hindi says it in its own words: मनुष्योंको सर्वदा बिन जूते पैरोंसे घूमना, "for people, always going about on feet without shoes", is not healthy, not good for life, ruins the senses and does not give sight.

So the text's answer on walking barefoot is a plain no, with one word that matters: sada, always. It condemns the habit of going everywhere unshod, not a moment on a lawn, and the verse before it praises footwear (upanad-dharanam). Today walking barefoot is often praised as natural; the Bhavaprakasha, like the Sushruta Samhita it borrows from, takes the other side. It is a classical opinion, read here as history, not advice, and the rest of this page shows where each line comes from.

Where These Verses Sit: From the Meal to the Road

These are the twenty-three numbered verses (293 to 315) that close the daily-routine chapter (dinacharya) of the Bhavaprakasha's Purva Khanda, on printed pages 237 to 242 of our Hindi-commentary edition. The Sanskrit Wikisource text numbers the same stretch 223 to 248, because it numbers two lines that our edition keeps inside verse 299, and a third that our edition prints only inside a note. Before them come the beds, breezes and fans of our page on sleeping on the floor; after them a bracket, अथाचारः, "now, conduct", turns to friends and manners.

• The hour after the meal (293–301): pleasant and unpleasant things, what to leave alone, why food stays undigested, and eating on top of a meal (adhyashana).
• Going out (302–309): the seat and the road, the stroll, the turban, footwear, walking barefoot, the umbrella, the staff and the palanquin.
• Rides and weather (310–315): boat, elephant and horse, then sun and shade, rain and fog, fire and smoke.

It is the same edition, and the same chapter, as our pages on what to do after eating and the bath and dress; for Bhavamishra himself, see our introduction to the Bhavaprakasha.

Shabda, Sparsha, Rupa, Rasa, Gandha: Five Pleasures After the Meal (Verse 293)

Verse 293, after the bracket अपरानप्युदरेऽन्नस्य संस्थापनहेतूनाह
शब्दान् स्पर्शांश्च रूपाणि रसान् गन्धान् मनःप्रियान् । भुक्तवानपि सेवेत तेनान्नं साधु तिष्ठति ॥
shabdan sparshamsh cha rupani rasan gandhan manah-priyan; bhuktavan api seveta tenannam sadhu tishthati

In plain English: after eating, too, one may enjoy sounds, touches, sights, tastes and smells that please the mind; by this the food stays well, and a short note supplies where: उदरे इति विशेषः, "in the stomach". This is the Sushruta Samhita, Sutrasthana 46.488, almost word for word:

Sushruta, Sutrasthana 46.488
शब्दान्रूपान्रसान् गन्धान् स्पर्शांश्च मनसः प्रियान् । भुक्तवानुपसेवेत तेनान्नं साधु तिष्ठति ॥

Bhishagratna's English: After eating, a man should enjoy soft sounds, pleasant sights and tastes, sweet perfumes, soft and velvety touch, since such pleasurable sensations greatly help the process of digestion. But the order of the five has changed. Sushruta's runs sound, sight, taste, smell, touch. The Bhavaprakasha's runs sound, touch, sight, taste, smell, the order in which its own creation chapter lists the five subtle elements (tanmatra):

Bhavaprakasha, Srishti Prakarana 20 (Wikisource numbering)
शब्दतन्मात्रकं स्पर्शतन्मात्रं रूपमात्रकम् । रसतन्मात्रकं गन्धतन्मात्रमिति तानि तु ॥

From these, it goes on, come space, air, fire, water and earth. So in Bhavamishra's hands the pleasures arrive in the order of the five elements. Our reading, flagged: the text does not say why touch moved from last to second, and the next verse makes the same change.

Jugupsita and Aprayata: What Turns the Meal Back (Verse 294)

Verse 294
शब्दः स्पर्शस्तथा रूपं रसो गन्धो जुगुप्सितः । भुक्तमप्रयतं चान्नमतिहास्यं च वामयेत् ॥
shabdah sparshas tatha rupam raso gandho jugupsitah; bhuktam aprayatam channam atihasyam cha vamayet

In plain English: a disgusting (jugupsita, Monier-Williams disliked, detested, disgusting) sound, touch, sight, taste or smell, food eaten that is aprayata, and too much laughter (atihasya) can bring the meal back up (vamayet). Sushruta's line (Sutrasthana 46.489) has the old order and calls the food ashuchi, impure; Bhishagratna's English even has a loud side-splitting laugh after a meal. Our edition's note glosses the new word: अप्रयतमपवित्रम्, aprayata means unclean.

The bracket over the verse has lost a sign. It reads अन्नस्योदरे स्थितिहेतूनाह, "the causes of the food's staying in the stomach", the wrong way round. The Vachaspatyam, a nineteenth-century Sanskrit encyclopedia that copies this passage with our edition's notes, prints अन्नस्योदरेऽस्थितिहेतूनाह, "not staying", and so does our edition's own Hindi: उदर में अन्नके न ठहरने के हेतुवों को कहते हैं.

Shayanam Chasanam Chati: The Small Word Ati (Verse 295)

Verse 295, after the bracket अन्यदपि वर्जनीयमाह
शयनं चासनं चाति न भजेन्न द्रवाधिकम् । नाग्न्यातपौ न प्लवनं न यानं नापि वाहनम् ॥
shayanam chasanam chati na bhajen na dravadhikam; nagny-atapau na plavanam na yanam napi vahanam

In plain English: after a meal one should not lie down or sit too much, nor take too much liquid; no fire and no sun, no swimming (plavana), no road (yana), no riding (vahana). The note glosses the last three: प्लवनं बाहुभ्यां जलप्रतरणं यानं मार्गे चलनं वाहनमश्वादि, crossing water with the arms, going along a road, a horse and the like. Now Sushruta, Sutrasthana 46.490:

Sushruta, Sutrasthana 46.490, first half
शयनं चासनं वाऽपि नेच्छेद्वाऽपि द्रवोत्तरम्

Sushruta's line has no "too much". Read flat, it forbids lying down or sitting at all, though the verse before it has the eater take rest, like a king, till the sense of drowsiness incidental to eating is removed, then walk a hundred paces and lie down on the left side. The Bhavaprakasha's own verses 269 to 271 also end the meal with a hundred slow steps and lying down. Here it turns Sushruta's va 'pi into chati, "and too much". With one small word, ati, the rule no longer quarrels with the rest that comes before it. Bhishagratna loosened the knot his own way: The after-meal siesta should not be long and continuous.

The Wikisource Bhavaprakasha reads शयनं चाशनं चाति, "lying down and eating too much"; our print, the Vachaspatyam and Sushruta have asanam, sitting. Our reading, flagged: yana here is a journey (Monier-Williams a journey, travel), not the short walk just prescribed.

Muhurtam Bhuktavams Tyajet: One Muhurta's Pause (Verse 296)

Verse 296, second half
युद्धं गीतं च पाठं च मुहूर्तं भुक्तवांस्त्यजेत्
yuddham gitam cha patham cha muhurtam bhuktavams tyajet

The whole verse is a list with a clock on it: for one muhurta after eating, leave alone exercise (vyayama), running (dhavana), riding (yana), combat (yuddha), singing (gita) and reciting (patha); one more item is left out on this page. A muhurta is the 30th part of a day in Monier-Williams, forty-eight minutes, and our edition's Hindi counts it as two ghadis: दो घड़ी न करे. Our reading, flagged: singing and reciting sit beside combat and running because the text counts the voice as effort; the verse gives no reason.

We could not find this verse in Sushruta's after-meal block, and we could not trace the verse to an older source. It fits a line the Bhavaprakasha has already given, in verse 270:

Verse 270, second half
आयुश्चङ्क्रममाणस्य मृत्युर्धावति धावतः
ayush chankramamanasya mrityur dhavati dhavatah

"Life comes to the one who strolls; death runs after the one who runs." Verse 296 gives the running a time limit. The verses give no quantities of anything, and we add none: the muhurta is the text's own unit of time.

A ghatika water clock: a thin copper bowl floats until it fills and sinks, one ghadi. Our Hindi counts verse 296's muhurta as two.

Ajirna Hetu: Water, Sleep and the Mind at the Meal (Verses 297–298)

The bracket before them says why they are here: परिवर्जनार्थमजीर्णस्य हेतूनाह, "so that they can be avoided, he gives the causes of food not digesting (ajirna)".

Verse 297
अत्यम्बुपानाद्विषमाशनाच्च सन्धारणात्स्वप्नविपर्ययाच्च । कालेऽपि सात्म्यं लघु चापि भुक्तमन्नं न पाकं भजते नरस्य ॥
atyambu-panad vishamashanac cha sandharanat svapna-viparyayac cha; kale 'pi satmyam laghu chapi bhuktam annam na pakam bhajate narasya

In plain English: from too much water (atyambu-pana), irregular meals (vishamashana), holding back (sandharana; the note: सन्धारणात् अधोवातमलमूत्रादीनाम्, "of wind, stool, urine and the like") and turning sleep upside down (svapna-viparyaya), food does not digest, even when it is eaten on time, suits the eater (satmya) and is light (laghu). This is Sushruta 46.500 with one particle changed, va to cha. The verse is not about bad food; it is about good food spoiled by the eater's habits.

Verse 298, first half
ईर्ष्याभयक्रोधसमन्वितेन लुब्धेन रुग्दैन्यनिपीडितेन
irshya-bhaya-krodha-samanvitena lubdhena rug-dainya-nipiditena

Verse 298 moves to the mind: food eaten in envy (irshya), fear (bhaya) or anger (krodha), by the greedy (lubdha), by someone pressed by rug and misery (dainya), or in hatred, does not ripen. Sushruta's line (46.501) differs in four words, and one of them matters: where our print has रुग्, illness, the Wikisource Sushruta has शुग्, grief:

Sushruta, Sutrasthana 46.501, first half
ईर्ष्याभयक्रोधपरिक्षतेन लुब्धेन शुग्दैन्यनिपीडितेन

Bhishagratna's English points to a text like ours: The food taken by a person under the influence of envy, passion, greed, or anger, etc., or by a man suffering from a chronic distemper, is not properly digested. A distemper is an illness, not a grief. We cannot tell which is older, and the change is not Bhavamishra's alone.

Adhyashana: Eating on Top of an Undigested Meal (Verse 299)

Verse 299 is three lines with two brackets between them.

Verse 299, first line, after the bracket अध्यशनलक्षणमाह
अजीर्णे भुज्यते यत्तु तदध्यशनमुच्यते
ajirne bhujyate yat tu tad adhyashanam uchyate

"What is eaten while the food is still undigested is called adhyashana": Monier-Williams, eating too soon after a meal (before the last meal is digested). It is Sushruta 46.509 word for word, without his warning that this and two other faults of eating kill quickly or bring many illnesses.

Verse 299, second line, after the bracket तन्निवारणमाह
प्राग्भुक्ते चानले मन्दे द्विरन्हो न समाहरेत्
prag-bhukte chanale mande dvir ahno na samaharet

"To avoid it", says the bracket: when the earlier meal has been eaten and the digestive fire (anala) is weak (manda), one should not eat twice in a day. Our print spells "of the day" the Hindi printers' way; the Wikisource text has द्विरह्नि, the same sense. The Wikisource Sushruta (46.492) speaks instead of food on undigested food:

Sushruta, Sutrasthana 46.492, second half
प्राग्भुक्ते त्वविविक्तेऽग्नौ द्विरन्नं न समाचरेत्

Yet Bhishagratna's English reads like the Bhavaprakasha: A second meal should not be eaten on the same day in the event of the appetite having become dulled by a previous meal. So we cannot say whether Bhavamishra changed the words or found them changed.

Verse 299, third line
पूर्वभुक्ते विदग्धेऽन्ने भुञ्जानो हन्ति पावकम्
purva-bhukte vidagdhe 'nne bhunjano hanti pavakam

"One who eats when the earlier meal is half-cooked inside (vidagdha) destroys the fire": Sushruta 46.493 exactly.

Pratarasha and Sayamasha: The Note That Says the Opposite

The second line of verse 299 carries a note, the strangest thing in these pages. It explains the rule, प्रातर्भुक्तेऽजीर्णे सति अहन्येव पुनर्न भुञ्जीत, "if the morning meal is undigested, do not eat again during the day", and रात्रौ पुनस्तथापि सति भुञ्जीतैव, "but at night, even so, eat". Then, यत आह सुश्रुत एव, "as Sushruta himself says", it quotes:

Our edition's note, the quoted line
प्रातराशे त्वजीर्णे तु सायमाशे तु दुष्यतीति
pratarashe tv ajirne tu sayamashe tu dushyati iti

"If the morning meal is undigested, the evening meal is spoiled." That is the opposite of what the note has just argued. We searched for the line. It is not in the Wikisource Sushruta's after-meal block; it is in Vagbhata's Ashtanga Sangraha, Sutrasthana 11.39:

Ashtanga Sangraha, Sutrasthana 11.39
प्रातराशे त्वजीर्णेऽपि सायमाशो न दुष्यति । अजीर्णे सायमाशे तु प्रातराशो हि दुष्यति ॥

"Even if the morning meal (pratarasha, Monier-Williams breakfast) is undigested, the evening meal (sayamasha) is not spoiled; but if the evening meal is undigested, the morning meal is." Exactly the note's rule. Somewhere on the way सायमाशो न, "is not", became सायमाशे तु, "is", and the sense flipped. So the note says the opposite of the line it quotes, and credits to Sushruta a line we found in the Ashtanga Sangraha. The Vachaspatyam copies the same wrong reading, and our edition's Hindi translates it faithfully: प्रातःकालके भोजन कियेमें अजीर्ण हो तो सायंकाल के भोजन में दोष होताहै.

The Sangraha's next verse gives the reason:

Ashtanga Sangraha, Sutrasthana 11.40
दिवा प्रबोध्यतेऽर्केण हृदयं पुण्डरीकवत् । तस्मिन्विबुद्धे स्रोतांसि स्फुटत्वं यान्ति सर्वशः ॥

"By day the heart (hridaya) is woken by the sun like a lotus (pundarika), and the channels (srotas) open everywhere." At night the lotus closes, so a meal left undigested overnight should not be eaten on (11.44). Our edition's second note says it in its own words, सायमाशे त्वजीर्णे तु प्रातर्भुक्तं विषोपममिति, "a morning meal on an undigested supper is like poison", a line the Wikisource text prints as a verse of its own (its 232). The note is right about the rule and wrong about its proof.

Asya and Adhva: The Seat and the Road (Verse 302)

Verse 302
आस्या वर्णकफस्थौल्यसौकुमार्यसुखप्रदा । अध्वा वर्णकफस्थौल्यसौकुमार्यविनाशनः ॥
asya varna-kapha-sthaulya-saukumarya-sukha-prada; adhva varna-kapha-sthaulya-saukumarya-vinashanah

In plain English: sitting (asya, Monier-Williams sitting) gives colour (varna), kapha, stoutness (sthaulya), softness (saukumarya) and ease; the road (adhva) wears away the same four. Dalhana, Sushruta's medieval commentator, glosses आस्या स्थितिः, "staying", and the Vachaspatyam's copy adds आस्या (स्थितिः) and अध्वा (गतिः), staying and going. This is Sushruta, Chikitsa Sthana 24.78–79, with its last line gone:

Sushruta, Chikitsa Sthana 24.79, second half
अत्यध्वा विपरीतोऽस्माज्जरादौर्बल्यकृच्च सः
atyadhva viparito 'smaj jara-daurbalya-krich cha sah

"Too much road (atyadhva) is the reverse, and brings old age (jara) and weakness." Bhishagratna writes of excessive walking which further brings on weakness and emaciation of the body, though jara is the act of becoming old, old age in Monier-Williams. The Bhavaprakasha keeps the road and drops the warning against too much of it. Our edition's Hindi puts a measure back on both sides: बहुत बैठे रहना, "sitting a great deal", and बहुत मार्गका चलना, "walking the road a great deal". Our page on Sushruta's Chikitsa Sthana 11 reads these lines beside a poor man's walk of a hundred yojanas, made without footwear or umbrella.

Chankramana: The Stroll That Does Not Tire (Verse 303)

Verse 303
यत्तु चंक्रमणं नातिदेहपीडाकरं भवेत् । तदायुर्बलमेधाग्निप्रदमिन्द्रियबोधनम् ॥
yat tu chankramanam nati-deha-pida-karam bhavet; tad ayur-bala-medhagni-pradam indriya-bodhanam

In plain English: but a stroll (chankramana) that does not strain the body much gives long life, strength, intelligence (medha) and digestive fire (agni), and wakes the senses (indriya-bodhana). This is Sushruta, Chikitsa Sthana 24.80, letter for letter. Bhishagratna: A gentle walk or stroll, which is not very fatiguing to the body tends to improve his memory, strength, digestive capacity (Agni) and the functions of the sense-organs.

The tu, "but", answers the road of verse 302: a walk is not a journey. Monier-Williams gives chankramana as going about, walking and also going slowly or crookedly, and Dalhana agrees: चङ्क्रमणं कुटिलगत्या परिभ्रमणम्, "wandering about with a winding gait". It is the walk with no destination. Our page on exercise in the Bhavaprakasha reads the same book's rule of half one's strength.

Ushnisha: The Light Turban (Verse 304)

Verse 304
उष्णीषं कान्तिकृत्केश्यं रजोवातकफापहम् । लघु तच्छस्यते यस्माद्गुरु पित्तादिरोगकृत् ॥
ushnisham kanti-krit keshyam rajo-vata-kaphapaham; laghu tach chhasyate yasmad guru pittadi-roga-krit

In plain English: the turban gives lustre (kanti), suits the hair (keshya, Monier-Williams suitable to the hair) and keeps off dust (rajas), wind and kapha; a light (laghu) one is praised, because a heavy (guru) one brings pitta and other troubles. Dalhana calls the turban उष्णीषं शिरोवेष्टनम्, a head-wrap. The first half is Sushruta, Chikitsa Sthana 24.75, with two words changed:

Sushruta, Chikitsa Sthana 24.75, first half
पवित्रं केश्यमुष्णीषं वातातपरजोपहम्

Sushruta's turban is pavitra, purifying (Bhishagratna: it tends to improve the purity of the mind), and keeps off wind, sun and dust. The Bhavaprakasha trades purity for lustre and the sun for kapha. The light turban is Sushruta's word too: setting out how to go about, he wants लघूष्णीषच्छत्रोपानत्केन दण्डपाणिना, "a light turban, umbrella and shoes, and a staff in hand" (Chikitsa Sthana 24.89), and Dalhana notes that केचिल्लघुपदं छत्रेणोपानदाऽपि सम्बन्धयन्ति, "some join 'light' to the umbrella and the shoes as well". Bhavamishra turned one adjective into a rule with a reason.

The reason has a slip. Our print reads पित्तादिरोगकृत्, "pitta and other troubles"; the Wikisource text and the Vachaspatyam read पित्ताक्षिरोगकृत्, "pitta and eye trouble", and so does our edition's own Hindi: भारी पित्त और नेत्र रोगको करनेवाली है. The commentator read the right word under the printer's slip.

A long, light, thin cotton turban cloth on an old chest: the light turban that verse 304 prefers.

Upanah: Footwear, Praised Twice (Verse 305)

Verse 305, first half
उपानद्धारणं नेत्र्यमायुष्यं पादरोगहृत्
upanad-dharanam netryam ayushyam pada-roga-hrit

In plain English: wearing footwear (upanah, Monier-Williams a sandal, shoe) is good for the eyes (netrya) and for a long life (ayushya), and takes away complaints of the feet; the second half adds that it makes going about easy (sukha-prachara) and is good for ojas, and one more word in it is left out on this page. Monier-Williams gives netrya as good or wholesome for the eyes, citing the Bhavaprakasha itself. The older lines are Sushruta's (Chikitsa Sthana 24.71–72):

Sushruta, Chikitsa Sthana 24.72, first half
सुखप्रचारमोजस्यं सदा पादत्रधारणम्
sukha-pracharam ojasyam sada padatra-dharanam

"Always wearing footwear makes going easy and is good for ojas." Sushruta's half-line before it adds that footwear takes away complaints of the feet, wards off rakshas and increases delight. Three things move. The Bhavaprakasha drops the rakshas and the delight, adds the eyes and long life, and drops Sushruta's sada, "always". Sushruta praises shoes worn always; the Bhavaprakasha praises shoes and keeps "always" for the bare feet.

The eyes and long life are not new. The e-Samhita of the National Institute of Indian Medical Heritage records a variant of Sushruta's line, आयुष्यं चक्षुषे हितम्, "good for life, good for the eyes", and Charaka (Sutrasthana 5.100) calls footwear pleasing to the eyes (CSRTSDC).

And the Bhavaprakasha praises footwear twice. Verse 185, read on our page on the bath and dress, sends the reader into wooden sandals before and after the meal, पादुकारोहणं कुर्यात्पूर्वं भोजनतः परम्. The house sandal (paduka) and the street shoe (upanah) each get a verse, and Dalhana joins them: पादत्रं पादहितं पादुकादि, footwear is "what is good for the feet: wooden sandals and the like". Our edition's Hindi reads sukha-prachara its own way, अच्छी सवारी ओजको देनेवाली, "a good ride gives ojas". Our reading, flagged: the commentator took "easy going" for a comfortable conveyance, where Sushruta makes it a quality of the shoe (Monier-Williams, prachara: roaming, wandering).

Leather juttis and wooden toe-knob paduka: the street shoe of verse 305 and the house sandal of verse 185.

Walking Barefoot Always: Anarogyam, Anayushyam (Verse 306)

Verse 306, quoted at the top of this page, comes from the next half-line of the same Sushruta passage:

Sushruta, Chikitsa Sthana 24.72–73
अनारोग्यमनायुष्यं चक्षुषोरुपघातकृत् । पादाभ्यामनुपानद्भ्यां सदा चङ्क्रमणं नृणाम् ॥

Sushruta's walking barefoot is unhealthy, shortens life and harms the eyes (chakshushor upaghata-krit). Bhishagratna: Walking without shoes is perilous to life and health, and is attended with the danger of impaired vision. The Bhavaprakasha swaps the halves so that the walker comes first, widens the harm from the eyes to all the senses (indriyaghna), and keeps sight in a word of its own (adrishti-da).

Why would bare feet touch the eyes? None of these verses says. Bhishagratna, in a footnote to Sushruta's verse on washing the feet, gives the commentator's answer: Dallana explains that washing the feet keeps the nerve (Nadi) joining the soles with the eyes cool and thus helps to clear up the vision. Our page on washing the feet reads that verse. On that view the sole and the eye are joined, and what the feet meet the eyes feel.

Two cautions. Every text here condemns going barefoot sada, always, as a way of life; none speaks of a walk on grass. And we know of no modern study that tests what these verses claim, and we make no claim either way. Walking barefoot or not is your own choice, and if you have any trouble with your feet, that is a question for a doctor who knows you.

Chhatra: The Umbrella Against Rain, Sun, Wind and Dust (Verse 307)

Verse 307
छत्रस्य धारणं वर्षातपवातरजोऽपहम् । हिमघ्नं हितमक्ष्णोश्च माङ्गल्यमपि कीर्तितम् ॥
chhatrasya dharanam varsha-atapa-vata-rajo-'paham; himaghnam hitam akshnosh cha mangalyam api kirtitam

In plain English: carrying an umbrella (chhatra) keeps off rain, sun, wind and dust; it keeps off cold (himaghna), is good for the eyes, and is called auspicious (mangalya, Monier-Williams auspicious, lucky, conferring happiness). Monier-Williams gives chhatra as a parasol and an ensign of royal or delegated power: in old India the parasol was rank as much as shade, which may be why the verse ends on luck. Sushruta's lines (Chikitsa Sthana 24.75–76) are fuller:

Sushruta, Chikitsa Sthana 24.75–76
वर्षानिलरजोघर्महिमादीनां निवारणम् । वर्ण्यं चक्षुष्यमौजस्यं शङ्करं छत्रधारणम् ॥

Sushruta's umbrella wards off rain, wind, dust, heat and cold, is good for colour, the eyes and ojas, and is shankara, which Dalhana glosses शङ्करं सुखकरम्, "giving comfort". Bhishagratna: The use of an umbrella is a protection against rain, wind, dust, dew and sun. The Bhavaprakasha keeps the weather and the eyes, drops colour and ojas, and makes shankara into mangalya. Charaka's umbrella (Sutrasthana 5.101) also averts calamities (CSRTSDC). Three texts, three umbrellas, and only the Bhavaprakasha's is mainly about the sky.

An open bamboo-ribbed umbrella on a verandah floor, rain beyond: verse 307's chhatra.

Danda: The Walking Staff and the Line That Was Dropped (Verse 308)

Verse 308
सत्त्वोत्साहबलस्थैर्यधैर्यतेजोविवर्धनम् । अवष्टम्भकरं चापि भयघ्नं दण्डधारणम् ॥
sattvotsaha-bala-sthairya-dhairya-tejo-vivardhanam; avashtambha-karam chapi bhayaghnam danda-dharanam

In plain English: carrying a staff (danda) increases steadiness of mind (sattva), energy (utsaha), strength (bala), firmness (sthairya), courage (dhairya) and radiance (tejas); it gives support (avashtambha) and takes away fear (bhayaghna). Sushruta's staff (Chikitsa Sthana 24.76–78) is longer by a whole line:

Sushruta, Chikitsa Sthana 24.76–78
शुनः सरीसृपव्यालविषाणिभ्यो भयापहम् । श्रमस्खलनदोषघ्नं स्थविरे च प्रशस्यते ॥ सत्त्वोत्साहबलस्थैर्यधैर्यवीर्यविवर्धनम् । अवष्टम्भकरं चापि भयघ्नं दण्डधारणम् ॥

Bhishagratna's English for what the Bhavaprakasha leaves out: the staff dispels the fear of dogs, snakes, beasts of prey, (tigers, etc.) and horned animals. It considerably alleviates the toil of a journey, lessens the probability of making a false step and is specially commended to the weak and imbecile. Three things go: the animals, the toil and stumbling of the road, and the old man; the last two share the half-line श्रमस्खलनदोषघ्नं स्थविरे च प्रशस्यते, "it takes away the fault of fatigue and stumbling, and is praised for the old". So the Bhavaprakasha drops the old man from the staff. Sushruta's sthavira is old, ancient, venerable in Monier-Williams; Bhishagratna's "weak and imbecile" is his own. And Sushruta's virya, vigour, becomes tejas, radiance.

What is left is a staff for the mind more than the road. Charaka (Sutrasthana 5.102) kept the road: The carrying of the staff serves as a prop against stumbling, is dispersive of enemies, serves as a support, promotes longevity, and dispels fear.

A plain bamboo staff against a whitewashed wall by an open door: verse 308's danda.

Avashtambha: One Word, Two Senses (Verse 308)

The staff's avashtambha-karam has a story of its own. Monier-Williams gives avashtambha first as leaning or resting upon, citing Sushruta, and lower down, from a lexicon, as obstruction, impediment. Dalhana's gloss on Sushruta's staff is one word: अवष्टम्भः अवलम्बनम्, and Monier-Williams gives avalambana as depending upon, dependance, support. A staff is something to lean on.

Our edition's Hindi reads it the other way: अवष्टंभ अर्थात् कब्जियत को करनेवाला, "avashtambha, that is, causing kabziyat", the everyday Hindi word for constipation. In medical Sanskrit the word and its cousin vishtambha often do mean a blocking, and the commentator seems to have reached for that sense by habit. Our reading, flagged: in a verse about a walking stick only "support" fits, and the medical reading makes the staff do something no text says it does. Dalhana glosses the word as support; our Hindi reads it as kabziyat.

Shibika: The Covered Palanquin (Verse 309)

Verse 309
ऊर्ध्वाच्छादनसंयुक्ता शिबिका सर्ववल्लभा । तस्यामारोहणं नृणां त्रिदोषशमकं मतम् ॥
urdhvacchadana-samyukta shibika sarva-vallabha; tasyam arohanam nrinam tridosha-shamakam matam

In plain English: a palanquin (shibika) with a cover overhead is dear to everyone, and riding in it is held (matam) to calm all three doshas. Monier-Williams: a palanquin, palkee, litter, bier. Sushruta's chapter has no palanquin, and we could not trace this verse. The cover is the umbrella of verse 307 built into the vehicle, so the rider is carried and shaded at once. Of all the ways of moving in these verses, this is the only one said to calm every dosha, and the only one in which the rider does nothing at all.

Tari, Hasti, Ghotaka: Boat, Elephant and Horse (Verses 310–311)

Verse 310
वातश्लेष्मगदार्तानामहिता भ्रमकृत्तरिः । पित्तानिलकरो हस्ती लक्ष्म्यायुःपुष्टिवर्धनः ॥
vata-shleshma-gadartanam ahita bhrama-krit tarih; pittanila-karo hasti lakshmy-ayuh-pushti-vardhanah

In plain English: the boat (tari, Monier-Williams a boat) is not good for those troubled by vata and kapha complaints, and it makes the head swim (bhrama); the elephant (hasti) raises pitta and vata, and increases fortune (lakshmi), life and nourishment (pushti).

Verse 311
घोटकारोहणं वातपित्ताग्निश्रमकृन्मतम् । मेदोवर्णकफघ्नं च हितं तद्बलिनां परम् ॥
ghotakarohanam vata-pittagni-shrama-krin matam; medo-varna-kapha-ghnam cha hitam tad balinam param

Riding a horse (ghotaka, a horse) raises vata, pitta, fire and fatigue, wears away fatty tissue (medas), colour and kapha, and is best for the strong (balinam). The horse does to the rider what the road of verse 302 does, only more, which may be why it is kept for the strong. The note on verse 295 had already used the horse as its example of riding (vahanam ashvadi). We found neither verse in Sushruta, Charaka or the Ashtanga Sangraha chapters we read.

An empty wooden boat tied to a post in thick winter fog: verse 310's boat and verse 313's fog in one frame.

Atapa and Chhaya: The Sun Loses Its One Kind Word (Verse 312)

Verse 312, second half
दाहं विवर्णतां कुर्यादेतान् छाया व्यपोहति
daham vivarnatam kuryad etan chhaya vyapohati

The whole verse says that the sun (atapa) brings sweat, faintness, thirst, exhaustion (klama), tiredness (shrama), burning (daha) and loss of colour (vivarnata), and that shade (chhaya) takes these away; one more item in its list is left out on this page. Sushruta's sun (Chikitsa Sthana 24.86) is almost the same, with a few changes, one of which alters its character. Bhishagratna: An undue exposure to the sun (Atapa) aggravates the Pitta, but increases the power of digestion. Sushruta counts the digestive fire (agni) and giddiness (bhrama) among the sun's effects. The Bhavaprakasha drops both and adds klama and shrama. So the sun loses its one kind word.

Our reading, flagged: the cut may be tidy rather than gloomy. Sushruta's line ends दाहवैवर्ण्यकारी च छाया चैतानपोहति, "and shade takes these away", and a shade that takes away the digestive fire would be an odd blessing. Dalhana adds why sun and shade act at all: अद्रव्यत्वेऽपि आतपादीनां प्रभावजं कर्म अन्ये पुनरातपं तेजःपरमाणुपुञ्जं छायामपि तमःपरमाणुजामाहुः, "though sunshine and the rest are not substances, their action comes from their nature; others say sunshine is a heap of atoms of fire, and shade is born of atoms of darkness".

Vrishti and Kuheti: Rain and Fog (Verse 313)

Verse 313, second half
भयावहा मोहकरी कुहेतिः कफवातला
bhayavaha mohakari kuhetih kapha-vatala

The first half praises rain (vrishti): it is cold (hima), strengthening (balya) and brings sleep and idleness (nidra, alasya); one more word in it is left out on this page. The second half is the fog: frightening (bhayavaha), bewildering (mohakari), and raising kapha and vata.

The fog's name is a puzzle. Our print reads kuhetih, and the note explains it with the spoken word: कुहेतिः कुहेरा इति लोके, "kuheti: people call it kuhera", the Hindi kuhra. The Wikisource text reads भयावहा मोहकरी कुहेलि कफवातला, kuheli. Monier-Williams has no kuheli, but gives kuhedika as fog, mist and kuhelika as the same. Our reading, flagged: kuheli is the better-attested shape, and kuheti looks like a misreading of one letter. We could not trace the verse to an older source.

Agni and Dhuma: Fire and Smoke (Verses 314–315)

Verse 314, first half
अग्निर्वातकफस्तम्भशीतवेपथुनाशनः
agnir vata-kapha-stambha-shita-vepathu-nashanah

Fire (agni) takes away vata, kapha, stiffness (stambha), cold and shivering (vepathu); the second half adds that it settles ama and clogging moisture (abhishyanda), and that it stirs up one condition left out on this page. This is Sushruta, Chikitsa Sthana 24.87, with two words changed: Sushruta's fire digests (jarana) the ama where ours calms it (shamana), and where his fire spoils (pradushana) the condition left out above, ours provokes it (prakopana). Bhishagratna: fire removes cold and shivering, digests the slimy secretions in the channels.

Verse 315
सद्यः श्लेष्मकरो धूमो नेत्रयोरहितो भृशम् । शिरोगौरवकृच्चापि वातपित्तं च कोपयेत् ॥
sadyah shleshma-karo dhumo netrayor ahito bhrisham; shiro-gaurava-krich chapi vata-pittam cha kopayet

Smoke (dhuma) at once makes kapha, is very bad for the eyes (netrayor ahito bhrisham), makes the head heavy (shiro-gaurava) and stirs up vata and pitta. We could not trace this verse either. It is ordinary smoke, of a hearth or a smoky room, and it is worth setting beside the older books' medicated smoke: Sushruta's after-meal block (46.484–485) uses smoke to clear kapha away. Our reading, flagged: the two verses speak of two different smokes. With the smoke the weather ends, and the next bracket, अथाचारः, opens the verses on conduct.

Verse by Verse: The Source Map

The whole block as a map. "Partly" means the same words or frame with something changed, dropped or added; "none found" means nothing in what we read: Sushruta's Sutrasthana 46 and Chikitsa Sthana 24, Charaka's Sutrasthana 5, the Ashtanga Sangraha's Sutrasthana 11 and the Vachaspatyam's copy. Verses 300 and 301 are left out (see What We Left Out). Twenty-four rows: three the same, fifteen partly, six with nothing found.

Closing a Loop: The Umbrella and the Staff Were Here After All

Our page on the Bhavaprakasha's bath and dress (verses 155 to 185) set its morning list beside Sushruta's and noted that the umbrella and the walking stick were missing; it said, carefully, that between the oil and the meal they are not there. They are here, after the meal, at verses 307 and 308, with the turban and the street shoe beside them. The Bhavaprakasha splits Sushruta's kit in two: the wooden sandal of verse 185 belongs to the house and the meal, and the turban, the shoe, the umbrella and the staff belong to the road.

What We Left Out

We left out, and say so here: one item in the list of verse 296; verses 300 and 301 whole (a preparation for food not yet digested, and a rule for married life by day); one word in verses 305 and 313, the same word each time, and its match in Sushruta and Charaka; and one condition named in verses 312 and 314. The verses give no quantities of anything, and we add none. Nothing on this page is a preparation or a rule for anyone's day.

Questions We Could Not Settle

• Did Bhavamishra put the five pleasures of verses 293 and 294 into the order of the elements on purpose?
• Did Sushruta write shug or rug in the line that verse 298 borrows?
• Who first credited the morning-and-evening line to Sushruta, and who first dropped its "not"?
• Where do the pause of verse 296, the palanquin, the boat, the elephant, the horse, the rain, the fog and the smoke come from?
• Kuheti or kuheli?
• Why does the Bhavaprakasha drop the old man from Sushruta's staff?

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