EAP810/1/1/63

Title in original script: பஞ்ச சூத்திரம்- 500

The manuscript is composed of a text entitled ‘Pañca Cūttiram- 500’ by Akattiyar. The text, whose the palm leaves are numbered from 1 to 165, is complete. The leaves are very darkened by fungus infestation, making the reading difficult.

The text concerns the basic concepts of siddha medicine and physiology, esotericism and rituals, and formulation of medicines.

The basic concepts of siddha medicine are: the description of five elements (pañca pūta niṟai) and the 96 basic components (tattuvam). Regarding physiology, the texts describes the development of the embryo (kaṟppa uṟpatti), the body mass (tēka niṟai) and the features of hair follicles (rōma kāl niṟai).

The esoteric topics exposed concern the origin of the letters na-ma-ci-va-ya (aintu eḻuttu piṟanta vaḻi), the state of beatitude (kōṇu nilai), the eight tantric actions performed by people having obtained supernatural power (aṣṭa karmam), the ability to control the sea (kaṭal kaṭṭu), the ability to curse and ward off curse (cāpa varalāṟu, cāpa nivartti), the types of collyrium used in magic (pātāḷa mai, pārvai mai, urumāṟa mai), as well as the process to extract liquid mercury (vālai racam) by sublimation and to prepare bead of mercury (racamaṇi). A second set of esoteric subjects are related to meditation (tiyāṉam). The gods focused by meditation are: Kaṇapati (Sk. Ganapathi), Cupiramaṇiyaṉ (Sk. Subramaniya), Tēvatēvi (Sk. Devadevi), Pirammaṉ (Sk. Brahma), Viṣṉu, Ruttiraṉ (Sk. Rudra), Mūtēvi (goddess), Cuṭalai māṭaṉ (a god popular in the south of Tamil Nadu), Karṇa Yaṭṣi (Sk. Karṇa Yakṣi ; consort of Yakṣa, guardian), as well as Ceṉāpati and Carva ciṉṉu, two not identified gods. The text explains also how to control the tongue (nāvaṭakkam). It describes the astral signs according the day, the star and the dominant element at birth (pūta paṭci, naṭcattira paṭci, pūrva paṭci), and provides the method of performing the rituals of hōma, method of construction of the place for performing hōma (yāka cālai kaṭṭum muṟai).

The formulations of medicines mentioned in this text are composed of medicated oils (tailam): Taca mūlāti tailam, Aṣṭa kanta tailam, Cantaṉāti tailam, Vilvāti tailam, Kumari tailam, Cāmpirāṇi tailam, Kēcari tailam, Aiṅkōla tailam, Tumpi tailam and Vāta raca tailam; of a medicated ghī: Taca mūla kiṟutam; of a electuary: Tirikaṭuku lēkiyam; of calcinated medicinal products (paṟpam): Maṇṭūra paṟpam, Veṅkāra paṟpam and Tāḷaka paṟpam; and of pills (kuḷikai): Piṟāṇa Cakkara kuḷikai, Pañcāṭcara kuḷikai, Pūta vairavaṉ kuḷikai, Navarattiṉāti kuḷikai and Mataṉa kāmēsvari kuḷikai.

Size of the manuscript 34,0cm x 3,1cm. The palm leaves of the text are numbered in Tamil and Arabic from 1 to 165. Two leaves, 118 and 119 are broken. The manuscript is extremely darkened by fungus infestation, making the reading of the text difficult.