EAP810/16/3

Title in original script: அனுபவ வைத்தியம்

The manuscript is composed of a text, written in verses (the 8 first leaves) and prose, containing palm leaves numbered from 1 to 313. Numerous leaves are missing: between the leaves 131 and 313, only 37 leaves are present. The condition of the manuscript is excellent. The text contains numerous spelling mistakes.

The text, entitled Aṉupava Vaittiyam, deals predominantly with embryology (piṇṭa uṟpatti paṭalam) including the development of the fetus (catai vaḷartal) and two types of infertility (alakai malaṭu and puḻumēl malaṭu), and with women's diseases during pregnancy, fetus' diseases occuring from its creation to its birth and children's diseases.

The text presents several chapters in which various medical subjects are developed. The eight methods for diagnosing a disease (aṣṭa vita pariṭcai) are described, among them, the examination of skin (cāpa laṭcaṇam), eye (nayaṉa laṭcaṇam), and pulse (nāṭi laṭcaṇam). Concerning the diagnosis from pulse, the text documents the appropriate places to examine the pulses (nāṭi stāṉaṅkaḷ), and defines the pulses vāta, cilēttuma, kuru nāṭi (pulsation between vāta and pitta), and tonta nāṭi (combination of the three pulses), the combination vāta-kūru, pitta-kūru and cilēttuma- kūru, and ten types of pulse (taca nāṭikal)

The diseases of the fetus and the infant described in the text are: 18 types of growth (kiranti); oliguria (ciṟunīr kaṭṭu); types of diseases caused by infestation/ infection (tōṣa kuṇam) among them veṇpuḷḷi tōṣam, nīr puḷḷi tōṣam, tērai tōṣam, paṭci tōṣam and cakala tōṣam; types of indigestion (māntam) among them uḷmāntam, nīr māntam, viṣa māntam, pāl māntam, ceri māntam, kaṭṭu māntam, talai māntam, cuḻi māntam, vīccu māntam, mukku māntam, vāl māntam, acāttiya māntam, kaṇai māntam; atrophy in children due to rickets (nīr kaṇai and uḷmāntai kaṇai); and types of eczema (karappāṉ) among them viṣa vāta karappāṉ, pitta karappāṉ, vāta karappāṉ , ceṅkarappāṉ, karuṅkarappāṉ, cūlai karappāṉ, uḷ karappāṉ, pāl karappāṉ, vaṟaṭci karappāṉ and ari karappāṉ for which a medicated oil (eṇṇey) is recommended for its efficacy to cure 18 types of eczema.

The text provides information on an oil to nourish the embryo (Karu vaḷarkum eṇṇey) and a medicinal product to enhance lactation (Pāl curakka).

Size of the manuscript: 31.5cm x 4.0cm. The palm leaves of the text are numbered in Tamil from 1 to 313. Numerous leaves are missing between 131 and 313.The condition of the manuscript is excellent; there is some small stains of fungus and the leaf 103 is broken.