EAP810/23/22

Title in original script: தலைப்பு இல்லை (மருத்துவ அகராதி)

The manuscript is composed of a text which is incomplete. It contains 4 leaves not numbered and 20 palm leaves numbered from 12 to 32, the leaf 24 being missing, on which the verses numbered from 8 to 329 are inscribed. The manuscript is extremely damaged. The leaves from the beginning to 23 are partly broken; they are affected by larvae and they are darkened by fungus infestation.

The text belongs to the category of literature called nikaṇṭu. Nikaṇṭu, similar to thesaurus, provides meaning of words and their synonyms used in medicine-related domains. The definitions of words which are provided are: fuller’s earth (vaḻalai), mountains (malai), leaves (ilai), arsenic (pāṣāṇam), crucible made of iron used to calcinate arsenic (toṭṭi pāṣāṇam), copper sulphate (tuttam) and mercury (cūtam). The synonyms of words concern menstruation (māta viṭāy), sperm (cukkilam), urine (amuri), arsenic trisulphide (tāḷakam), arsenic disulphide (maṉōcilai) and mineral poisoning which provokes profuse perspiration (cītāṅkam).

The text describes the method of incineration (puṭam poṭutal) including the intensity of fire (erippiṉ kuṇam) used in iatrochemical process. It specifies the chemical properties of lead monoxide (ciṅki) and a pungent watery medicine called ceyanīr.

Size of the manuscript: 39,0cm x 3,8cm. The text is composed of 4 palm leaves without a number and 20 leaves numbered from 12 to 32, the leaf 24 being missing. The manuscript is extremely damaged. The leaves from the beginning to 23 are partly broken; they are affected by larvae and they are darken by fungus infestation.