Page:A Short History of Aryan Medical Science.djvu/179

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Chap. VIII.]
ÆTIOLOGY, DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT.
159

on the Hindoo writers of medicine, according to whom the malignant spirit, if wittingly or unwittingly provoked, enters the body of the offender, annoys him in various ways, and afflicts him with certain kinds of diseases. Harita describes ten kinds of demons. Their names are : Aindra, whose favourite resorts are monasteries, convents and shrines, manifests his mastery over a person by making him very emotional, or wild and furious ; Agneya, who frequents cross-roads and burial-grounds, and under whose influence the patient looks intensely terrible and angry ; Nairuti, who is found near ant-hills, and makes his victim either stand still or become violent ; Yama constantly seeks battle-fields and makes his victim excited ; Varuna haunts lakes and rivers, his victim looks like a dumb creature with watery eyes ; Maruta resides in whirlwinds, and the person possessed of him cries and shakes and feels otherwise excited ; Kubera makes his victim rash and conceited, exhibiting a passionate desire for ornaments ; Aishana has his abode in old temples, and under his influence the patient applies ashes to his body and moves about naked ; Grahaka dwells in empty houses and dry wells, and one possessed of him cares not to eat or