the bright one, the day oi the full moon, and the meetings of day and night such as (morning and evening) are occasions when the study of the Ayurveda is prohibited. Similarly, a clap of thunder heard at an improper season (months of Pousha, Phalguna and Chaitra), or a flash of lightning occurring at a time when such phenomena are naturally rare, or an evil befalling one's country, relations, or king, should be deemed as occasions prohibiting the study of the Ayurveda. Moreover, one should not read it in a cremation ground, nor while riding (an elephant, horse, or any) conveyance, nor in a battle-held, nor in a place of execution. A festival or the appearance of inauspicious omens, and the days of the fortnight usually avoided by the Brahmanas in studying the Vedas, as well as an unclean state of the body, should be regarded as occasions prohibiting the study of the Ayurveda.
This ends the second chapter of the Sutrasthanam in the Sushruta Samhita which treats of the formal initiation of a student into the Ayurveda.
