[INDOLOGY] Leprosy

[Matthew Kapstein]

Dear Dominik,

Thank you for confirming what I thought to be the case - in Skt. It can refer to a range of skin ailments, including probably forms of eczema characterised in part by peculiar responses to heat.

all best,
Matthew

Matthew T. Kapstein
Professor emeritus
Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, PSL Research University, Paris

Associate
The University of Chicago Divinity School

Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

https://ephe.academia.edu/MatthewKapstein

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https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501716218/tibetan-manuscripts-and-early-printed-books-volume-i/#bookTabs=1

https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501771255/tibetan-manuscripts-and-early-printed-books-volume-ii/#bookTabs=1

https://brill.com/edcollbook/title/60949

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-------- Original Message --------
On Wednesday, 01/28/26 at 17:49 Dominik Wujastyk <wujastyk at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Matthew, no, "kuṣṭha" is Hindi for "leprosy". But in Sanskrit Ayurvedic literature it refers to a range of skin conditions that may include what we today call leprosy but also vitiligo and other conditions causing skin pallor. Other terms in this semantic field include "śvitra" and "kilāsa."
>
> Best explored by Ronald Emmerick, attached.
>
> --
> Dominik Wujastyk, Professor Emeritus, Classical Indian History
> University of Alberta
>
> "The University of Alberta is committed to the pursuit of truth,
> the advancement of learning, and the dissemination of knowledge
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> -- [Collective Agreement](https://www.ualberta.ca/human-resources-health-safety-environment/media-library/my-employment/agreements/2020-2024-collective-agreement---working-version.pdf) 3.01
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