Dear colleagues,
the chapter of the Carakasaṃhita concerned with poison (Cikitsasthāna 23) is called viṣaciktsitam (https://sarit.indology.info/apps/sarit-pm/works/carakasamhita.xml?root=1.5.4.13.50). kaumārabhṛtyakam is one of the eight aṅgas of Ayurveda and includes mostly paediatrics.

There is some specialized information on poisoning in N.M. Penzers Appendix III (poison-damsels) in "The Ocean of Story" Vol. 2 from 1924 (pp. 275–313): https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.533752/page/n303/mode/2up  It was reworked into a an essay later (Poison-Damsels and Other Essays in Folklore and Anthropology, 1952).
I believe no one has mentioned this so far.

Best wishes,
Vitus Angermeier

Dear Jonathan,

I believe viṣaśāstra, as its name implies, is a general term for toxicology, dealing with things like poisons, venoms, etc. Many medical works have sections on this. The Caraka-saṃhitā called this kaumārabhṛtyakam; the Suśruta called it agadatantra; Vagbhata called it daṃṣṭrā. Yijing, in his survey of Indian Medicine, called it 論惡揭陀藥 (cf. T 54.2125.223b28-23c6).

Some of our illustrious colleagues who deal with that literature can perhaps guide you to more specific sources.

best,

Dan

On Jun 5, 2020, at 1:41 PM, Jonathan Silk via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:

Dear Friends

My friend Charles Ramble is working on a Tibetan text on poison. It mentions for instance 32 types. I am aware that (no doubt among others) Suśrutasaṁhitā in its Kalpasthāna has much to say about poison, but understandably, not how to make it. There seems to exist a term viṣaśāstra, but more I have not been able to discover. I feel I may have overlooked something rather well known.

I would be delighted both to learn more myself (no, I'm not looking to poison anyone!) and to pass along the information to Charles.

Very best,

Jonathan

--

J. Silk
Leiden University

Leiden University Institute for Area Studies, LIAS

Matthias de Vrieshof 3, Room 0.05b

2311 BZ Leiden

The Netherlands

copies of my publications may be found at

https://leidenuniv.academia.edu/JASilk

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