Dear Patricia and Jonathan,
Just for the record, Meulenbeld does have quite a number of
references to this subject under synonymous terms like viṣatantra
and viṣacikitsā. And as meritorious and useful as those volumes
are, Meulenbeld did not use any (or few at any rate) unpublished
sources. He was not aware of the Gāruḍa or Bhūta Tantras as
systematic classes, nor of most of the important titles, despite
their definitive influence on Indian medicine where it involved
poison/venom and exorcism in post-classical India. Many of the most
important sources I used in Early Tantric Medicine were only
available in manuscripts.
And Jonathan, I would encourage Charles to not jump to conclusions
on the origin of the material on poisons in his text, given that he
has apparently not read the most recent scholarship!
All the best,
Michael
—
Michael Slouber, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, South Asian Studies
Global Humanities and Religions
Western Washington University
Dear Johnathan,
There is no mention of viṣaśāstra in the index of the History of Indian Medical Literature. I am currently working on a project that catalogues rasaśāstra texts, which relies heavily on the HIML. Thus
far I have come across numerous references to poisons, purifying
poisonous substances, etc., but no recipes for making poisons. If I do
happen across one I will make a note of it for you.
Best wishes,
Patricia