In the sacred teachings, it is revealed that the three bodily humors—kapha, pitta, and vāyu—become aggravated at different times: at the beginning, middle, and end of bodily processes. Their increase is recognized at the very onset of their disturbance. Once this initial agitation passes, a period of remission follows, a time when the humors subside. This cycle, O sage, is influenced by both overeating and fasting. All diseases, it is said, arise when natural urges are either suppressed or forcefully released. Therefore, when eating, one should fill two parts of the stomach with food and one part with drink, leaving space for vāyu and the other humors to move freely. When seeking to remedy disease, the treatment should always be contrary to the cause. Thus, the essence has been declared: the regions above and below the navel, at the anus, and around the hips are important centers in the body. The seats of strength, blood, pitta, and vāyu have been described, yet these elements pervade the entire body, with vāyu being especially pervasive. At the center of the body, the heart is considered the seat of the mind. A person who is thin, with little hair, restless, talkative, and with irregular digestion is said to have a vāta nature. Such a one moves as if through the sky, even in dreams, and may become prematurely gray, irritable, prone to sweating, and fond of sweet tastes. In dreams, those of pitta nature see radiant things. The qualities of tamas, rajas, and sattva are also reflected in dreams and dispositions. Those who see clear clouds in dreams are of kapha nature, and their qualities, too, are remembered as tamasic, rajasic, or sattvic. O twice-born, pitta is aggravated by fear, by drinking too much water, by eating heavy foods, and by lying down immediately after eating. Kapha increases in those who are lazy. Knowing the diseases that arise from vāyu and the other humors, one should pacify them according to their symptoms. Disorders of vāta are marked by bone fractures, astringency and dryness in the mouth, yawning, and goosebumps. Pitta disorders show as yellowing of nails, eyes, and veins, bitterness in the mouth, thirst, burning, and heat. Kapha disorders are indicated by laziness, excessive salivation, heaviness, sweetness in the mouth, and a desire for warmth. To pacify vāta, one should use oily and warm food, massage, and drinking oil. Clarified butter, milk, and things cooled by the moon’s rays soothe pitta. Honey, triphala oil, exercise, and similar practices dispel kapha. Above all, meditation and the worship of Vishnu are effective for pacifying all diseases. Dhanvantari, the divine physician, spoke: “I will now explain the characteristics of rasa, the tastes, and other qualities of medicines. Listen well to their virtues. One who understands rasa, potency, and post-digestive effects can protect not only kings but all people. Sweet, sour, and salty tastes arise from Soma, while bitter, pungent, and astringent tastes are born of Agni, O mighty-armed one. After digestion, substances leave effects of three kinds: pungent, sour, or salty. Potency is twofold: hot or cold. Sometimes, the influence of medicinal herbs cannot be described, O best of the twice-born. Among the tastes, sweet, astringent, and bitter are prominent. Cold potency is specifically mentioned, while the rest are generally hot. Guduchi, though bitter, possesses a strong hot potency. Pathya, though astringent, is also hot, as are honey and meat. Salt and sweet tastes are remembered as having a sweet effect after digestion; sour is hot in effect, and the remaining tastes are pungent post-digestion. When the potency and post-digestive effect of a substance are opposed, the influence of one determines the outcome. For example, honey, though sweet, acts as pungent after digestion. To prepare decoctions, one should boil sixteen times the amount of water to the substance and drink four times the amount. If no specific rule is given, this is the method. In oil preparations, the water should be four times the amount of the substance; after extracting a decoction equal to the substance, oil is added in equal measure. If water is excluded, the oil should match the substance in quantity. This method of preparing cooked medicine with oil applies equally to electuaries, O Sushruta. This is considered the medium dose, with no variation. However, one must also consider age, time, strength, digestive fire, region, substance, and disease when determining the proper dose. Having considered these factors, O illustrious one, the calculation of dosage should be made. Among the tastes, the gentle and especially the sweet are known to nourish the bodily elements. The substance whose qualities balance both the doshas and the dhatus promotes growth; the opposite leads to depletion. Three supports of the body are declared: food, sexual union, and sleep. One should always strive for balance in these. Excessive abstention or indulgence leads to ruin. For those who are wasting away, nourishment should be given; for those with a heavy body, reduction is necessary; for those of medium build, maintenance is advised. These are the three distinctions of bodily types. Two approaches are described: satisfaction and non-satisfaction. One should eat wholesome food, in moderation, and only after the previous meal is digested. There are five main ways of preparing medicinal herbs: juice, paste, decoction, cold infusion, and infusion. Juice is pressed out, paste is made by grinding, decoction by boiling, cold infusion by soaking overnight, and infusion by boiling and straining fresh. In total, there are said to be one hundred and sixty methods of preparation. He who knows these methods is truly unconquerable and skilled in their use. Purity of food sustains the digestive fire, and fire is the root of strength in people.