There are many ways by which the balance of the three humors—wind, bile, and phlegm—can be disturbed in the body. Foods that aggravate these humors, corrupted bodily tissues, or the agitation and conflict of wind, as well as possession or emotional disturbances, all contribute to disease. For women, irregularities during childbirth, improper treatments, indulgence in various sins, planetary afflictions at birth, corrupted food, and excessive production of phlegm are further causes of imbalance. When the humors become angered by such diseases and follow the course of illness, it is essential to quickly seek rejuvenation therapy, for the humors do not remain stable and soon become disturbed within the body. At this point, the revered Dhanvantari spoke: “I shall explain the origin of fever, so that all fevers may be understood. Fever is the lord of diseases, the embodiment of sin, the king of death, the devourer and ender of life. It arose from the wrath of Rudra, who destroyed Daksha’s sacrifice. This fever, full of burning and delusion, born from transgression, is fierce and known by many names. It manifests in various forms among all beings. “In elephants, fever is called Pākala; in horses, Abhitāpa; in donkeys, Alarka; in dogs, Kukrura. In clouds, it appears as Indramada; in water, as Nīlikā; in luminous herbs, as Jyoti; and in the earth, as Ūṣara. “Symptoms arising from phlegm include nausea, vomiting, cough, stiffness, coldness, and eruptions on the skin and limbs. These symptoms appear and intensify according to the season, and their alleviation follows the causes; relief comes from their opposites. “Signs of disturbed humors include loss of appetite, indigestion, stiffness, lethargy, burning in the heart, improper digestion, drowsiness, fatigue, distension, pain, and inactivity of the humors. Symptoms such as excessive salivation, nausea, loss of hunger, tastelessness in the mouth, clarity, heat, heaviness of the limbs, and frequent urination are not signs of digested food or malaise, but indicate undigested fever. “When digestion is complete, fever shows hunger, dryness, lightness of the limbs, and tenderness; after eight days, the humors become active again. Fever may arise by its own symptoms or by contagion, and when it comes from contact, it manifests as headache, fainting, vomiting, burning of the body, dryness of throat and mouth, loss of taste, pain in the joints, insomnia, confusion, horripilation, yawning, and excessive speech—these are due to wind and bile. “Fever caused by phlegm and wind brings loss of heat, loss of appetite, joint and head pain, spitting, labored breathing, cough, pallor, coldness, stiffness, darkness before the eyes, dizziness, and drowsiness. When phlegm and bile are together, fever features coldness, stiffness, sweating, burning, instability, thirst, cough, confusion, drowsiness, coating and bitterness of the mouth. “One who knows all the signs experiences repeated burning, intense sleep, wakefulness during the day, and sleeplessness at night. Sometimes there is constant sleep, sometimes none; profuse sweating may be present or absent; singing, dancing, laughter, and similar activities cease from their natural course. “The eyes become tearful, impure, red, sunken, and tremble; pain arises at the sides of the eyeballs, in the head, joints, bones, and dizziness follows. The ears may ring, be painful, or extremely cold; the tongue is burnt, rough, heavy, and the joints of the limbs are weak and trembling. There may be spitting of blood and bile, rolling of the head, intense thirst, and the appearance of dark or red patches and circles on the body. Pain in the heart, frequent excretion of waste, scanty or excessive discharges, oily mouth, loss of strength, hoarseness of voice, and delirious speech are further signs. “When the humors ripen slowly, persistent drowsiness and constant croaking in the throat occur; when all the humors are disturbed together, it destroys vitality. If wind is obstructed in the throat and bile is greatly oppressed within, after intercourse or pleasure, it seeks an external path, causing yellowing of the eyes in fever from combined humors. “When the humors are increased and digestive fire is lost, and all signs are present, the fever from combined humors is incurable; otherwise, it is difficult but curable. Sometimes, fever arises from the combination of humors but bile is separately situated, causing burning in the skin or abdomen, either before or after. Likewise, with wind and phlegm, there is coldness; burning and similar symptoms are difficult to overcome when both are involved. At the onset of coldness, bile is present; with phlegm, there is oozing and dryness. “When bile is pacified, fainting, intoxication, and thirst arise; but at the onset of burning and in other cases, drowsiness, lethargy, and vomiting occur in order. “Fever is fourfold: it arises from external injury, contact, curses, or sorcery. Fever from injury is marked by burning and similar symptoms. From exertion, wind vitiates the blood, causing pain, grief, discoloration, and fever with pain. Fever also arises from possession by spirits, medicines, poison, anger, fear, grief, or desire. “Sudden possession or contact, or even the smell of medicines, may bring fainting, headache, vomiting, and wasting. Poison causes fainting, diarrhea, darkening, burning, and dizziness; anger brings trembling and headache; fear and grief cause delirium. Desire brings dizziness, loss of appetite, burning, shame, sleep, intellect, and memory. In possession and similar cases, symptoms of combined humors appear, and initially, those of wind and others. “Fevers arising from anger or excessive bile, and those caused by curses and black magic, as well as the two severe fevers of deranged humors, are considered most unbearable. When afflicted by spells and incantations of sorcery, the body is tormented; first the body suffers, then eruptions and disorientation follow. “For one always seized by burning and fainting, fever increases daily. Thus, fever is seen in eight forms, but in summary, it is of two kinds: bodily or mental, gentle or intense, internal or external in origin; natural or unnatural, curable or incurable, simple or without complications. “At first, heat arises in the body in bodily fever, and in the mind in mental fever; due to the influence of wind, coldness occurs when phlegm is present. Burning appears when bile is involved; when mixed, it again takes refuge internally. In fever, greater disorders arise, with internal agitation and retention of wastes. “When the force is external, the heat is also external and thus established. In the rainy, autumn, and spring seasons, fever arises from wind and other humors in due order. The unnatural type is different and difficult to cure, while the natural type mostly arises from wind; in the rains, disturbed wind causes fever associated with bile and phlegm.” Thus, Dhanvantari revealed the nature, causes, and manifestations of fever, so that its origin and course may be understood and proper remedies sought.