Let us listen to the wisdom as spoken by Dhanvantari, who reveals the intricate workings of the body and the nature of its disorders. He begins by describing how certain foods, such as kodrava and uddālaka, repeatedly consumed, along with an excess of substances that provoke bile, disturb the delicate balance within. The bile becomes aggravated, turns fluid, and blood is affected. When these two, bile and blood, combine and attain similarity in form, they spread throughout the body, giving rise to a disorder of mixed bile and blood—even from something as simple as a bite. When blood takes on the same smell and color as bile, it is recognized as such. This disturbance arises from the sites of blood, notably the spleen and the liver. The afflicted person experiences heaviness of the head, loss of taste, a longing for cold, smoky or sour belching, vomiting, aversion to food, cough, shortness of breath, dizziness, and fatigue. The blood is no longer healthy; the mouth emits a fishy odor. Even without fever, redness, yellowish or greenish hues appear in the eyes and other organs. The ability to distinguish between blue, red, and yellow colors is lost, and in dreams, madness and unrighteousness manifest. The aggravated blood and bile seek outlets: upwards through the nose, eyes, ears, and mouth; downwards through the genitals and anus; and even through the hair follicles. When phlegm is also present, the disorder can be cured by purgation, and though many medicines are prescribed for bile, purgation remains the best remedy. Where phlegm is involved, purification is beneficial, and astringent and sweet tastes are suitable for cleansing phlegmatic disorders. Substances that are naturally pungent, bitter, or astringent, and that remove phlegm, are suited for downward-moving and chronic cases, and are treated by emesis. If bile is weak, emesis is not the best course; but where there is strength and the bile is pacified, it is appropriate. Astringent and sweet substances are beneficial, but if phlegm and wind are also involved, the condition is incurable and named accordingly. When the disorder is intolerable and moves contrary to the natural direction, and medicine proves ineffective, purification is not possible for such cases. Yet purification in the contrary direction is prescribed in blood-bile disorders; pacification and purification are to be sought. When faults are mixed together, expulsion in every way is beneficial; the fault of remaining is regarded as dangerous, like a missile of Shiva. Complications bring distortion, and their results are thus established. Dhanvantari then turns to the subject of cough, which acts quickly. He explains that there are five types: arising from wind, bile, phlegm, injury, and wasting. Those associated with wasting, if neglected, grow stronger, and their symptoms appear as itching and loss of taste in the throat. Dryness of the ears, mouth, and throat occurs, caused by downward-moving wind; when the wind moves upward, it accumulates in the throat. Filling the veins and channels, it lifts the limbs, causing pain in the eyes, a strained voice, and pressure on the side. The cough sounds crooked, like broken bronze, bringing pain in the heart, side, head, confusion, agitation, and loss of voice. It produces a dry cough, severe pain, and a harsh sound. With horripilation, it expels dry phlegm with difficulty, and then diminishes. From bile arise yellowing of the eyes, bitterness in the mouth, fever, dizziness, vomiting of bile and blood, thirst, hoarseness, a smoky feeling, and intoxication. Persistent cough brings visions of lights; from phlegm, there is little pain in the head, heaviness and dullness in the heart. There is coating in the throat, loss of appetite, nasal discharge, vomiting, and lack of taste; horripilation, thick and oily phlegm, and its increased production. When engaging in strenuous acts beyond one’s strength, such as battle, wind is afflicted, joined by bile, and becomes powerful. When disturbed, this causes cough with phlegm mixed with blood—yellow, dark, dry, clotted, abundant, and aggravated. The afflicted person spits painfully from the throat, with the chest feeling split, as if pierced by sharp needles or struck by a spear. There is painful touch, piercing pain, splitting and oppressive suffering, breaking of the joints, fever, shortness of breath, thirst, hoarseness, and trembling. The cough sounds like the cooing of a pigeon, pain arises in the side, and due to phlegm and other causes, vomiting occurs, diminishing strength, complexion, and digestion. In the emaciated, blood appears in the urine, breathing becomes difficult, and stiffness afflicts the back and loins. When aggravated, these are the main symptoms of consumption. In the seat of consumption, cough arises, followed by phlegm and spitting; it is expelled, resembling putrid pus, mixed with yellow and red. One sleeps as if being struck, the heart burns; suddenly there is a desire for heat or cold, excessive eating, and loss of strength. The face becomes oily, clear, and curved, the eyes appear radiant and lustrous; then all signs of wasting disease manifest. Thus, this cough arising from wasting destroys the bodies of the weakened. In the strong, the two forms—wasting and injury—are similarly present, but in them they are new. Both may be cured by capability, but at the beginning of curable diseases, their progression is distinct. All mixed and chronic types belong to old age and the elderly. Cough, breathlessness, wasting, vomiting, hoarseness, and other diseases arise from neglect; therefore, one should conquer them quickly. Dhanvantari continues, explaining the causes of breathlessness. It arises from the increase of cough, or from the prior aggravation of the humors. It can also arise from indigestion, diarrhea, vomiting, poisoning, anemia, fever, dust, smoke, wind, injury to vital spots, or cold water. There are five types: minor, darkness, broken, great, and upward. The wind, obstructed by phlegm, moves erratically and becomes established everywhere. Thus, the sage Dhanvantari reveals the nature of these disorders, their causes, symptoms, and remedies, so that those who listen may understand, and seek the means to restore balance and health.