Listen, as the ancient wisdom unfolds the nature of diseases arising from blood and the humors within the body, especially as they pertain to women. The signs of pitta—fiery imbalance—can be seen even in cases of external bleeding, particularly among women. Such disorders may also arise when blood is spilled due to wounds from weapons or similar injuries. When blood is disturbed by a wound and further agitated by the force of wind (vāta), it excites pitta, leading to symptoms characteristic of both pitta and blood. This disturbance gives rise to abscesses, which often present with many complications. The particular complications that develop depend upon the part of the body affected. For instance, if swelling occurs at the navel or the bladder, it impedes the flow of urine, causing difficulty in urination. If the disorder settles in the kloma—an organ near the throat and chest—it may obstruct breathing and exhalation, disrupt the spleen, provoke excessive thirst, and block the throat, bringing pain throughout the body and into the heart. The afflicted may experience fainting, darkness before the eyes, cough, palpitations in the heart and sides of the abdomen, and the generation of doshas—disturbed humors—within the belly. Pain may also arise in the thigh-joints, groin, hips, back, sides, and anus, often accompanied by obstruction of the wind. In these cases, one should discern whether the swelling is fresh, maturing, or already suppurated. When ripe, some abscesses discharge upward from the navel; others, downward from the anus. Abscesses that develop near the anus, breast, or navel are known to arise from the moistening and mingling of the doshas. The disturbance of these humors produces changes at their respective sites. When the abscess matures near the navel or bladder, it may burst either inwardly or outwardly. If the swelling is depleted and complications arise, suppuration occurs within. Such abscesses are said to develop in women of wicked conduct or those who commit sinful acts. If a fetus dies in the womb, a hard swelling may also form. Pain in the breast, whether present or not, is a sign of an external abscess. Yet, due to the subtlety of blood in young women, such abscesses do not occur in maidens. When wind is enraged or its movement blocked, swelling appears at the root of the penis. As it spreads to the scrotum and groin, the testicular sac swells excessively. The wind compresses the area, causing the veins in the testicular sac to enlarge, and the dosha amasses in the surrounding fat. The disease then manifests in seven forms, all marked by swelling. When wind is the cause, swelling may appear at the ends of the urinary tract, internally or externally. Such swelling is filled with air, rough and dry to the touch, and causes burning. When pitta predominates, the swelling, once ripe, resembles a fig—hot, burning, and suppurating. If kapha is the cause, the swelling is severe, heavy, oily, itchy, hard, and causes little pain. When blood is involved, the swelling turns black, eruptions appear, and signs of growth are evident. With kapha and fat, the swelling becomes soft and increases, resembling a ripe palmyra fruit. In those who habitually hold back urine, the disturbance travels to the scrotum, disrupting the natural steadiness and agitating the gentle flow. This leads to difficulty in urination, swelling of the scrotum and testicles, and aggravation of wind, sometimes worsened by immersions in cold water. Retaining feces and urine, or irregular movements of the limbs, causes the vital energies to become disturbed and depleted within the body. When wind becomes disordered, it drives the blood downward, causing swelling at the joints that resembles a knot. If neglected, the lump grows, causing distension, pain, and various diseases. When the affliction is severe, internal noises arise, and the swelling may move upward, appearing again at the head. Such an increase of blood is deemed incurable, for it takes on the appearance of wind’s increase: the veins become dry, black, or reddish, and are covered as if with wool. Wind, in eight ways, when combined with faulty humors, accumulates; in women, due to menstrual disorders, the eighth type arises. Those afflicted may suffer from fever, fainting, diarrhea, vomiting, and other symptoms. Though emaciated, they feel cold and hungry. Eating, drinking, fasting, swimming, and similar activities further weaken their perceptions and provoke the disorder. If one undertakes oil and sweating therapies, or instead drying therapies, or if purification is neglected or not achieved, or if there are spasms, the excretions become dominated by wind. These may be separate, or all mixed with blood, following the wind’s course throughout the body. When wind blocks the upward and downward channels, pain ensues. A hot lump arises, swelling in form. Wasting, obstruction from phlegm and feces, or blockage of the channels causes wind to take refuge in the abdomen, where it hardens due to dryness. When wind is corrupted in its own abode, it becomes independent; when corrupted in another’s abode, it is dependent. In both cases, phlegm mixes with excretions, forming a mass. This is known as gulma, which may be situated in the bladder, navel, heart, or side. When caused by wind, it brings headache, fever, and noises in the spleen and intestines. There is sharp, needle-like pain, loss of feces, difficulty passing urine, swelling of the limbs, face, and feet, and loss of digestive fire. The skin becomes dry and black, restlessness arises, and the form of the disease becomes indeterminate, producing various pains. The lump throbs and shifts as if covered with ants. When bile is dominant, burning, sourness, fainting, diarrhea, sweating, thirst, and fever prevail. Yellowish discoloration appears on all parts of the body, with swelling and tumors; phlegm may diminish or flare up, burning its own seat. When phlegm is the cause, there is heaviness, loss of taste, a sense of sinking, headache, fever, nasal congestion, lethargy, nausea, and changes in skin color such as pallor or darkness. The tumor is deep, hard, and heavy, resembling a fetus or a child in the womb. Those that remain in their own place move within and are considered fatal. Generally, tumors arising from the combination of two doshas, or from mixed causes, are severe. They cause intense pain and burning, mature quickly, and are dense and elevated. The blood-tumor is considered incurable and arises only in women, especially those who suffer pain during menstruation or have diseases of the womb. If a woman, in anger, engages in intercourse during her period, the wind in her body obstructs the menstrual flow, which is otherwise regularly established in the womb each month. Thus, the ancient sages describe the complex interplay of the humors, the sites of affliction, and the consequences of imbalance, revealing the profound connection between the body, its energies, and the subtle causes of disease.