AH-Su-Chapter 24: Tarpana Putpaka Vidhi / Eye care treatment

Tarpana Vidhi- procedure of Tarpana therapy:-

Indications for Tarpana eye care procedure:
When the eyes are fatigued, stiff, dry, rough or injured;
in patients of increase of  Vata and Pitta;
when there is irregularity – Asymmetry or loss of eye Lashes,
in clouded unclear vision;
in patients of – diseases like
Krchronmilla –difficulty in opening eyes
Shiraharsha, Shirotpata – redness and hemorrhage
Tama – darkness in front of eyes
Arjuna,Syanda, Mantha, Anyato Vata, Vataparyaya, and Sukraka;
After relief from redness lacrimation, pain, swelling and exertions.

Those Fit for Tarpana Therapy -

who have purified both head by nasya  and body by vamana, virecana and vasti

 temperate season
both in morning and evening
 lying with his face upwards
in room devoid of breeze 

Tarpana procedure -

The patient should undergo purification of head – Nasya treatment and also purification of body – Vamana and Virechana.
Time for Tarpana can be either morning or evening.
The patient is lying with his face upwards in a room devoid of breeze. 1-3 ½

Procedure:

A wall is constructed with the paste prepared from Yava (barley) and  Masha (black gram) around eye socket –resembling a well to a height of two Angula –finger breadth.

Keeping the eyelids closed, medicated herbal ghee, which is liquefied by heating in hot water bed, should be poured into the well up to the level of tips of the eye lashes.

Condition for Using Vasa (Muscle Fat) instead of Ghee:

In diseases like Naktandhya (night blindness), Vatatimira, Krichradodha etc. muscle fat should be used instead of ghee.

The patient should then be asked to open his eyes slowly and retain the drug .

Matrakala- time required to utter a soft syllable should be counted up to:

100 – for the diseases of Vartma – eye lids
300 – for the diseases of Sandhi – fornices
500 – for the diseases of Sita – sclera
700 – for the diseases of Asita – cornea
800 – for the diseases of Drishti – pupil, retina etc.
1000 – for the disease Adhimanta

1000 – for the disease caused by Vata imbalance
600 – for diseases caused by Pitta,
500 – for healthy person and for diseases of Kapha imbalance.
These are the time for retaining the drug.

After the stipulated time, the ghee should be removed through a hole done at the outer canthus
The person should be given Dhumapana (herbal smoking)
The person is advised not to look at the bright sky or bright objects.

Tarpana days -

Tapana therapy should be done daily in diseases of Vata,
On alternative days in diseases of Pitta,
with an interval of two days for the healthy persons and in diseases of  kapha,

Symptoms of excess or less Tarpana – Tarpana Atiyoga, Ayoga Lakshana –

Prakasha Kshamata – Ability  to withstand bright light
Good eye health
Vishada – clarity in vision
Laghu lochana – lightness in eyes are the symptoms of good Tarpana procedure.

Opposite of these are the symptoms of inadequate Tarpana and appearance of disorders of Kapha imbalance is the symptom of Excess Tarpana. 4-11

Contraindication -

Tarpan and Putpaka should not be administered to those who are unfit for nasya.

Pathya – apathy:
Those who have undergone tarpana and putapaka should adhere to - healthy foods and activities for double the number of days of these therapies; during nights, he should bind the eyes with a pad of flowers like malati, mallika etc.

Putapaka Vidhi- Procedure of Putapaka:-

Just as the body becomes fatigued after Snehana therapy (drinking fats), eyes become fatigued after Tarpana therapy; In order to restore the strength to the eyes, Putapaka therapy should be done in diseases mentioned earlier. 12

Types of Putapaka –

Snehana putapaka (with fat) – for Vata imbalance disorder.

Lekhana Putapaka (scraping type) – for Vata – Kapha imbalance disorder.

Prasadana Putapaka (soothing) – in weakness of the eyes, vision, in disorders of Vata Pitta and Rakta and for the healthy person. 13

Putpaka Dravyas : Substances for Putpaka-

Snehana Putapaka is done by making use of fat, marrow, muscle fat and juice of meat of animals which live in burrows (Bhushaya), which bite (Prasaha) – cut their food, cow, horse, ass etc, and  those which live in Marshy lands (Anupa), or with drugs of Jivaneeya gana- (chapter 15) macerated with milk- 14

Lekhana Putapaka is by making use of Mastu (whey), water of yoghurt macerated with the paste of liver  of animal and birds, pearls, ash of iron and copper, Saindhava- salt, Srotonjana (Antimony sulphide), Shankha (ash of conch shell), Phena- (sea foam), cuttlefish  and Ala (orpiment ). 15

Prasadana Putapaka is by the use of cow milk / breast milk macerated with the liver, marrow, Muscle fat, Muscle of intestines and heart of animals and birds and drugs of sweet taste, and mixed with ghee. 16

Putapaka Kalpana – preparing the recipe-

The meat of animals and drugs should be made into balls of size of Bael fruit or of 1 pala (48 grams).
The balls should be wrapped in leaves of Urubuka, Vata or Amboja, Smeared with fats, and given a coating of mud.
After they become dry, they are placed inside the fire, of wood of Dhava or Dhavana or of dried crow dung and cooked till the balls become fire like red in appearance.
After they cool off, the paste of drugs is taken out and juice extracted from it.
The juice should be used for Tarpana procedure, as explained above.

Maatra Kala:

The juice should be retained for a period  of 200 – 300 Matra Kala. 200 for Snehana and Lekhana. 300 for Prasadhana.

Temperature of Drug:

Juice should be Lukewarm for the Snehana and Lekhana and cold for Prasadana.

At the end of the Snehana and Lekhana types, Dhumpana (medicated smoking) is indicated. 19

The signs and symptoms of proper, inadequate or excess of Putapaka therapy are similar to those mentioned under Tarpana therapy. 20

Both Tarpana and Putapaka therapies should not be administered to those who are unfit for Nasya.

The patient who has undergone Tarpana and Putapaka therapies should adhere to healthy foods and activities for double the number of days of Nasya therapy. During nights he should bind the eyes with a pad of flowers like Malati, Mallika (Jasmine varieties). 21

All out efforts should be made to strengthen the eyes by following Nasya, Anjana, Tarpana etc, for once the vision is lost the different types of things of the world will all become one types of thing – darkness. 22

Thus ends the twenty fourth chapter called Tapana Putapaka Vidhi in Suthrasthana of Ashtang Hridaya composed by Srimad Vaghata, son of Sri Vaidyapati Simhagupta.