Sarapendra Medical Treatment (Treatment of Sunburn)

We have already published 12 volumes in the Sarabhandra Vaidya Muraigal Series, each containing collection of tested prescriptions for particular ailments such as stomach disorders, Eye Diseases, Maternity and Children Treatment. The present work is yet another publication in the series, containing tested prescriptions for Janni Roga.

The word Janni is often translated as Delirium but actually delirium is just a symptom of the disease Janni Roga or Sannipatam as it is called in Sanskrit which is by itself a disease caused by citation of all the three Dhoshas namely Vata, Pitha and Kapha.

The original recipes like the collections in the other publications in this series, are all in Tamil verses. We have already had occasion to refer to the fact that Maharaja Serfoji, who reigned in Thanjavur from 1798 to 1832, devoted considerable time to valuable researches in Medicine and that the invaluable collections of Prescriptions arranged in 18 volumes, were the achievements of a team of physicians belonging to Allopathic, Ayurvedic, Unani and Siddha systems, who labourned under his auspices to produce cures for all ailments including fell diseases like Tuberculosis Diabetes and 'Cancer Maharaja Sarfoji, following our ancient irradiations, had all the prescriptions turned to easy Tamil verses so that students of medicine could easily memorise them.

The Editors Dr. V. G. Chandran and Dr. Mrs. Nalini Chandran have done a thorough and excellent job of their work. The recipes are set out in prose order. The drugs mentioned in the recipes, the names of many of which are not easily identifiable in modern Materia Mecine, are identifided by them with great care. They have also described the methods of purifying minerals mentioned in the prescriptions in simple language. Above all the introduction, which they have contributed, reveals careful and scholarly study of Tamil, Sanskrit and English woris on the subject, and presents valuable information about the particular disease dealt with in this work, its symptoms and etiology.

We are grateful to the learned: Editors for the very useful work they have produced. We have no doubt that their achievement will be found useful by physicians as well as the lay public.

We express our deep gratitude to the Union Government and to the Government of Madras for their timely grants that have helped us to publish this and other precious manuscripts in our library.