Lathyrism India Bihar & Patna Buchanan F Nd

TOPOGRAPHY OF TUE DIVISIONS; POPULATION

ports; such as that many have died of theoperation; and that many, on which it lias beenperformed, have afterwards been affected with thesmall pox.

Fevers are in general less common than evenin Um most healthy parts of Bhagalpur, andnowhere are near so prevalent as in the bad partsof that district. Every where at a little distancefrom the Ganges, except in the woods of Nawada,the country, for a warm climate, is highlysalubrious, and the bad parts of it are not worsethan Bhagalpur, which is reckoned one of ihe mosthealthy situations in Bengal. It is said that untilwithin these two or three years, the country wasstill more healthy than it now is, a circumstancewhich seems to me highly probable, as it is nowoverstocked with inhabitants, and in all probabi-lity the mortality will increase, until it becomes asgreat as in (lie vicinity of Moorshedabad, whichwas a healthy country until overwhelmed withpeople. The autumnal epidemic is always mostsevere, unless it be in the wilds of iNawada andSheykhpurah, and may be so there also, althoughI omitted to inquire concerning this circumstance.The febrile disease (nakra), attributed to an affec-tion of the nose, is very troublesome, the sameperson continuing for years to have attacks fromsix to, twelve times a year. Fluxes are not so com-mon as in the north-east of Bengal, nor are cholerasfrequent. The sannipat, or temporary swelling inthe throat with fever, occurs at all seasons, but isnot common. In some places it is called nuzlali.Bpth kinds of leprosy are nearly on the same- foot-ing as in Bhagalpur. The great leprosy (kor) ishere divided into two kinds; the raktubikar,which affects the extremities, and is supposed tooriginate in a diseased slate of the blood; and thesunbaheri, in which the skin chiefly is affectedSiinbahvri is a Persian word, and a Brahmanphysician says that the Sangskrita name of thiskind is Bad Rakfa, but he just reverses Ihe applica-tion of the two names, and although Hcikta isSangskrita, Bad I believe is a Persian word. Thereis, however, reason to think that there aro two

TOPOGRAPHY Ob1 THE DIVISIONS: POPULATION •273

varieties of the disease, that differ much both insymptoms and virulence; the one attacking (hosmall joints and the oilier the skin, »I which itrenders large portions totally insensible. The pre-judice against the unfortunate persons seized withttiis dreadful malady is so great- that some of thelower castes, when seized with it, cause themselvesto be destroyed. They are placed in a boat, and,a pot of sand being tied to their necks, they arecarried tj the middle of the Ganges, and therethrown over board. The people thus drowned areperfectly willing, both because they are miserableand helpless, and because they think that the sinto which the disease is attributed will be removedby their dying in the sacred stream; and theycannot afford to have the forms of expiation(Pruijasclülla) performed, as is usually done forthe Brahmans or wealthy persons that may beafflicted with this desease. The books of law(Dïiannasd^t/'a), I am told, condemn this kind ofexpiation by drowning, or rather say, that the ex-piation by ceremony (Prat/ascJtlttu) is the only oneeffectual; but a passage of the M(ili(tbh(iraL is inter-preted so as lo recommend the drowning, ami,where perfectly voluntary, it- perhaps saves theunfortunate wretch from much wprldly suffering.1 saw no person that was entirely white, but Iheard of eight or ten that are in that- state.

The chronic swelling of the legs, throat, &c.are not, in proportion to the number of people,more numerous than in Bhagalpur. That of thethroat is in general attributed to the personshaving long resided on the northern side of theGanges. 1 heard, however, of several instancesof persons who liad the disease, and who in thewhole course of their lives had never left Magadha.There is. nevertheless, a great disparity in the pro-portions of those affected on the two banks of theGanges-, and 1 think that this can with difficultybe accounted for on any oilier principle, than somecondition of the waters flowing from the northernniounlaius being the chief occasion of the disease,for in every pari- where this water flows the diseaseis common, although the climate of the northern

35

a a: sj «s.* i

AN ACCOUNT OF THE DISTRICTS OF

BIHAR AND PATNAIN

I8II-I8I2

BY

FRANCIS BUCHANAN

PRINTED FROM THE BUCHANAN MSS. IN THE INDIA OFFICE

LIBRARY. WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE SECRETARY OF

STATE FOR INDIA IN C O U N C I L .

PATNA:

rUBLISHED BY THE BIHAR AND ORISSA RESEARCH SOCIETY

AND

PRINTED BY THE CALCUTTA ORIENTAL PRESS9 . PANCHANAN GHOSE LANE, CALCUTTA.

274 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE DIVISIONS : POPULATION

parts of Bengal differs considerably from that ofTirahufc. Rheumatism is not so prevalent as inBhagalpur, owing apparently to the houses beingmuch warmer. There is a species of lamenesscalled kungja in the Sangskrita language, andmag-haiya ¿angra in the vulgar dialect^ as itis supposed to be peculiarly prevalent in Magadhaand in fact it is very common in Patna and itáimmediate vicinity; but Í observed it nowhere elsealthough I am told that it prevails in every partof both districts. It atacks all ages and both sexeaand after continuing a year or two is consideredincurable; but some have recovered after havingbeen affected for several months. It seems to con-sist in a weakness and irregular motion of themuscles moving the knees., which are bent andmoved with a tremulous irregular motion, some-what as in the chorea, but not so violent. Whenthe disease has lasted some time, and has becomeconfirmed, the legs suffer emaciation. It is notaccompanied by fever, but in [he commencement isoften, though not always, attended with pain. Itis attributed by some to eating khesari (lafhyrus-sativus), but. this seems fanciful, for although inMagadha this pulse no doubt enters largely intothe diet of the poor, it does no less so in that ofthose in Matsya (Dinajpur), where the disease isas: rare as in any other part of the world. Byothers it is attributed to sleeping on kodo straw,an opinion which deserves more attention, for thegrain of some fields of kodo possesses narcoticqualities, probably, owing to some weed intermix-ed with (ho real ¿rain, and the stems of this weedmay emit narcotic exhalations very capable ofaffecting the health.