ABSTRACT
The ancient Indians' concept of internal disease was based on the fundamental notion that illnesses were caused by demonic entities which entered the body. Each demon had a specific name and
caused particular morbid bodily conditions. We have divided the analysis of the medical lore surrounding the internal
diseases into two sections: A. those related to yak~ma and/ or takman; B. those unrelated to yak~ma and/or takman. The first section examines the disease-entities which demonstrate a definite connection with one or the other of the major internal disease-demons, yak~ma and takman. Since many of the symptoms are shared by both, some overlapping can be expected. The second section investigates the demonic diseases which exhibit the general characteristic of being in the body, but which do not bear a close relationship either to yak~ma or to takman.
