DŪTALAKṢAṆA(M) The word ‘dūta’ has a special meaning in Viṣavidyā. If a man is bitten by a snake, the man who goes to the Viṣavaidya to speak to him about it and bring him if necessary is called ‘dūta’. From the external signs and symbols of the dūta and from words spoken by him the viṣavaidya understands whether the person bitten by the snake would die or survive. These signs and words of the ‘dūta’ are called lakṣaṇas. The following are some of the important dūtalakṣaṇas.
(1) The caste of the person bitten by the snake and the caste of the dūta.
(2) The first word uttered by the dūta. If it is the name of the patient, it has a special significance.
(3) If the dūta makes an incomplete sentence, it is a significant lakṣaṇa.
(4) The things carried by the dūta such as stick, rope, knife.
(5) The colour of the clothes worn by the dūta.
(6) The tone in which the dūta speaks. These are the lakṣaṇas from which the doctor knows whether the patient can be cured.
[Bhaviṣya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 35, Verses 19, 20] .