Anandakanda 1.25

Ānandakanda 1.25 / <Definitions of technical terms> / I shall proclaim the technical terminology; listen with attentive mind. / <The physician's share> / One half of perfected mercury, O goddess, and one-third of gold calx,

a quarter-part of silver calx, a sixth part of copper calx, / an eighth part of magnetic iron and mica, and a sixteenth part of the nine gems:

dedicating it to the Lord of Mercury, one should give this to an intelligent mercurial physician, / an accomplished master of alchemy, for the achievement of desired ends.

<Kajjalī and mud-mercury> / Mercury ground with metals, sulfur, and the like without liquids, / very smooth and resembling collyrium—that is called kajjalī.

Ground with liquids, it is regarded as "cooked mercury" (pākarasa). / <Paste> / From mercury equal to a part of the sun (twelve parts), and then from sulfur equal to half a niṣka, bit by bit in a mortar, / grinding in intense sunshine, it becomes a paste possessing the form of butter.

Grinding mercury in a mortar along with sulfur and milk,

it attains the state of a paste from the trituration; that is considered "paste" (piṣṭī) by others. / <Sublimation paste> / A paste prepared with mercury and a fourth part of gold

is "sublimation paste" (pātanapiṣṭī); likewise, one made with silver and the rest. / <Gold paste and silver paste> / Either silver or gold destroyed with mercury, sulfur, and the like,

and recovered many times—that is the extract (kṛṣṭī) of gold and silver. / When this extract is thrown into refined gold, its color is not degraded by it.

A seed made with gold extract is the coloring agent of mercury. / <Lohaka> / Copper combined with cast iron, melted and repeatedly cast

into lemon juice along with sulfur: the excellent lohaka comes forth. / <Gold-reddening and silver-reddening agents> / Gold made red by it is called "gold-reddening" (hemaraktī).

Cast into molten gold, it produces an elevation of its color; / it also colors silver and imparts tincture to the seed.

In this very way, charming silver-reddening agent (tāraraktī) should be prepared; / it is indeed the coloring agent of silver and also the coloring agent of seeds.

<Moon-fire petal> / Another metal processed either with killed [metal], bound mercury, or another metal— / white indeed, turned to yellowness—that petal of moon and fire is well known.

Combined with mercury bound as an appearance of killed, / or processed with another metal, white or yellow—that is the petal.

<Iron-lead> / Magnetic iron killed with chalcopyrite and recovered seven times— / two palas of these two together, or two palas of copper calx:

placing all into a crucible, one should blow [heat] strongly seven times. / That is called iron-lead (ayonāga), which accomplishes [perfection of] body and metals.

Its pill, prepared with mercury in an elongation apparatus, / held in the mouth, completely destroys urinary disorders;

it produces firmness of the teeth and eyes like the eyes of a vulture, / as well as other diseases born of the body and diseases arising above the clavicle.

<Copper-lead> / Copper killed with chalcopyrite and recovered ten times, / likewise purified lead—that pair being four palas—

killed again with stibnite and recovered seven times: / this, thus perfected, is proclaimed as copper-lead (śulbanāga).

The lord of mercury prepared with it, held in the mouth of men, / destroys entirely the whole array of urinary disorders in just a month.

For one who observes wholesome diet, within a year gray hair along with wrinkles [disappears]; / he acquires vulture-like vision, brilliant sight, and is endowed with complete health.

<Piñjarī>
A metal thrown into another metal, blown with a pipe, and quenched in liquid, / turning pale yellow in luster, is called piñjarī.

<Candrārka>
Sixteen parts of silver and likewise twelve parts of copper, / smelted together—that is called candrārka.

<Nirvāpaṇa>
If another metal is cast into the metal being held, using a curved blowpipe, / that indeed is called nirvāpaṇa, or nirvāhaṇa, by physicians.

One should cast the discharging agent (nirvāhaṇa) in equal parts into the substance to be discharged (nirvāhya); / the additive (āvāpya) and the base metal (vāpanīya) should be treated in the proportion observed [by tradition].

<Definition of Vāritara>
Dead metal that floats on water is indeed vāritara. / <Definition of Rekhāpūrṇa>
When rubbed between the thumb and forefinger, whatever enters the crevices of the [finger]prints,

that dead metal is indicated by the name rekhāpūrṇa. / <Characteristics of Niruttha Calx>
Combined with jaggery, guñjā, sukhasparśa, honey, and clarified butter,

it does not revert to its original state upon blowing; it is called apunarbhava. / <Niruttha>
When combined with metal and blown, if it clings to silver,

then it is declared niruttha; that metal is irreversible (apunarbhava). / Likewise, if silver with copper is blown, and it does not adhere to copper,

then silver is to be regarded as niruttha by the best of physicians. / <Bīja>
When by a special process of pouring (nirvāhaṇa) its color becomes like that,

soft and variegated in appearance, that is called bīja. / <Uttāraṇa>
This indeed is declared by physicians to be uttāraṇa:

the destruction of one metal among two combined metals. / <Tāḍana>
Blown with a curved pipe—that is designated as tāḍana.

<Dhānyābhra>
Powdered mica mixed with paddy, tied in a cloth in sour gruel, / coming out of the cloth upon rubbing, is called dhānyābhra.

<Sattva>
Mixed with alkalis, acids, and fluxes, and blown in a mining furnace, / whatever essence emerges therefrom is called sattva (essence).

<Ekakolīsaka>
Filled to the brim of the furnace, by the application of blowing with charcoals / reaching the ear of the crucible, it is considered an ekakolīśaka.

<Charcoals Suitable for Steaming and Other Operations>
Śikhitra, pāvakocchiṣṭa, and mṛtāṅgāra, / as well as kṛṣṇāṅga and kokila—these are mutual synonyms.

<Charcoal Woods>
For smelting and extraction of essence, [charcoals of] madhūka and khadira are auspicious; / for refractory substances, those from bamboo; while for steaming, those of badara are auspicious.

<Cinnabar-Extracted Mercury>
Mercury which is extracted from a Vidyādhara apparatus / after being ground with ginger juice, is called cinnabar-extracted mercury.

<Tin Extracted from Bell-Metal>
Bell-metal combined with a little orpiment, blown with a curved pipe, / free from tin, yielding that copper—is declared as ghoṣākṛṣṭa.

<Guhyanāga>
Twenty palas of purified lead made into small discs, / coated on realgar ground with the milk of rūpikā,

sealed within two earthenware saucers, one should heat it in a kroḍapuṭa; / one should heat it with care as many times as needed until it becomes calx.

Grinding it with jaggery, guggulu, guñjā, clarified butter, and borax, / confining it inside a crucible, it is raised again by blowing.

Making discs again with it, smeared with mercury measuring one pala, / one should coat it with realgar and the milk of white arka.

One should heat it in this way with gajapuṭas for twenty times, / and at every heating one must certainly perform the revival of the lead.

One should quench it properly ten times in the liquid of nīlajyotis; / thus completed, that lead, remaining to the measure of one karṣa,

is proclaimed by the name of guhyanāga, supreme in mercurial rejuvenation therapy. / When only a niṣka of this lead called metal is molten,

it certainly swallows a golden needle one hundred thousand times its own [weight]; / when applied, intensely heated in oil, it certainly throws out that gold.

This guhyanāga has been taught by Śaktisvacchandabhairava. / <Varanāga>
Tīkṣṇa iron along with nīlāñjana, strongly blown many times,

soft, black, quickly melting—that is called varanāga. / <Utthāpana>
The revival of what is dead—that is called by the name of utthāpana.

<Ḍhālana>
The casting of a molten substance into a liquid is considered ḍhālana. / <Capala>
Lead measuring thirty palas, ground with the milk of the sun plant (arka),

having ground it, one should heat it in puṭas until a karṣa remains; / it never diminishes even by a thousand puṭas.

This capala derived from lead has been declared by the alchemists; / in this very manner capala of tin is also to be made, without doubt.

Touched by the hand that has touched that, mercury alone is fixed; / that mercury is praised in the transmutation of base metals, not in rejuvenation therapy.

This has been proclaimed by the lord of the world named Karpaṇa: / fine lodestone dust, combined with a fifth part [of another substance],

one should grind with juice of aloe root for one day, / or unceasingly in the fresh juice of cangerī for one day.

Likewise, one should grind the washed earthworm for two days; / then with one pala of lead and an equal amount of tin,

along with ten niṣkas of the lord of mercury, one should make a smooth paste; / joining it with the first paste, one should grind it as before.

Then, having made an amalgam with a śāṇa of the lord of mercury / and the essence of calamine as before, one should join it with the former pastes.

Then, having washed it with warm sour gruel, one should dry it; / with half a pala of pure blue vitriol and eight guñjās of mercury,

grinding with sour gruel, one should make pills the size of a black peppercorn; / confining them in a vajra-crucible and sealing the joints,

one should blow thoroughly with nine charcoals by means of two bellows; / then, collecting from all sides the essence that has entered the crucible,

one should blow it in an open crucible and purify it with a curved blowpipe; / that essence weighing ten śāṇas, with ash and salt,

grinding with sour gruel, one should purify by means of heating in a puṭa; / when it measures three niṣkas, with the previously stated ash,

Having smelted eighty-fold lead, one should certainly carry [it] out; / by so much, this previously [prepared] quicksilver is in no way destroyed.

This capala has been declared by Śambhu, the lord of the world; / by this also, mercury is bound quickly and easily as before.

When subjected to ten calcination cycles with the powder of bitter gourd roots, / it becomes freed from lead, and swallows the morsel completely.

It [swallows] easily in an open crucible and becomes exceedingly superior in qualities; / indeed, their mercury, having digested the morsel, brings about [the perfection of] body and metal.

[Washing of Earthworm Excrement]
The black-colored impurity removed by washing with earthworm-cast water, / is called "dhauta" (washed) by the alchemists.

[Pairing]
The union of two substances by smelting is proclaimed as "pairing" (dvandvāna).
[Cracking Agent]
When casting into [a metal] exceeding silver in quantity, having an equal or secondary color,

or the swallow of color by leaves—[this] bhañjanī is devised by the alchemist.
[Phullikā]
The silvery or golden condition arisen in a metal from a paste of pataṅgī,

which remains for a few days and then disappears, is considered phullikā.
[Pataṅgī Tincture]
That which comes out after a long time from a metal or other [substance] / colored with half-mercury,

is declared to be named pataṅgīrāga (pataṅgī tincture).
[Infusion]
That which is performed by metals and the like by throwing another substance into molten [metal]

is āvāpa (infusion) or pratīvāpa; that same is considered ācchādana (covering).
[Lustration]
On molten metal resting over fire, pausing for eight winks of an eye,

the throwing around of water is remembered as abhiṣeka (lustration). / Having melted lead or tin, one should drench it a hundred times;

this striking of the liquid into the stated substance is indeed lustration (abhiṣeka).
[Quenching]
Throwing a heated [metal] into water is quenching (nirvāpa), and that is [also called] tapana.

Infusion and the like should be performed on completely clear molten metal.
[Pure Inversion]
When the fire has a blazing flame accompanied by white rising,

then it should be recognized as the "pure inversion" (śuddhāvarta); that is the time for the extraction of the essence.
[Streak Inversion]
When a flame resembling the substance to be melted is observed during blowing,

that readiness of the substance to liquefy is called "streak inversion" (rekhāvarta).
[Self-Cooled and Fire-Cooled]
That which cools while still remaining on the fire is called "self-cooled" (svāṅgaśīta).

That which is cooled after being drawn out of the fire is called "fire-cooled" (vahniśīta).
[Steaming]
When it is placed in a swing apparatus with alkalis, acids, or herbs,

its cooking is called "steaming" (svedana), which causes the loosening of impurities.
[Trituration]
Together with the prescribed herbs, all kinds of acids, and sour gruels,

the grinding is called "trituration" (mardana), which destroys external impurities.
[Swooning]
Causing the state of a destroyed paste by means of medicines prescribed for trituration,

that is swooning (mūrcchana), which destroys sheath defects arising from water, stone, and earth.
[Destroyed Paste]
That which brings about the state of a paste by destroying its own form,

and expansion by conquered quicksilver, is called "destroyed paste" (naṣṭapiṣṭi).
[Resuscitation]
Restoring its own form again through steaming, heating, and the like,

that is called "resuscitation" (utthāpana), which destroys the distress of swooning.
[Distillation]
Sending quicksilver, triturated with the prescribed herbs and placed in an apparatus, upward, downward, and across / is spoken of by the term "distillation" (pātana), which destroys sheath defects born from contact with tin and lead.

[Restraint]
For mercury combined with water and rock salt, for three days,

a nourishing residence in a jar: that which is such is called "restraint" (rodhana).
[Restraining]
For the purpose of removing the restlessness of that which has obtained potency from restraint,

the steaming which is performed in a pot is indeed called "restraining" (niyamana).
[Kindling]
Combined with metals, stones, roots, and the like inside a pot,

steaming for three days for the sake of the morsel is considered "kindling" (dīpana) by the wise.
[Measure of the Morsel]
The measure, in terms of consumable substance, for such an amount of quicksilver,

saying "it is this much," that which is such is declared to be the measure of the morsel.
[Digestion]
Feeding the morsel, internal liquefaction, and digestion:

thus digestion (jāraṇā) is declared as three-fold by excellent practitioners. / "Morsel," "lump," and "transformation" are further three other names.

Digestion is considered twofold: "with a mouth" and "mouthless." / "Mouthless" digestion is declared to be by taking the seed according to measure.

[Digestion With a Mouth]
Pure gold and silver are termed "seed"; / the throwing in of the seed at one sixty-fourth part is called the "mouth."

When this is done, mercury becomes endowed with a mouth, eager for the morsel; / it becomes capable of consuming even hard metals.

This is indeed called "digestion with a mouth," the digestion of ambrosia.
[Mouthless Feeding]
Remaining in open furnaces through the application of divine herbs,

it consumes all metals and the like—this [mercury] is one having the mouth of a demon.
[Feeding]
The throwing of the morsel into the belly of mercury is considered "feeding" (cāraṇā).

[Internal Liquefaction]
The melting of what has been swallowed in its belly is designated "internal liquefaction" (garbhadruti).
[External Liquefaction]
Having liquefied externally indeed the dense essence and the like,

for the digestion of the lord of mercury, that is called "external liquefaction" (bāhyadruti).
[Liquor (Substance)]
Non-stickiness, liquidity, luminosity, lightness,

and non-combination with quicksilver: fivefold is the characteristic of liquefaction.
[Liquefaction (Process)]
When base metals, noble metals, and the like, through the union of herbs, clarified butter, and the like, always

arise in liquid form, that is proclaimed as liquefaction (druti).
[Digestion]
The transformation of a liquefied morsel through the use of a saline catalyst, apparatus, and the like

is called "digestion" (jāraṇā); there are millions of varieties of it.
[Saline Catalyst]
By alkalis, acids, sulfur and others, urines, and likewise salts;

That is proclaimed as the biḍa for digesting the morsel fed to mercury.
[Rañjana:]
Indeed, by digesting the prepared seed, essence, and the like in mercury,

producing a yellow or other coloration is proclaimed as rañjana.
[Sāraṇā:]
When quicksilver placed in an apparatus containing oil is projected with gold and other substances,

which enhances its transmutative capacity on base metal, that is celebrated as sāraṇā.
[Vedha:]
Mercury combined with swiftly acting medicines and cast upon a substance,

is spoken of by the knowers of reality as vedha, and it is remembered to be of various kinds.
[Varieties of vedha:]
Lepa, kṣepa, kunta, the one called śabda, and that named dhūma.

[Lepavedha:]
When one transforms base metal into gold or silver by anointing,
that is to be known as lepavedha, and the heating here is done in a saukara furnace.

[Kṣepavedha:]
Projection into molten metal is the transmutation called kṣepa.
[Kuntavedha:]
When there is striking of a molten substance with quicksilver held in tongs,

producing gold or silver, that is called kuntavedha.
[Dhūpavedha:]
When fire is smoking, from the smoke of mercury projected inside,

the conversion of base metal into gold and the like is called dhūmavedha.
[Śabdavedha:]
When mercury is placed at the opening, from blowing base metal through a tube,

generating gold and silver, that is celebrated as śabdavedha.
[Utpāṭana:]
Removing tarnish and the like from a lump of material by means of quicksilver,

and bringing forth its color, is called utpāṭana.
[Svedana:]
Confining it very carefully in a pot along with alkalis, acids, and medicinal herbs,

what is buried in the earth is declared to be svedana.
[Saṃnyāsa:]
When mercury joined with herbs is carefully sealed in a vessel,

placing it inside a hearth that constantly has fire is called saṃnyāsa.
[Benefits of svedana and saṃnyāsa:]
Both these, svedana and saṃnyāsa, for the king of mercury certainly

generate power and efficacy, and make it swift in penetration.