Anandakanda 1.4

Āk, 1, 4
<The Alchemical Processes of Mercury>
Glorious Bhairavī said:
O Lord, explain to me properly the refinement process of mercury.
Glorious Bhairava said:
There are eighteen refinement processes of mercury, O Supreme Goddess.

I shall explain them to you properly, O you who are worshipped by adepts and practitioners: / Now, in the beginning is the operation of steaming; the second is grinding, my dear;

Swooning is the third; resurgence is the fourth; sublimation is the fifth, O auspicious one; / Retention is the sixth; restraint is commemorated as the seventh;

Kindling is the eighth, O Goddess; and perfuming is the ninth; / Grazing is the tenth, O Goddess; assimilation is numbered as the eleventh;

Internal fusion would be the twelfth; external fusion the thirteenth; / The fourteenth is called coloration; moving is the fifteenth;

Secondary moving is the sixteenth; counter-moving is known / As the seventeenth; and the eighteenth is piercing of body and base metal.

<The Method of the Refinement Processes of Mercury>
Now I shall speak of the refinement processes of the king of mercury, O Pārvatī: / In the southern portion of the liṅga, one should draw a six-pointed mandala;

And outside it, an eight-petaled lotus, four-sided, / Adorned with doorways in the cardinal directions; on its pericarp, one should place, O auspicious one,

A mortar made of copper or of magnet, traced with gold; / In the middle of it, having placed the king of mercury, to the measure of one hundred palas,

Or half of that, or half of that, one should worship it with devotion. / Then the practitioner should carry out the refinement process of the king of mercury.

<Steaming; Method of Fermenting Grain-Vinegar>
With barley, wheat, kalama rice, black gram, mung bean, chickpea, and the like, / And with foxtail millet, kodo millet, and various husked grains,

One should place the grain into water four times its volume in an earthen pot, my dear; / For as long as it takes to reach sourness, one should carefully preserve it.

Into it, one should throw haṃsapādī, mīnākṣī, the two kinds of punarnavā, / citraka, bhṛṅgarāja, viṣṇukrāntā, śatāvarī,

sarpākṣī, girikarṇī, muṇḍī, and sahadevikā, / Having cut them all into pieces, and the three myrobalans,

In the amount of one-fourth of the grain. This grain-vinegar is superior, / Specially recommended in the operations of steaming and the like for mercury.

One should place the king of mercury into a heated mortar made of magnet; / And [add] lime, soot from the house, citraka, the three myrobalans, jaggery,

Burnt wool, brick, aloe vera, salt, the two nightshades, / Long pepper, black mustard, and sterile kārkoṭakī.

Having thrown into it these items, each amounting to one-sixteenth the weight of the quicksilver, one should grind it thoroughly, / Adding grain-vinegar repeatedly, doing so for three days.

One should thoroughly wash the mercury with warm fermented sour gruel, my dear. / Rock salt, black mustard, the three pungents, radish, citraka, the three myrobalans,

punarnavā, meṣaśṛṅgī, meghanāda, durālabhā, / Fresh ginger, turmeric, nāgabalā, and sal ammoniac,

Ground smooth in equal parts with grain-vinegar, one should smear onto a cloth / To the thickness of a finger, and place the previously prepared mercury in it.

Having tied it up, placed it into a copper vessel in a jar filled with grain-vinegar, / In a swing apparatus, one should steam it day and night.

Taking it out, one should wash the king of quicksilver again with warm fermented sour gruel / In a shallow bowl; one should do this twenty-one times.

Then, one should grind the steamed king of quicksilver, my dear. / <Grinding>
Now, therefore, I will explain the operation of grinding; listen, O Bhairavī.

Substances such as lime as before, viśālā, the royal tree, / aṅkola, black dhātūra, and the three pungents, in equal parts,

All together amounting to one-sixteenth of the quicksilver, and one should place the mercury in a heated mortar; / One should grind it again with the aforementioned grain-vinegar day and night.

Then one should wash it in an earthen vessel with warm fermented sour gruel; / Grinding and washing should be done for twenty-one days.

Having thus taken the thoroughly ground quicksilver, one should then make it swoon; / Quicksilver that has consumed mica or consumed seed metal is also ground.

And free from impurities through the previously mentioned substances such as powders, it takes on colors. / Swooning [mūrcchā] / Now I shall explain swooning; listen attentively.

Black mustard, meṣaśṛṅgī, citraka, the three fruits [triphalā], / kṣīrakanda, sūraṇa, sarpākṣī, kākamācikā,

nīlā, vacā, balā, aloe vera, black thorn-apple, likewise ākulī, / white aparājitā, aṅkola, gojihvā, and garuḍī;

Mercury should be ground with the fresh juices of these and with calotropis latex, / [or] with the juices of these individually or combined, for the period of a day.

One should grind it in a heated mortar and cast that mercury into a crucible; / sealing it, my dear, one should bake it in a bhūdhara apparatus again.

Grinding [with] the juices derived from black mustard and other drugs, / and baking in a bhūdhara [apparatus], one should perform for three times seven days; the mercury becomes swooned.

When this occurs, O lady worshipped by the gods, one should perform the procedure for resuscitation. / Procedure for resuscitation [utthāpana] / Quicksilver thus swooned should be washed with fermented rice-water,

or one should resuscitate quicksilver with hot water, my dear; / or resuscitation of mercury may be accomplished by application of a distillation apparatus.

Distillation [pātana] / Distillation of the king of mercury is declared to be threefold, O Pārvatī: / upward distillation, downward distillation, and transverse distillation are spoken of.

Procedure for upward distillation [ūrdhvapātana] / I shall explain distillation of mercury: pāṭhā, brāhmī, citraka, / śāṅgerī, kākamācī, maṇḍūkaparṇī, girikarṇikā,

kumārī, jayā, bhṛṅgī, gojihvā, śaṅkhapuṣpikā, / bhūpāṭalī, nirguṇḍī, kākajaṅghā, śatāvarī,

fresh ginger, devadālī, tilaparṇī, nīlikā, / āragvadha, kṣīrakanda, aṅkola, and devadāru:

one should grind mercury with the juices of these combined or individually for a day / in a heated mortar; then copper equal to one-fourth of the quicksilver [is added].

Crushing that, one should distill it in an upward distillation apparatus for a day. / Taking that pure mercury that has adhered to the top, one should then grind it

with the juices of the aforementioned drugs together with copper, as before; / one should distill and grind it in this manner, seven times repeatedly.

One should distill downward the mercury purified by upward distillation. / Procedure for downward distillation [adhaḥpātana] / Now I shall explain downward distillation: the three acrids [tryūṣaṇa], salt, triphalā,

citraka, black mustard, and drumstick—one should throw in all these in amounts equal to the quicksilver, / and grind the mercury with sour grain-wash in a heated mortar.

With that paste one should smear the upper vessel and seal it completely; / then on the bottom of the upper vessel one should apply a light fire.

Thus one should perform downward distillation repeatedly, seven times. / For that which has been purified by downward distillation, one should perform transverse distillation.

Procedure for transverse distillation [tiryakpātana] / I shall explain transverse distillation: quicksilver and prepared mica in equal parts / one should grind for a yāma with sour grain-wash; in a transverse distillation apparatus

one should cook it thus with a fierce fire, repeatedly, seven times. / And quicksilver thus distilled in three ways, one should then restrain.

Mica, or sulfur, mākṣika, or vimalā, / gold or silver, or loadstone or steel—

each, purified, should be added to the measure of one-fourth part, like copper. / One should perform grinding with the juices of pāṭhā and other herbs, and distillation in succession.

With whatever substance quicksilver is combined, it imparts the properties of that substance. / In distillation, through combination with copper, mercury sheds lead and tin.

Alternatively, mercury distilled in a dīpikā apparatus becomes pure. / Restraining [nirodhana] / Quicksilver becomes exhausted by the five operations beginning with steaming;

for the sake of rejuvenating quicksilver, one should perform the operation of restraining. / Now, regarding the operation called restraining: one should grind salt with water;

placing mercury inside an earthen pot, one should scatter salt above it, / pour in a little water, and cover it with an earthen saucer.

One should seal the joint thoroughly, and ignite a light fire above it. / In this way, my dear, one should carry out the operation of restraining seven times.

By this quicksilver becomes rejuvenated, devoid of impotence; / perfected by the operation of restraining, it becomes potent and is well controlled.

Controlling [niyāmana] / Now I explain the operation of controlling, O fair-faced lady: / yavaciñcā, kṣīrakanda, sarpākṣī, salt, bhṛṅgarāja,

sterile karkoṭakī, and neem, all ground with sour grain-wash; / preparing [this], stirring with fermented rice-gruel, one should steam it with those liquids for a day.

In a controlling apparatus [niyāmaka yantra] for seven days, one should also kindle it. / Kindling [dīpana] / Next, I declare to you the kindling operation, O Pārvatī:

svarṇapuṣpī, black pepper, the three alkalis, the five flowers, / bhūkhaga, the five salts, black mustard, drumstick root,

green vitriol, vijayā, aloe vera, pātālagaruḍī, long pepper, / kṣīrakanda, karkoṭī, girikarṇī, jayā, honey,

citraka, and kākajaṅghā, together with the entire group of acids, / one should grind into a paste; with that and with those liquids one should grind mercury.

One should cook it in a swing apparatus [ḍolāyantra] for one day; in this manner, seven times, / one should perform grinding and cooking; kindled, mercury hungers for mouthfuls [of metal].

Quicksilver thus thoroughly kindled and purified, one should perfume. / Perfuming [anuvāsana] / Now, the perfuming operation: placing the kindled mercury in an earthen vessel,

one should perfume it with lime juice in the intense heat of the sun. / One should do this for seven days; then one should perform consumption [cāraṇa].

By the nine operations beginning with steaming, my dear, / mercury becomes purified, free from the seven sheath defects, and the destroyer of all diseases.

The glorious Bhairavī said: / The operations beginning with steaming have been heard; speak, O Śaṅkara! / By your grace, may I hear without doubt about consumption and the rest.

The glorious Bhairava said: / Well asked, O highly fortunate lady! Hear about that consumption and the rest. / Procedure for consumption [cāraṇavidhi] / Now I shall explain the operation of consuming mica, O Supreme Goddess.

In mercury that has a mouth, or is mouthless, or has a receptive mouth, / one should cause it to consume mica successively by methods of internal amalgamation, bolus, and mouthful.

Consumption with a mouth [samukhacāraṇa] / Here, at first, consumption with a mouth is clearly explained, O goddess: / that which has a mouth swallows the mouthful; that which is mouthless is incapable of swallowing.

Therefore, one should subsequently perform the mouth-giving for the lord of mercury. / First method of mouth-giving [mukhīkaraṇa] / In the middle of a brick, a deep, round, even

pit having been made, one should pour therein the perfumed quicksilver. / One should cover one-tenth part of the mercury with a clean cloth.

Placing sulfur above it, one should seal it with an earthen saucer. / One should apply mild incineration behind it; when the sulfur is consumed, repeatedly

throwing [more] and throwing [more], one should digest and sublimate it a hundred times thus. / One should strain that lord of mercury through a thick four-layered cloth.

Having placed it in a bamboo tube and sealed its mouth, one should cook it in a pot filled with cow's urine / for three times seven days; then, in a heated mortar,

it should be ground for three days with jambīra, mātuluṅga, amlavetasa, and earthworms, / and for three days with earthworms. Thereafter, in the hollow of a brick,

one should prepare a pit. Likewise, dhānyābhra and sulfur, / ten niṣkas each, ground with jambīra for one watch:

with this mixture one should coat the two pits inside one brick. / Having placed twenty niṣkas of that [mercury] into the pit, above it

one should place another brick. Having firmly smeared its joint / with salted clay, one should cook it over a lamp-flame for up to seven days.

Taking down that brick when it has cooled of its own accord, one should extract the mercury / free from slag. One should repeat this three times in this manner.

When this is done, the lord of mercury acquires a mouth known as "divine." / <The second method of mouth-formation> / I shall declare another excellent mouth-formation:

One should grind the lord of mercury for three days with an equal quantity of living earthworms. / One should deposit that into a crucible coated with earthworms.

Having thrown earthworm paste over it, sealed it, and dried it, / one should place it, smeared with moist cow dung, embedded to one quarter of its height,

and in that pit, heat should be applied with a fire of chaff and dried cow dung. / At the end of the day, having extracted it, one should grind and cook it as before.

One should repeat this thirty times; thus the mercury becomes fire-mouthed. / This mysterious quicksilver devours [metals] and will bestow all perfections.

<The third method of mouth-formation> / I shall declare another excellent mouth-formation: / One should cook mercury in a pot filled with cow's urine in a swing apparatus

for three times seven times, properly sealed in a bamboo tube. / O fair-faced one, the mouth of quicksilver becomes fit for consumption.

<The fourth method of mouth-formation> / In the middle between two bricks, a pit of four fingers [wide should be made]. / Ten niṣkas of purified sulfur and ten niṣkas of dhānyābhra,

ground with jambīra juice for one watch—with equal parts of that paste / one should smear the two pits, and then cast into the pit

twenty niṣkas of that scented king of mercuries. Above it, / placing another brick, one should smear it firmly with fine clay and salt.

Then, O dear one, one should kindle a lamp-flame underneath / continuously for seven nights; one should extract it when cooled of its own accord.

Having discarded the slag, one should treat that quicksilver three times as before. / When done thus, indeed, the quicksilver acquires a splendid mouth.

<Method of consumption without a mouth> / By the power of divine herbs, mercury consumes [metals] even without a mouth; / or, from the touch of diamond and vaikrānta, it may consume mica and the like.

Sixty-four niṣkas of mercury, four niṣkas of vaikrānta ash, / and one niṣka of diamond ash, with the juices of divine herbs:

all being ground for seven days, that mercury will consume mica and the like. / <Consumption through a mouth produced by aromatic infusion> / One should cause sulfur to be consumed in quicksilver in the previously mentioned swing apparatus

up to sixteen times; the mercury will then have a mouth produced by aromatic infusion. / <Sprinkling of mica: refinement of mica fit for consumption> / I shall explain to you the sprinkling of mica that is fit for consumption:

Mica that has been calcined should be ground with blood, alkalis, water droplets, / the three creations [sṛṣṭitraya], tumburu, and the group of sour substances.

Quicksilver, with a mouth or without a mouth, will consume it for seven days. / <The second method> / Calcined mica, kadalī, radish, śatāvarī,

punarnavā, meghanāda, yavaciñcā, śigru, / and sūraṇa—with the juices of these, O dear one, one should grind and imbue it.

Quicksilver, with a mouth or without a mouth, will consume it for seven days. / <The third method> / In a copper vessel, having placed salt, sarjikā, borax, and earthworms

in sour gruel, one should let it stand for three days until stale. / In that [liquid], having melted lead, one should pour it a hundred times, O dear one;

in alchemical work for silver, one should use tin; with those liquids one should imbue the mica. / Quicksilver, with a mouth or without a mouth, will consume it for seven days.

<The fourth method> / One should grind dhānyābhra with the milk of arka for one day. / Having sealed it in a casing, one should cook it again in a pigeon-heat incineration.

One should incinerate it thus four times, and grind it again in the same manner: / it is to be ground three times with plantain juice, three times with radish juice,

kākamācī, meghanāda, matsyākṣī, punarnavā, / apāmārga, citraka, vidārī, bhṛṅgarāja, and muni [agastya].

One should cook it four times thus, and grind it again in the same manner. / It should be ground once with each of these, and incinerated separately.

One should imbue that mica with musalī, yavaciñcikā, / taṇḍulī, plantain, śigru, varī, arka, and punarnavā:

it is to be imbued with each juice separately, one day for each. / O you who are worshipped by the gods, the lord of mercury certainly consumes that mica.

<The fifth method> / One should grind dhānyābhra with arka latex for just one watch. / Having sealed that mica in a casing, one should cook it in a pigeon-heat incineration

fourteen times. Then taking plantain, arka, pīlu, / betel vine, musalī, kuberākṣī, śigru,

tumbī, tumburu, aṅkola, balā, and apāmārga, O dear one, / having taken the combined juice of these, along with the three pungents and sour gruel,

and placed them inside a pot, one should cook in a swing apparatus for three days / that previous mica; and then, having taken it out from that, one should prepare it:

Borax, alum, rock salt, and green vitriol in equal parts, / amounting in total to a tenth part of the mica—one should grind all this together.

Quicksilver, with a mouth or without a mouth, will consume that mica. / <The sixth method> / One should cast molten lead a hundred times into the juice of muṇḍī.

With that juice one should grind dhānyābhra, place it in a casing, / seal it, and cook it in a pigeon-heat incineration seven times.

Thus [one should do] seven times with ginger juice, and with citraka juice. / Adding sulfur equal to it, one should grind and imbue it successively.

[That mica] should be macerated for one day with the juice of muṇḍī mentioned earlier, with the juice of citron, / and with breast milk; then mercury will consume that mica.

In this manner, all seeds and the essence of mica, / all metals beginning with gold, and diverse mineral essences,

paired ingredients, all gemstones, and whatever is suitable for assimilation— / each of these, ground, should be treated like mica, and mercury will consume each one.

<Seventh Method> / Having ground prepared mica with the juice of tilaparṇī, one should subject it to puṭa heating three times; / and by macerating it seven times with grinding, mercury

quickly reaches the state of an amalgam and instantly consumes mica. / <Eighth Method> / The three alkalis, the five salts, alum, green vitriol, borax,

sal ammoniac, copper pyrites, Saurāṣṭrī clay, vatsanābha poison, / sour alum earth, and vetasāmla—all these in equal parts;

one should grind prepared mica with an equal part of this [mixture] in fermented sour gruel for one day. / The milk of arka, bhṛṅgarāja, meghanāda, punarnavā,

radish, citraka, plantain, kākamācī, śatāvarī, / apāmārga, tālamūlī, vidārī, taṇḍulī, muni,

mīnākṣī, śigru, bṛhatī, kumārī, yavaciñcikā, / balā, tumbī, kuberākṣī, the three pungent spices, tumburu, pīlu,

aṅkola, and betel pepper—all of these in equal parts; / having ground them into a paste, O Goddess, in four times the amount of fermented sour gruel,

one should quench molten lead into it again and again a hundred times. / With the liquid paste, one should firmly grind the aforementioned mica for a watch of the day,

and cook it in a pigeon-puṭa thus twenty times. / Having added an equal amount of sulfur, with the juices of the aforementioned herbs,

and with breast milk and the juices produced from citron, it should be macerated for three days. / This mica is supremely beneficial for assimilation by quicksilver.

Paired mica essence, diverse seeds, / all metals beginning with gold, and various gemstones,

as well as paired diamond seed, are prescribed for assimilation. / One should prepare all of these in the very manner stated previously;

then the lord of mercury, fit for assimilation, consumes all of that. / <Ninth Method> / In a vessel, green vitriol, alum, pyrites, sulfur,

the three alkalis, and the five salts combined with sour liquid should be placed for a moment. / As taught in the divine quenching procedure, one should pour [molten] lead a hundred times [into it],

or tin; with this, one should macerate the substances fit for assimilation. / Śatāvarī, punarnavā, plantain, gavākṣī, yavaciñcikā,

śigru, and meghanāda—with the juices of these, one should thoroughly macerate / vajra mica successively for seven days, O Goddess worshiped by the gods.

That mica, [combined] with [the juice of] betel pepper, kuberākṣī, or śigru, / or of bāṇa, aṅkola, balā, plantain, sphotā, or pīlu,

or of alambuṣā, camphor, musalī, or tumburu, / or of kharamañjarī, or bitter cucumber, O beloved,

together with the three pungent spices and mustard, with the juice of just one of these / should be steamed for three days. Into that, having added borax, rock salt,

green vitriol, and sour alum earth, by using the previous quenching procedure, / quicksilver—whether possessing a mouth or mouthless—will consume this mica.

By the power of that mica, a mercurial pellet becomes perfection-granting. / <Tenth Method> / One should steam mica for a day with fermented sour gruel and the group of sours;

then it should be ground with spurge milk and incinerated in a pigeon-puṭa. / Agasti, meghanāda, plantain tuber, and radish,

matsyākṣī, ginger, kākamācī, punarnavā, / apāmārga, and betel nut—with the juice of these,

one by one, one should again treat each preceding portion of mica, / and cook it for one day combined with spurge milk in a swing apparatus.

Then, when this mica has dried in the shade, one-sixteenth of the mica's weight / of sal ammoniac, neem, sweet flag, green vitriol, and sour chickpea liquid each

should be placed into a copper vessel and rubbed; / by application in an iron vessel, quicksilver will consume that.

<Eleventh Method> / One should grind prepared mica firmly for a day with the juice of somavallī, / and then roast it in a puṭa three times; subsequently, with the juice of somavallī,

one should macerate it seven times, O Goddess; mercury consumes that mica. / <Twelfth Method> / Having quenched it a hundred times in fermented rice water, and with that

having washed the mica a hundred times along with a copper vessel, / quicksilver consumes it in a mortar; no doubt need be entertained here.

<Maceration of Sulfur> / Hear the maceration of sulfur for the purpose of assimilation, O Pārvatī: / Saurāṣṭrī clay, ajwain, natron, and lead

one should grind with the water of śigru, and macerate the sulfur with that. / Sulfur ground for seven days should be fed to mercury;

it confers coloration to the lord of mercury, and in cooking and assimilating the seeds / [and] in clipping the wings of the lord of mercury, it is best in all operations.

With the fresh juices of palāśa flowers, the juice of teak leaves, / and the juices of viṣṇukrāntā, one should macerate sulfur for seven days.

One should cause quicksilver to consume that sulfur by means of the brick apparatus. / <Divine Roots Foremost in Mica Assimilation> / Now I shall tell you the divine roots foremost in the assimilation of mica:

Vajrī, plantain, haṃsapadī, ciñcikā, vyāghrapādikā, / maṇḍūkī, bṛhatī, śarapuṅkhā, kumārī, and likewise lāṅgalī,

sarpākṣī, agnidhamanī, śaṅkhapuṣpī, indravāruṇī, / ṣaṇḍajārī, and karkoṭī are well known as the divine roots.

<Assimilation of Sulfur and Mica> / Now, therefore, I will explain the procedure of assimilation in brief: / having melted sulfur, one should cast in an equal amount of prepared mica and combine them.

This combination of sulfur and mica is famed as foremost in the operation of assimilation. / Ten niṣkas of mercury, whether possessing a mouth or mouthless,

[and] two niṣkas of the sulfur-mica combination should be ground in whatever manner [needed] to form a paste. / Then one should encase that paste with an equal amount of lead paste;

with a paste of tin for the work of gold, with silver paste for the work of silver, / and with copper paste for perfection of the body, O supreme Goddess, one should encase it.

One should cook that paste in molten sulfur for three days; / one should cook that paste in a lamp apparatus and cause it to descend below.

One should make that mercury into a paste as before, devoid of an encasement, / cook it for three days in molten sulfur, and cause it to descend below.

One should place sixty-four parts of that mercury into a heated mortar; / one part of quenched mica should be ground [with it] for a day with divine herbs.

One should place that into an assimilation apparatus combined with lemon juice.
It should be kept in intense sunlight for a day; the quicksilver assimilates that mica.

Thus, repeatedly, consisting in the sequential process of swallowing the internal paste,
the assimilation of leaf mica is declared; likewise is the assimilation of mica essence.

Thus one should perform assimilation according to capacity, O Supreme Lady.
First, one should cause the mercury to assimilate a sixty-fourth part of mica;

it should be a thirty-second part, then a sixteenth part,
an eighth part, a fourth part, a half part, and an equal part in succession;

twice the amount, four times, eight times, sixteen times,
thirty-two times, and thus sixty-four times, progressively.

Clipping of the wings, freedom from defects, lightness, suitability for swallowing,
formation of a mouth, endurance of fire, pervasiveness, freedom from loss,

and stability of the lord of mercury arise from the assimilation of mica.
<Digestion>
He with whom even I am pleased, in his mind there arises devotion
to the digestion of the lord of quicksilver, no doubt; digestion grants enjoyment and liberation.

Digestion is difficult to obtain, O goddess; it is not attained without good fortune.

Digestion is of two kinds: minor digestion and major digestion.
<Sequence in Digestion>
One should first digest mica; after that, all essences,

couples, all metals, and mature seeds, O Bhairavī;
and one should digest rubies and other gemstones in proper succession.

<Method of Preparing Mica Essence for Digestion: The First Method>
The essence of mica worthy of digestion for the king of mercury is now described.
One should properly incinerate dhānyābhraka called vajra.

There should be sprinkling as before; in it [one adds] a tenth part of copper pyrite
and the five products of the buffalo and cow, and should grind it [into masses] resembling a karṣa.

One should make pills and cause the essence to fall out in a koṣṭhī apparatus.
And one should blow a fourth part of the essence with copper pyrite placed in a crucible.

Having done this four times, that essence is supreme for digesting mercury,
for rejuvenation therapy, for medicine, and in every alchemical operation.

<The Second Method>
Incinerated mica, one-fourth part of that of lead, one-fourth of that of copper pyrite:
with the five buffalo and bovine products, one should cause the brilliant essence to fall.

Taking that essence, a fourth part of copper pyrite, and an equal amount of realgar,
one should blow them in a smeared crucible; the essence will become like gold.

One should do this four times; the mercury swallows that essence.
<The Third Method>
Incinerated mica [one part], a sixteenth part of that of tin,

having added an equal amount of orpiment, from the five products of buffalo and cow
one should cause the essence to fall; and adding orpiment to that essence

a fourth part again and again four times, the mercury swallows that essence.
<The Fourth Method: Softening Mica Essence>
Having placed mica essence in an adamantine crucible, and an equal amount of

glass and borax having been added, sealing it, one should blow it with intense fire.
One should throw that with the sour group, tamarind seeds, and snuhī leaves,

having ground them; into that again, likewise with the combination of glass and borax,
one should blow it thus seven times, sprinkling it again and again.

That mica essence becomes white, soft, and suitable for assimilation.
<The Fifth Method>
Lord of mercury, borax, and copper pyrite, each one part separately;

three parts of purified lead, ten parts of incinerated mica,
barley ash, burnt wool, natron, and guggulu,

combined with the five parts of a goat, accompanied by the sour group and urines,
one should grind as before and extract a soft, pure essence.

<Crucible Smear for Fusing Couples: The First Method>
I will describe the crucible smear for fusing couples, O Pārvatī:

sheep's horn, hoof, guñjā, borax, and poison in equal parts,
having ground them with the fat of a large frog, one should smear the crucible.

All essences, reduced to powder, unite within the crucible.
Guggulu, dhātakī flowers, jaggery, and the three alkalis in equal parts:

having ground them with human breast milk, the smear in the crucible brings about the fusion of couples.
<The Second Method>
Aśmabhedī, lāṅgalī, earthworms, black pepper,

cotton fruit, and cochineal insects—one should grind these
with woman's breast milk, and with that smear the inside of the crucible.

In that [crucible] all essences and great minerals unite,
and the metals headed by gold, through blowing with fierce fire.

<The Third Method>
The flesh of a musk shrew, borax, and poison in equal parts,
having ground them, one should smear the inside of the crucible and throw therein

whatever is fit to be coupled; it all unites through blowing.
<The Fourth Method>
Incinerated apāmārga ground with jyotiṣmatī oil:

with that one should smear the crucible, and introduce the pair of substances.
They unite through blowing with intense fire and by casting in their respective killers.

<The Fusion of Couples>
Therefore I shall proclaim the fusion of couples; listen!
Varṣābhū, banana rhizome, kākamācī, punarnavā,

gold, human skull, guñjā, borax, and mica
essence placed in a crucible and blown: gold and mica unite in an instant.