History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c13.s2.t4.10

v1.c13.s2.t4.10

The survey of ancient literature has provided ample proof that iron and steel making technology and their difference has been known in the Vedic period (vide reference on Rgveda and Yajurveda) and may be even earlier. These evidences also support the hypothesis of Sharma R.S. that Aryans were the original inhabitants of India and this also supports the use of iron both by Aryans and Dravidians even in the pre-historic period. As cited earlier Indians of the Vedic period were using steam powered transport vehicles and they were capable of producing many types of war weapons and agricultural tools which is possible only by the use of iron and steel. Prakash and Tripathi(1986), and Kulkarni(1989)have published a detailed review on this metal and listed chemical composition of many of the iron objects. These objects have carbon content of 0.03 to 1.3% and they are basically Fe-C alloys. The *Suśruta Saṃhitā* has mentioned the method of fabrication (700 B.C.) of more than 100 surgical tools made of Fe-C alloys and the process of heat treatment to obtain razor sharp edge capable of splitting hair into two halves longitudinally.