History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c13.s2.t8.1

v1.c13.s2.t8.1

The age of introduction of Mercury to the ancient Indians is not demarcated very clearly but it is sure that this metal or its minerals have not been mentioned in the Vedic text. It is also very clear whether sindur used by married Indian women was HgS mineral although this compound has been called Rasa sindur in the Ayurvedic text *Caraka Saṃhitā*. In Sanskrit this metal is called ‘Parada’ or Rasa and Hg as well as HgS have been extensively used in the preparation of Ayurvedic medicines. In *Rasaratna Samuccaya* and other literature on ‘*Rasasastra*’ description of use of Cinnebar (*Hiṅgula*) to produce Mercury (*Hiṅgulakrasta Rasa*) has been described along with the details of the distillation apparatus used for its extraction. HgS gets decomposed very easily on heating in air or with lime to red hot temperature. The reactions are as follows: