History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c17.s3.t4.3

v1.c17.s3.t4.3

The Ratnaśāstra texts are full of poetic descriptions related to light green beryl, intense green emerald and bluish ultramarine: ‘like the peacock’s tail, the wing of the nīla- kaṇṭha, parrot’s wing, moss, fresh grass, glow-worm’s back, the sirisa flower’ and so on (RP 152, 158-159; Garuḍapurāṇa, 1.71. 1- 29, Manimālā, 362-364 and 377-379). Skanda Purāṇa (23.135) categorised different kinds of beryl and emerald, and recorded the geographical locations of their mines.