Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v2.c43.s3.t13.78
Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v2.c43.s3.t13.78
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v2.c43.s3.t13.78
*Maṇimālā* quoted a Sanskrit text (*MM*, 271) saying that twenty-seven kinds of pearls were generated in accordance with twenty-seven different stellar constellations, as Bala’s teeth fell over a long period of time. Nine of these kinds were heavy, nine intermediate in density and the remainder nine kinds were light. The best pearls which (originated and still) originate in water drops falling upon oysters, when the sun rests on the *Svāti* (Arcturus forming the fifteenth lunar asterism) star, are flawless and bright (NRP, 69 and MM, 286):