Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v2.c43.s3.t3.12

v2.c43.s3.t3.12

According to this text, vaidūrya is many-hued and one variety appears to have specks of fire on the surface. Finot translated this as “comme un jaillissement d’étincelles” indicating chatoyancy, and equated vaidūrya with cat’s eye. Buddhabhaṭṭa’s description indeed reminds one of chrysoberyl cat’s eye. Possibly, he made the mistake of using the term vaidūrya in a wide sense. This is obvious when he refers to a wide range of colour for vaidūrya: the conventional green (RP, 203), blue as well as golden red (RP, 202 and 208). Finot was certainly wrong (1898 : xlv-xlvii, and 43-45; also Agastimata Appendix 9 quoted by Finot in p. 135) in equating vaidūrya with cat’s eye. At any rate, this confusion had started with Buddhabhaṭṭa, and as Sarma (1984: 68) pointed out, Māgha made a similar mistake in using the word vaidūrya to indicate bidālakṣaṇa or chatoyancy of cat’s eye (Śiśupālavadha, 3.45). RRS, 4.57 description of vaidūrya is actually that of cat’s eye. As we have indicated earlier, the confusion arose probably due to greenish chrysoberyl cat’s eye and beryl occurring at times in the same matrix.