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Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v2.c44.s5.t1: Aṅgavijjā and Amarakośa

Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v2.c44.s5.t1

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Aṅgavijjā and Amarakośa

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Two important compilations made during the Gupta era provide a wealth of information regarding the material culture of the period in India; we would extract from them certain references to minerals and metals.

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Aṅgavijjā is a text of the Jains written in Prākṛt by Pubbāyariya (Munipunyavijaya, 1957). This text dealing mainly with the science of prognostications contains useful references to the then uses of minerals and metals.

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The compilation was made during the beginning of the Gupta era (fourth century AD) when the Kuṣāṇa and Kṣatrapa influences were still perceptible in the Western India. The text mentions joṇikā or javanikā, a Greek woman and several kinds of coins bearing foreign influences. Māṣaka, kārṣāpaṇa, nāṇaka were ancient traditional coins of India. Khattapaka was however the Kṣatrapa coin of Rudradāman (AD 150) also known as rudradāmaka. Sateraka was the Greek gold coin ‘stater’ weighing 133.2 grams. Dināra was the Gupta age gold coin, but the name was derived from the pre-Christian era Roman silver coin denarius. Nāṇaka was low denomination copper coin. The Kṣatrapas used lead also for such low-value coins.

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Aṅgavijjā provided a fairly long list of prevalent professions. There were suvarṇakāras (gold smiths), kaṃsakāra (bronze smith), loṇakāra (dealer in salt), maṇikāra (lapidary, dealer in gems), koṭṭaka (inlayers), etc. Dhātus were classified in Aṅgavijjā into two categories: maṇidhātu (gems) and loha (metals). Probably Yavanajātaka’s notion of dhāmya, something which is bright, was applied to the word dhātu, excluding those which are adhāmya or dull.

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The metals used were gold, silver, copper, lead, trapu or tin, hārakūḍa or brass, kāla loha (pig iron), kaṃsa loha (bronze), bahu loha (many metal alloy), etc. Also mentioned were tikkhaloha (cast iron) and muṇḍaloha (wrought iron).

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A special remark may be made of hārakūḍa or ārakūṭa of Kauṭilīya Arthaśāstra or brass. It was compared in colour with gold:

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तत्थ पीतकेसु सुवन्नकं हारकूडकं चेव विन्नेयम्
पंचवरेसु सोवहवेसु य पीत एसु हारकूडकं विन्नेयम्
tattha pitakesu suvannakaṃ hārakūḍakaṃ ceva vinneyam
pañcavaresu sovahavesu ya pīta esu hārakūḍakaṃ vinneyam
(Aṅgavijjā, 1957:233)

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The bright yellow colour of brass was considered to qualify it as a suitable replacement for gold as suggested by Nāgārjuna.

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Lohitākṣa (carnelian), masārakalla or marakata (emerald), veruliya or vaidūrya (beryl), gomeda (zircon), phāliya or sphaṭika (quartz) were adored as gems. Khāramaṇi was a general name modified according to colour: raktakhāra (garnet), svetakhāra or vimalaka (pyrite?), nīlakhāra (sapphire), kālakhāra (galena?), etc. The gems like coral, pearl, chank- or conch-shell, ivory, etc. were separately categorised as praṇayonigata or those having biological origin. The metals were beaten, khāramaṇis scalloped, coral and chank were rubbed (ghaṭṭha) and the pearls smoothened (parimaddita).

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The eyes were decorated with collyrium (añjana), the brows with the lampblack, the temple with cinnabar (hiṅgula), orpiment (haritāla), realgar (manaḥśilā), and the lips with lac-dye (alaktaka). For other decorative purposes were used geruā (red ochre), palepaka (plaster), nīlakadhātu (ultramarine?), sassekechunna (blue vitriol, copper sulphate or malachite/azurite powder?).

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*Nāmaliṅgānuśāsanam* by Amarasiṃha (AD 450) popularly known as *Amarakośa* is one of the most celebrated lexicons in the Sanskrit language. The author was Buddhist Scholar with a strong leaning towards *Sāṃkhya* philosophy. He compiled a large number of technical words related to minerals and metals. Many of these are from the Vedic sources, Pāṇini and Kauṭilya, which we have already mentioned. We would mention here only some of the additions made around fourth century AD.

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Like *Aṅgavijjā*, *Amarakośa* contained a list of different kinds of salts such as *sauvarcala* (saltpetre), *saindhava* (rock salt), *yavakṣāra* (potassium carbonate in plant ash), etc. Saltpetre, also known as *naipālī* (from Nepal) was probably used in rocket or fire-works, mentioned as *Yogavārtikā* by Daṇḍi (sixth century AD) in his *Daśakumāracarita*.

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Some of the other inorganic materials used for decorative purpose were: *tutthāñjana mayuraka akṣa* (blue vitriol or copper sulphate), *sindūra* or *nāgasambhava* (red lead), *kulali* (blue collyrium), etc. *Amarakośa* provided three names for alum: *kāmksi*, *tuvari* and *saurāṣṭraja*. For minerals and gems, alternative names were mentioned: *śubhra/abhra* for mica, *phala/muktā* for pearl, *kulisa/vajra* for diamond. Both *marakata* (emerald) and *vaidūrya* (beryl) were referred to.

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Some of the new names for metals and alloys are found in the *Amarakośa*: *kupyam* — base metal, *aśmasāra* — iron, *kusī* — wrought iron, *pārada/capala* — mercury, *thuṇa* — iron statue, *vaṅga* — tin. It may be noted that the famous *thuṇa* or iron pillar of Delhi was made in the Gupta era. Tin had a new name *vaṅga* (Bengal); it is significant that tin-based bronzes were being made in the Bengal area (Nālandā, etc.) using Hazārībāgh tin ore or the metal imported from Malaysia. *Ārakūṭa* continued to stand for brass. *Riti* meant brass as well as rust or calx of brass. *Caraka Saṃhitā* had used the same word *riti* and recommended its medicinal use. *Ritipuṣpam* meant flower-like substance from heated brass.

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*Amarakośa* referred to an iron smith not only as *lohakāra* but also as *vyokāra*. *Kalāda* was silver smith, *saulvika* a copper-smith, and *kāmbavika* a shell-worker.

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