Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v2.c44.s6.17

v2.c44.s6.17

We have already pointed out that the Mahāyāna Buddhist scholar, Nāgārjuna introduced alchemy during the second century AD. His Rasaratnākara text might have been amplified and re-edited during successive centuries. For nearly four centuries, the Hindu (Śaiva)-Buddhist (Mahāyāna) and Indo-Chinese cultural contacts resulted in Tāntric philosophy and mineral/metal-based medicines.