The Materia Medica of the Hindus, compiled from Sanskrit Medical Works c4.s10.2

c4.s10.2

PURE silver, according to Sanskrit writers, should be soft, white, brilliant and ductile. It should not be discoloured by fire. Impure silver, that is, silver mixed with other metals, is discoloured by fire, of a reddish or yellowish colour, and not ductile. Silver is purified in the same way as gold. It is converted into a black oxide by thin silver leaves being mixed with twice their weight of cinnabar, and heated in the subliming apparatus, called *Urddhapátana yantra*. This process is repeated fourteen times. The resulting compound is a fine greyish black powder with minute shining white particles intermixed with it. On chemical analysis it is found to consist of the black oxide of silver. The properties of silver thus prepared are said to be allied to those of gold but somewhat inferior. It is generally used in combination with other metals, such as gold, iron, etc. Dose, grains one to two. The following is an example of a complex prescription containing silver.