A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c48.s16.69

v3.c48.s16.69

Chapter five describes garbhadṛti (1–35) and bāhyadṛti (36–58), processes which result in the liquefaction (druti) of the grāsa, i.e., the substances added to mercury. The substances necessary to achieve this liquefaction are called bīja. Chapter five opens with methods to prepare various bījas (4–23). Mākṣikasattva, for example, is necessary for the druti of gold and silver (7). Next, garbhadṛti itself is described (24–26) and the preparation of bīdas (catalytic agents) helpful in the druti of gold and vairānta (27–29), followed by verses on the quantities of grāsa that can be digested by mercury, dependent on various circumstances (30–32), and related topics (33–35). The next subject is bāhyadṛti; several methods are described to achieve the liquefaction of various substances.