A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c48.s16.73

v3.c48.s16.73

Chapter nine opens with the statement that mercury, even after colouring, is not yet suitable to the karman (of the alchemist, i.e., auri- and argentifaction); the addition of a bīja is necessary to achieve this aim (1). Two types of bīja are distinguished: yellow and white (1), employed in the making of gold and silver respectively. The substances which are of importance in preparing a bīja are enumerated; the eight rasas: vairānta, kānta, sasyaka, mākṣika, vimala, adri (= śilājatu), darada and rasaka (4);¹⁶⁴ the eight uparasas: gandhaka, gairika, (manaḥ)śilā, (harit)āla, kṣiti (= sphaṭikā), khecara (= kāśīsa), añjana and kaṅkuṣṭha (5); the two sāralohas: śikhin (= gold) and śaśin (= silver) (5); the six pūtilohas: tāmra, āra, tīkṣṇa, kānta, abhrasattva, loha (= muṇḍa), vaṅga and nāga; the six salts: sauvarcala, saindhava, cūlika, sāmudra, romaka and bīḍa (7); the three alkalis (kṣāra): svarji, ṭaṅkaṇa, and yavakṣāra (7); a group of śodhana and drāvaṇa plants: sūryāvarta, kadalī, vandhyā, kośātakī, suradālī, śigru, vajrakanda, nīrakaṇā (= jalappipalī) and kākamācī (8). The plants mentioned are employed in the purification of the rasas and uparasas, and in the extraction of their sattva (9); the remaining part of the chapter (10–16) is about the purification of several of the substances mentioned.