A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c48.s2.12

v3.c48.s2.12

Chapter three (dhātusādhanādhyāya; 296 verses and passages in prose) deals with the seven metals (dhātu): gold, silver, copper, tin, zinc, lead and iron (1). The subjects discussed are: the etymology of the term dhātu (2); the connections between a series of nine metals and the nine grahas (3–4ab); a list of seven upadhātus: tāpya (= mākṣika), vimalā, tuttha, kāṃsya, pittalaka, sindūra, and śailaniryāsa (= śilājatu) (4cd–6ab); gold, its origin, varieties, properties, purification, uses, killing, etc. (6cd–78); the origin, varieties, properties, killing, etc., of silver (79–109), copper (110–147), tin (148–180), zinc (181–183), lead (184–203), iron (204–284ab), and maṇḍūra (284cd–293).