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A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c49.s2: Special features

A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c49.s2

Language
English

Special features

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Cūḍāmaṇi’s very systematic treatise usually gives the opinions of a number of authorities on a particular subject, without making a choice. He is not even biased when quoting the views of his teacher, Devendragiri. Incidentally, he makes a personal statement. 28 Occasionally, he rejects statements made in particular works. 29

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Cūḍāmaṇi adds a large number of valuable glosses to his quotations. He gives information on the uses of the yantras 30 and explains which terms are synonymous. 31 Technical terms are frequently elucidated. 32

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Cūḍāmaṇi’s comments are concise in most cases, but, sometimes, they are elaborate and detailed. 33

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The remarks on the identity of plants are useful: alaka (II.1.11: = devadālī), cakrī (I.3.24: = cakriṇīlatā and cakramarda), cāṇḍālī (I.3.23: = bhūmyāmalakī and a divyauṣadhi), daṣuṇa (I.4.235: = raktaśāka), dhāvanī (III.3.59: = pṛśniparṇī), gaṇḍanikā (II.1.760: = gaṇḍadūrvā), gartakalambukā (II.1.761: = nākulī), haritparṇī (II.1.761: = kumā-

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rī), hima (II.3.115: = kaṭphala), kāmācī (II.3.188: = kākamācī), maurvī (II.3.193: = bhūrjapatra), raktasnuhi (I.3.24: = śātalā and a climber which resembles sehuṇḍa), raktaśṛṅgī (I.3.24: = a variety of śāka and some climber), raktavarṇa (I.3.26: = citraka and eraṇḍa), ratnapuṣpā (I.1.139: = atasī), śālāhañcī (II.1.761: = mañjiṣṭhā), śimāriṇī (III.3.59: = matsyākṣī or vacā), śṛgālī (III.3.59: = śāliparṇī), stokā (II.1.760: = balāmoṭā), uccaṭā (I.3.26: = śvetaguñjā and some climber), vanaka (II.1.895: = tumbaru), vanamākṣika (II.1.763: = vanamadhūka), vegā (II.3.196: = jyotiṣmatī), vīrā (III.7.226: = vidārī), vraṇaghnī (III.3.27: = kumārī), vyāghrī (I.3.27: = kaṇṭakārikā and some climber).

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The lists of plants used in alchemical operations are quoted from several sources. Some lists are from the Rasārṇava (I.3.12cd–22 and 38cd–43), 34 Rasasāra (I.3.34–36 35 and 3.124–138), 36 and Rasendracūḍāmaṇi (I.3.54–123). 37 A list, quoted from an unknown source, enumerates the following plants called mūlikā: ādityabhaktā, aṅkulī, apāmārga, avākpuṣpī, bhārṅgī, bhekaparṇī, candravallī, citraka, devadālī, eraṇḍa, gavākṣikā, goḍumbā, 38 gopālakarkaṭī, halinī, harikrāntā, indrā, kāṇḍavallī, karkoṭī, kokamā, kṣīrakandaka, kuḍahāṇī, kuṭṭāra, mūṣakakarṇī, nākulī, punarnavā, rudantī, śaṅkā, śaṅkhapuṣpikā, śarapuṅkhā, śikhīśikhā, snuhī, tridhārā, 39 tridhāraka, ūrdhvapuṅkhikā, vajrakanda, and vajrī (I.3.7cd–12ab). 40

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The list said to be from the Rasaratnākara cannot be traced in that treatise; 41 it consists of the following plants called rasamūlikā: adrikaṛṇikā, ākhukarṇikā, amṛtākanda, bhṛṅga, brahmadaṇḍī, bhūkanda, cakramarda, citraka, dhattūra, dūrvā, grīṣmasundara, haridrā, hastiśuṇḍī, iṣupuṅkhikā, jāyantī, jātī, kākajaṅghā, kākamācī, kañcukī, kaṭutumbikā, kośātakī, kṣīriṇī, kusumbhaka, lajjālu, lāṅgalī, mahārāṣṭrī, maṇḍūkaparṇī, matsyākṣī, mūrvā, nīrākaṇā, pātālī, raktāṅgariṅguṇḍī, rambhā, rasāṅkuśā, śairyaka, śaṅkhapuṣpikā, sarpākṣī, śatāvarī, śīgru, śikhīśikhā, śimbikā, śrīdevī, suradālikā, sūryāvarta, śvetārka, tilaparṇikā, utpala, vajrakanda, vajralatā, vandhyā, vārāhī, and varṣābhū (I.3.1–7ab).

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The arrangement of the diseases in the Cikitsāpāda is unusual and does not conform to a recognized pattern. Most of the nidāna verses of this section are from the Mādhavanidāna. Diseases added to those described by Mādhava are urograha (18), 42 snāyuroga (54), and somaroga (57). 43

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The chapter on jvara mentions several series of saṃnipāta fevers, without describing them: (1) viṣhāraka, śīghrakārin, puṣpaṇa, vidhura, makarin, phalgu, vaidārin, karṇaka, karkoṭaka, saṃmoha, yāmya, krakaca, pālaka, kūṭapālaka (1.168–169); 44 (2) sandhiga, jihvaka, pralāpaka, tandrika, rugdāha, śītagātra, karṇaka, cittavibhrama, raktaṣṭhīvin, kaṇṭhakubja, bhugnanetra, abhinyāsa, saṃnyāsa, hataujas (1.170–174); 45 (3) antardāha, daṇḍapāta, antaka, kumbhīpāka, prorṇunāva, pralāpin, eṇīdāha, bhūtahāsa, ajaghoṣa, hāridra, saṃśoṣin, yantrāpīḍa, saṃnyāsa (1.175–179).

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The total number of irregular fevers (viṣamajvara) is said to be thirty-five. Apart from the well-known types, some other fevers belonging to this group are: saptāhasam-tata, daśāhasamṭata, dvādaśāhasamṭata, pañcadinajvara, ṣaḍdinajvara, vātabalāsaka, tṛṇapuṣpaka, ojonirodhajavara, and rātri- or velājvara (1.611–622).

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The treatments described are not restricted to rasayogas, but comprise more traditional āyurvedic measures and prescriptions as well.

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Cūḍāmaṇi was a grandson of the physician Balabhadramiśra, who was a Śākadvīpīya brāhmaṇa, and a son of Harirāma. 46

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Cūḍāmaṇi was a pupil of Devanāthamiśra; some verses from an alchemical treatise by the latter are quoted in the Rasakāmadhenu.

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P.K. Gode 47 tentatively identified this Devanātha with the father of the Vāsudeva who wrote a commentary, called Bhuvanacandrikā or Bhuvanārthacandrikā, on Suba-ndhu's Vāsavadattā. 48 Vāsudeva's references to himself as a Śākadvīpīya made P.K. Gode advance this hypothesis. The provisional identification was supported by evidence, discovered somewhat later by P.K. Gode, after studying a MS of Vāsudeva's commentary. 49 Vāsudeva, who calls his father Devanātha an eminent physician and a second Dhanvantari, refers to and quotes from a work on rasaśāstra, called Rasamu-ktāvalī, written by him.

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The relationship between Cūḍāmaṇi and Devendragiri, author of the repeatedly quoted Rasāyanasārasamgraha, remains to be elucidated.

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Date Cūḍāmaṇi's chronological position can be deduced from his acquaintance with Mā-dhava Upādhyāya's Āyurvedaprakāśa. 50 His posterity to Mādhava Upādhyāya implies that he lived after the second half of the seventeenth century. 51 This date is confirmed by the quotation from Kāśinātha's Ajīrṇamañjarī, the earliest MS of which was com-pleted in A.D. 1617.

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The Rasakaumudī The Rasakaumudī by Jñānacandraśarman 52 is a treatise that can be divided into an al-chemical (chapters one to three) and an iatrochemical part (chapter four). The work is written in a defective language and style. 53

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Contents Chapter one (rasotpattyadhikāra; 20 verses) has five introductory verses, followed by an account of the origin of mercury (1.6–20). Chapter two (rasendraśuddhyadhikāra; 30 1/2 verses) is concerned with nine defects (doṣa) of mercury (2.3–4ab), the disorders they give rise to (2.4cd–6), and nine saṃskāras and their effects (7–30 1/2). Chapter three (96 verses) is concerned with the purification (śuddhi) of all the lohas and pāṣāṇas (3.1–5ab), 54 the purification of gandhaka and abhraka (3.5cd–8), sattvapātana of all the pāṣāṇas (3.9–15ab), druti of pāṣāṇas, vajra, loha and abhraka (3.15cd–21ab), māraṇa of triloha, i.e., nāga, vaṅga and rasaka (3.21cd–23ab), māraṇa of all the lohas (3.23cd–26), two types of māraṇa of abhraka (3.27–31ab), māraṇa of vajra (3.31cd–34ab), two types of māraṇa of mercury (3.34cd–37), four varieties of rasabhasman and their medicinal properties (3.38–43), a ritual (siddhapūjāvidhi) to pay homage to the eight Siddhas, nine Nāthasiddhas and their spouses, and the nine Durgās 55 (3.44–53ab), the preparation of iṣṭārthasiddhiguṭikā (3.53cd–67), 56 rasadīpana (3.68–71ab), grāsapradāna (3.71cd–78ab), rasamukhabandha (3.78cd–89), vedāmukharasa

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(3.90–93), and dhūmavedhirasa (3.94–96). Chapter four (132 verses) describes thirteen rasayogas. The treatise ends with the formula of trailokyacintāmaṇirasa.

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Sources are not referred to. 57 Three formulae are attributed to Śaṃkara, 58 Ṣaṇmukha 59 and Viśvāmitra 60 respectively.

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Jñānacandra's Rasakaumudī is one of the sources of the Rasayogasāgara.

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Special features The account of the origin of mercury (rasotpatti) in chapter one differs from the ver-sions found in other texts. 61 The nine doṣas of mercury described in the Rasakaumudī are: uḍḍīnatva, 62 kauṭilya, anāvarta, 63 saṃkara, ṣaṇḍatva, vahnikāritva, samalatva, gu-rutva, and saviṣa (2.3–4ab). 64 The disorders brought about by these defects are: (1) śūla, (2) kapālaruj, (3) bhramodvega, (4) doṣasamcaya, (5) asaṃtāna (infertility), (6) kuṣṭha, (7) vānti, mūrchā and mahodara, (8) jādya and mūrchā, and (9) gātrakṣaya (2. 4cd–6). The kañcukas are left unmentioned.

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The nine saṃskāras, leading to a product able to bring about deha- and lohasiddhi are: 65 mardana, utthāpana, (adhah)pātana, dīpana, 66 jāraṇa, sāraṇa, 67 grāsapradāna, 68 rañjana, and krāmaṇa (2.7–30 1/2). The term triloha is used to designate lead, tin and rasaka (3.21cd–23ab). 69 The second type of māraṇa of mercury (3.36–37) does not re-sult in māraṇa, but in mūrchana. 70 Four varieties of rasabhasman are described: kṛṣṇa, pīta, śyāma and karbura in colour (3.38–41); 71 these substances are medicinally valu-able; the kṛṣṇa variety leads to dehasiddhi, the yellow (pīta) one removes kuṣṭha, the śyāma variety removes all the doṣas, the karbura variety has aphrodisiac properties; an added fifth variety, red in colour, abolishes the three doṣas (3.42–43). Eight lohas are referred to (4.1).

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Interesting terms occurring in the Rasakaumudī are: aṣṭaśūla (4.46 and 74), pañcamitraka (3.17), maṇḍala (4.22, 23, 31, 100, 123, 129), 72 raktagrahaṇī (4.66), 73 raktagrahiṇīkā (4.58 and 66), sindūra (4.27), 74 takrameha (4.17), 75 vajratuṇḍījantu (3.32), and vṛścikavāta (4.11).

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Noteworthy plant names are: bhūdantī (4.13 and 119), bhūguñjā (4.70), bhūśigru (4.70), dvijihvā (4.119), dvikaṇṭikā (4.119), gorakṣikā (2.28), 76 kaḍukanda (3.11), ka-ṇḍūkī (3.9), kṛṣṇacitraka (4.93), kṛṣṇamālaka (4.93), kṣīrakarṇī (3.9), kurūṭikā (3.9), mātaṅga (4.55), nīlabhṛṅgī (4.12), nīlaśṛṅgī (3.38), and śvetagandhārī (4.119).

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The author Jñānacandra was a brāhmaṇa and a son of the physician Sarvajñacandra of Candra-śekhara lineage. 77

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Date The period to which the author belonged cannot be determined with accuracy. The ref-erences to the nine Nāthasiddhas and to a group of eight metals (aṣṭaloha) imply that it is not an early work. 78

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An anonymous Rasakaumudī An anonymous Rasakaumudī 79 deals with the purification of mercury, a number of twenty-seven rasayogas⁸⁰ and how to administer them, antidotes (viṣaśānti), signs pointing to health (svasthāriṣṭa) and signs pointing to a bad prognosis (ariṣṭa).

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The Rasamañjarī

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The Rasamañjarī by Śālinātha⁸¹ is an alchemical and iatrochemical treatise in 867 verses,⁸² arranged in twelve chapters (adhyāya).⁸³ The work is in the form of a conversation between Śiva and Pārvatī.⁸⁴

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Contents⁸⁵ Chapter one (rasaśodhanaprakāra; 39 verses) deals with introductory matter (1–4), the praise of mercury (5–8), the teacher and his pupil (9–13), the names and varieties of mercury (14–15), the doṣas of mercury and the disorders arising from them (16–19), and some methods of purifying (śodhana) mercury (20–39).

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Chapter two (rasajāraṇamāraṇādi; 64 verses) describes the jāraṇa of several substances by mercury (1–11), several types of māraṇa of mercury (12–16), several methods of preparing rasasindūra (17–41) and rasakarpūra (42–45), mūrchana (46–51), bandha (52–58), and rules concerning the use of mercurial products (59–64).⁸⁶

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Chapter three (uparasaśodhanamāraṇa; 101 verses) is about the uparasas (1–3ab); its subjects are the origin of sulphur (3cd–5ab), its varieties (5cd–6), the disorders caused by impure sulphur (7), its purification (8–13), the preparation of gandhakataila (14–15); the varieties, characteristics and properties of diamonds (vajra; 16–21),⁸⁷ disorders caused by impure diamonds (22), their purification (23–25ab) and māraṇa (25cd–30), the varieties, properties and māraṇa of vaikrānta (31–34), the varieties of mica (abhraka) and their properties (35–38), the preparation of dhānyābhraka (39–43ab), māraṇa of mica (43cd–56), the śodhana and māraṇa of tāla (57–61), the śodhana of manaḥśilā, rasaka, tuttha, vimala, mākṣika, kāsīsa, kāntapāṣāṇa, vārāṭikā, hinguḷa, and śilājatu (62–83), the śodhana of the remaining uparasas (84), the preparation of bhūnāga-, vaikrānta- and abhrakasattva (85–91), the fusing (drāvaṇa) of mica (92), the extraction of various sattvas (93–96), and śodhana and māraṇa of gems (maṇi; 97–101).

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Chapter four (viṣalakṣaṇasevāparihāra; 31 verses) describes eighteen plants with poisonous bulbs or tubers (kanda) (1–10), their māraṇa (11–13), the way to employ them medicinally, together with the dosages (14–21), the seven stages (vega) of intoxication (22–25), a mantra preventing intoxication (26) and the way to use it (27–28), prescriptions against poisoning (29–31).

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Chapter five (svarṇādyaṣṭadhātuśodhanamāraṇasevana; 71 verses) is concerned with the śodhana and māraṇa of the eight metals: gold (3cd–17ab), silver (17cd–24ab), copper (24cd–36), rājarīti (= pittala) and ghoṣa (= kāṃsya (37), lead and tin (38–48), and iron (49–67); the medicinal properties of the products obtained are described; the chapter ends with the properties of lohakīṭa (= maṇḍūra; 68–71).

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Chapter six (rasayojanabhakṣaṇa; 307 verses)⁸⁸ contains formulae of rasayogas. Chapter seven (rasāyanaguṭikā; 60 verses)⁸⁹ is about rasāyana formulae. Chapter eight (netrāñjanakeśarañjana; 28 verses) is devoted to recipes against eye diseases and

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premature greyness of the hair. Chapter nine (vīryastambhanādikautūhalanirūpaṇa; 78 verses)⁹⁰ describes subjects usually dealt with in Tantric treatises about ṣaṭkarman. Chapter ten (bālatantra; 32 verses) reproduces a Bālatantra. Chapter eleven (kālajñāna; 44 verses) is about ariṣṭas. Chapter twelve (chāyāpuruṣalakṣaṇa; 12 verses) describes ariṣṭas connected with one’s shadow (chāyā), as taught by Śambhu.

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Sources are not referred to.⁹¹ One recipe is ascribed to Nāgārjuna.⁹² A Mālātimata is also mentioned.⁹³

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The Rasamañjarī is quoted or referred to in the paribhāṣā pariśiṣṭa of the Ānandakanda, the Āyurvedaprakāśa, Caturbhuja’s commentary on the Rasaḥṛdaya, the Dhātumaṛaṇa,⁹⁴ Harisaraṇānanda’s Kūpīpakvarasanirmāṇavijñāna, Meghamuni’s Meghavinoda,⁹⁵ Nidhi’s Yogasamuccaya, the Pāradasaṃhitā, Rasakāmadhenu, Rasasaṃgrahasasiddhānta by Govindarāma,⁹⁶ Rasasārāmṛta by Rāmasena,⁹⁷ Rasāyanasaṃgraha,⁹⁸ Rasayogasāgara, Rasendrasambhava, Rasendrasārasaṃgraha by Gopālakṛṣṇa, Somadevaśarman’s commentary on the Āyurvedaprakāśa, the Yogaratnākara,⁹⁹ the Yogatarangiṇī¹⁰⁰ and Bṛhadyogatarangiṇī¹⁰¹ of Trimalla, and the Sukhabodha of Vaidyarāja.

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Commentaries on the Rasamañjarī were written by Harinābha,¹⁰² Rāmanātha,¹⁰³ and Samaratha.

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Samaratha was a Śvetāmbara Jain of the Sāgaracandrasūri branch of the Kharataragaccha, and a pupil of Matiratna or Sumatiratna. He lived in Bīkāner. Samaratha’s name was changed into Samayamāṇikya after his ordination. Samaratha composed his Hindī commentary on the Rasamañjarī in A.D. 1707. He also wrote a Sanskrit commentary on Keśavadāsa’s Rasikapriyā, composed in Brajbhāṣā; this commentary was completed in A.D. 1698.¹⁰⁴

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Special features Eight doṣas of mercury are enumerated: nāga, vaṅga, agni, cāñcalya, asahyatva, viṣa, giri and mala; the disorders they bring about are jāḍya, kuṣṭha, mahādāha, vīryanāśa, mūrchanā, mṛtyu, sphoṭa and rogapuñja (1.17–18). A second series of five doṣas, consisting of śiloccaya, mṛdbhava, atimalina, nāga and vaṅga leads to kuṣṭha, jāḍya, atyantavāta, galagaṇḍa and gulma (1.19).¹⁰⁵ The uparasas distinguished are gandhaka, vajra, vaikrānta, gagana (= abhraka), tālaka, śilā, kharpara, śikhituttha, vimalā, hemamākṣika, kāsīsa, kāntapāṣāṇa, varāṭa, añjana, hinguḷa, kaṅkuṣṭha, śaṅkha, bhūnāga, ṭaṅkaṇa, and śilājatu (3.1–3ab).¹⁰⁶ Four varieties of sulphur (gandhaka) are mentioned: red, yellow, white and black, useful for making gold (hemakriyā), for rasāyana purposes and in ointments on ulcers respectively; the black variety is the best one (3.5–6). Diamonds (vajra) are white, red, yellow and black; these varieties are called brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra; they are suitable to rasāyana purposes, to curing diseases, to vāda (i.e., alchemy) and to vayahstambha (i.e., rasāyana) purposes; diamonds are also male, female or neuter and fit for vedha and rasabandha, dehasiddhi, and krāmaṇa (3.16–21). Eight types of vaikrānta are mentioned: white, red, yellow, grey (pārāvatacchavi), śyāmala, black, and karbura (3.32).¹⁰⁷

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The usual four varieties of mica (abhraka) are enumerated: piṇāka, dardura, nāga and vajra (3.35). Poisonous plants are eighteen in number: kālakūṭa, mayūrākhya, binduka, saktuka, vāluka, vatsanābha, śaṅkhanābha, sumaṅgala, śṛṅgī, markaṭaka, musta, kardama, puṣkara, śikhī, hāridra, harita, cakra, and hālāhala (4.1–3ab). Eight stages of poisoning are distinguished, characterized by udvega, vepathu, ghoradāha, patana, phena, vikalatā, jaḍatā, and mṛtyu (death) (4.23–25).

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Chapter five does not mention zinc as one of the metals.

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The majority of the formulae of chapter six are well known and found in many rasaśāstra texts. Some of them may be rare or even restricted to the Rasamañjarī. 108

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The rasāyana formulae of chapter seven are partly frequent, partly rare or peculiar to the author of the Rasamañjarī. 109

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Chapter nine is a collection of prescriptions; they are meant to prevent or delay ejaculation (vīryastambha; 1–11), to increase the size of the penis (12), to cause impotence (13–15), to cure it (16–17), to increase potency (21–24), and to cure a series of diseases (25–29). The remaining part of the chapter contains recipes that ensure impregnation (30), that are suitable to vaśīkaraṇa (31–37ab), to tightening of the vagina (37c–f), removal of the pubic hair (38–39), etc. (40–78).

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Chapter ten contains a Bālatantra, related to Rāvaṇa’s Kumāratantra and other such texts. 110 It enumerates sixteen Yoginīs who attack a child on the first day, month or year of its life, the second day, etc., up to the sixteenth. The symptoms of the illnesses are mentioned, together with the rituals that are appropriate to appease the beings causing them.

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The names of these malignant beings are: Nandā, Āryā, Pūtanā, Bhīṣaṇāsyā, Biḍālī, Śakunī, Śuṣkā, Ṛmbhīkā, Acintyā, Kāpālikā, Lipsitā (or Nandikā), Pītalī, Bhadrakālī, Tārā, Śarvarī (or Sumukhī), and Kumārī.

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Some noteworthy terms employed in the Rasamañjarī are āgala (2.26), pāṣaṇapatikā (2.25), 111 and sphaṭikī (2.24). 112

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The eight kakāras consist of kūṣmāṇḍa, karkaṭī, kaliṅga, kāravellaka, kusumbhika, karkoṭī, kadalī, and kākamācikā (2.59–60).

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*The author*

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Śālīnātha was a son of Vaidyanātha. 113

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*Date*

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The earliest MS of the Rasamañjarī was completed in A.D. 1546/47, 114 which indicates that the Rasamañjarī is earlier than the middle of the sixteenth century. 115 The reference to the author of the Rasamañjarī in Gopālakṛṣṇa’s Rasendrasārasaṃgraha makes it possible to push back the terminus ante quem to a period anterior to the last quarter of the fifteenth century. The upper limit cannot be ascertained. 116

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*The Rasamitra*

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The Rasamitra by Tryambakanātha Śarmā 117 is a treatise that lays emphasis on the medicinal uses of alchemical products.

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*Contents*

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The Rasamitra is a work in six chapters (raśmi), dealing with generalities and technical terms (1), mercury (2), the mahārasas and uparasas (3), the dhātus (4), the ratnas and uparatnas (5), the viṣas and upaviṣas (6).

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Chapter one (sāmānyavijñānīya) describes, after a maṅgala to Śiva and some introductory verses, the subjects of rasaśāstra, the teacher and his student, the laboratory (rasaśālā; 4–6), technical terms (paribhāṣā; 7–12), weights and measures (parimāṇa; 13–14), 118 the yantras (15–24), 119 and the puṭas (24–28). 120 Chapter two (rasavijñānīya) gives an account of mercury and its doṣas (29–35), its purification (36–37), the first eight saṃskāras (37–44), the preparation of mercury from cinnabar (44), jāraṇa and mūrchanā (44–46), the preparation of mugdharasa, rasapuṣpa and rasakarpūra (47–48), some formulae (49–56), 121 and some rules concerning the use of mercurial medicines (57–58). Chapter three (uparasavijñānīya) is about the mahārasas, their names, characteristics, purification, sometimes their killing, the properties and actions of the products obtained, their uses, dangers involved in their use, and the treatment of disorders caused by the use of impure products (59–84); the second part of the chapter (84–95) is devoted to a description of the uparasas, their purification and the neutralization of the effects of impurities; the third and last part is about the sādhāraṇarasas (95–105). Chapter four (dhātuvijñānīya; 106–130) is concerned with the dhātus, their purification, killing, and the medicinal properties of the products obtained. Chapter five (ratnoparatnavijñānīya; 131–177) gives a similar exposition on the ratnas, uparatnas and some other stones. Chapter six (viṣaviṣaviṣavijñānīya) describes the viṣas, their purification, and their uses in medicine (178–208); the second part of the chapter is about the upaviṣas (208–244) and animal poisons, their purification and their uses (245–248).

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Sources referred to in the Sanskrit text are the Rasaratnasamuccaya (209), Rasasaṃketakalikā (208), Rasasāra (281), and Rasendracūḍāmaṇi (282).

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*Special features*

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Twelve doṣas of mercury are distinguished: three naisargikadoṣas (natural blemishes): viṣa, vahni, mala; two yaugikadoṣas (adulterants): nāga (lead) and vaṅga (tin); seven aupādhikadoṣas or kañcukas (blemishes due to the environment): parpaṭī (bhūmijā), pāṭalī (girijā), bhedī (vārijā), drāvī and malakarī (nāgajā), andhakārī and dhvāṅkṣī (vaṅgajā) (29–35). The eight saṃskāras described are svedana, mardana, mūrchana, utthāpana, pātana, bodhana, niyāmana, and dīpana (37–44). Six types of mūrchanā are mentioned (46). 122

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The group of mahārasas consists of abhraka, vaikrānta, mākṣika, vimala, adrija (= śilājatu), sasyaka, capala, and rasaka (59). 123 The group of uparasas is composed of gandhaka, gairika, kāsīsa, kāṅkṣī (= tuvarī), (hari)tāla, (manaḥ)śilā, añjana, and kaṅkuṣṭha (84). The group of sādhāraṇarasas is made up of kampilla, gaurīpāṣāṇa, navasādara, kaparda, vahnijāra (= agnijāra), girisindūra, hiṅgula, and mṛddāraśṛṅga (95). The seven dhātus are gold, silver, copper, iron, zinc, tin and lead (106); three alloys are mentioned: pittala, kāṃsya and varta (106). Three varieties of iron are referred to: muṇḍa, tīkṣṇa and kānta (117).

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Nine gems (ratna) are described: māṇikya (ruby), muktā (pearl), vidruma (coral), tārkṣya (emerald), puṣpa (topaz), bhidura (diamond), nīla (sapphire), gomedaka (zircon), and vidūraka (cat's eye) (131). The six minor gems (uparatna or kṣudraratna) are: vaikrānta (Irish diamond), sūryakānta (sunstone), candrakānta (moonstone), nṛpopala (lazis lazuli), peroja (turquoise), and sphaṭika (157). Other stones and substances described are: vyomāśman or saṅgayaśava (jade), pālaṅka (onyx), rudhi-ra (carnelian), pūtīkā (peridote), sugandhika (spinel), turmulī (tourmaline), tṛṇakānta (amber), sudhā (calcium), khaṭikā (chalk), dugdhapāṣāṇa (talc), godantī (gypsum), śṛ-ṅga (horn), kauśeyāśman (asbestos), nāgāśman (serpentine), and badarāśman or aśma-bhid (a calcium silicate) (163–177).

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The chapter on poisons mentions five mahāviṣas: saktuka, kālakūṭa, sitamusta, śṛ-ṅgī, and kṛṣṇaviṣa (181); series of viṣas from another treatise, from the Rasasāra, and from the Rasendracūḍāmaṇi are quoted (181–182). Vegetable poisons described are: saktuka, mustaka, śṛṅgī, saikata, sarṣapa, kūrma, dārvika, vatsanābha, kālakūṭa, meṣa-śṛṅgī, hālāhala, dārdura, karkoṭa, mūlaka, granthi, hāridra, raktaśṛṅgī, and pradīpana (183–192). The substances belonging to the group of upaviṣas are quoted from the Rasamketakalikā, some other treatise, and the Rasaratnasamuccaya. The author of the Rasamitra distinguishes the following upaviṣas: jayapāla, arka, dhattūra, viṣatinduka, guñjā, sehuṇḍa, lāṅgalī, karavīra, ahiphena, vijayā, and bhallātaka oil (209); these poisonous substances are described; tridhārā (210) and nilinī (237–238) are added.

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The author and the date of the work The Rasamitra is a twentieth-century work written by the author when he was a reader in Dravyaguṇa of the Banāras Hindu University.

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