A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c52.254

v3.c52.254

The *Lohasarvasva*³⁵⁰ treats, in 318 stanzas, of lohas and their medicinal uses.³⁵¹ The author announces that, though eight lohas are known, four only will be dealt with in his work, namely iron, mica, gold, and copper (7cd–9ab). The origin, characteristics, purification and killing of iron (loha; 9cd–70),³⁵² mica (abhraka; 71–101), gold (suvarṇa; 102–115), and copper (tāmra; 116–125) are described. The extraction of the essence (sattvapātana) of mica (abhraka) and the killing of this essence are also discussed (81–101).