Copper in Ancient India c10.8

c10.8

Turning to later times we may compile something like a history of the alloy from literary as well as archaeological evidences. The alloy continued to be designated as “riti.” In Amarkosha’s lexicon and in Varāhamihir’s famous astronomical compendium Brihat samhitā, both works of the sixth century, it is designated by the same word. The modern name “pitala” (पित्तल) seems to have originated at a later date, for example we come across the latter word in the Rasaratna-samuchchaya, an alchemical work of the thirteenth century, in which brass is designated as “pittala” and divided into two classes “riticā” and “kākatundi.”⁵