Copper in Ancient India c11.s2.1

c11.s2.1

Blue vitriol of copper sulphate is designated in Sanskrit by the work *tutthwam* (तुत्थम्) from which the Persian word "tutia" is evidently derived. It was known in ancient India from the 3rd century B.C. as it has been mentioned in the Charaka and the Sushruta where it is used as an ingredient of external applications for the treatment of ulcers, leprosy, &c. It would be noted in this connection that not only *tutthwam* but *kāsisha* or green vitriol also has been mentioned in these works showing that the difference between these two kinds of vitriols was recognised in ancient India at a time when the ancient Greeks and Romans were ignorant of it. It was also known in later times as *mayurtutthwam* and *sasyaka* (मयूरतुत्थम्) and (सस्यक).