A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v1.c10.t17.70

v1.c10.t17.70

Six metals are recognised, namely: tin, iron, lead, copper, silver and gold.² The thin leaves of the metals by being plastered over with a paste of "the salts" (see p. 46) including common salt, salt-petre and sulphate of magnesia and afterwards subjected to roasting were no doubt converted into their respective oxides, chlorides or oxychlorides as the case may be. We have thus in the Susruta a crude and imperfect, but all the same *potentially modern*, process for the preparation of the metallic salts. The much reputed "potable gold" in the shape of the chloride of the metal was probably in this way obtained. It will be interesting to note the successive stages in the evolution of the chemical processes as we proceed. (See below especially under "Chemistry in Rasārnava," where the mixture of the salts is technically named "vida" and consists of green vitriol, alum, common salt, salt-petre, &c.).