A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v1.c11.t5: Process of Killing Iron
A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v1.c11.t5
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Process of Killing Iron
v1.c11.t5.1
“ I shall now describe the science of iron as promulgated by the sage Nāgārjuna.” [A tedious process given with wearisome minutiæ of which the substance only is reproduced below.]
v1.c11.t5.2
A bar of iron is to be rubbed with the levigated powder of the following vegetable products among others : the belleric myrobalans, *clitoria ternatea*, *vitis quadrangularis*, *boharhaavia diffusa* and *verbesina calend*. It is then strongly heated to the fusion point and plunged into the decoction of the myrobalans. The iron is then powdered by being beaten with an iron hammer. The powder is then digested in the decoction of the myrobalans and roasted repeatedly in a crucible.