A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v1.c12.t10: Book X. On the Ingredients for Crucibles, &c.

A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v1.c12.t10

Language: English

Book X. On the Ingredients for Crucibles, &c.

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Earth which is heavy and of a pale colour, sugar or earth from an ant-hill or earth which has been mixed with the burnt husks of paddy, fibres of the hemp plant, charcoal and horse-dung pounded in an iron mortar and also rust of iron are to be recommended for crucible-making. 5-6

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Vrintaka Crucible

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A crucible of the shape of the fruit of brinjal (*Solannm melong*) to which is attached a tubulure, which is expanded towards its mouth like the flower of *Datura* s., . . . and which is either 12 or 8 digits in length, is suitable for the extraction of the essence of calamine and other readily fusible minerals. 23-24

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[The particular kind of crucible described here is the same as referred to in the extraction of zinc from calamine in the couplets 157-161, Bk. II.]

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[Here follows a tedious account of the different kinds of crucibles to be used for different chemical operations.]

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Calcination, Roastinc, &c.

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When metals have undergone roasting they cannot be roasted to their former condition (*i.e.* they lose their own properties) and they acquire superior qualities, fill up the lines in the fingers and do not sink in water.¹ 51

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¹ Cf. VIII. 25-28; also ibid. 39, pp. 118-119.

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A quadrangular pit 2 cubits in length, breadth and depth respectively is filled with 1,000 cow-dung cakes. The drugs to be roasted are placed in one crucible; this is covered with a second, the rims being luted with clay. The crucibles are deposited over the cow-dung cakes and 500 more thrown over them: fire is now applied. 54-55

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[The description given above is that of a typical roasting pit. The size of the pit, as also the number of cow-dung cakes often varies according to requirements. It is unnecssary to reproduce the minutiae.]

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The Metals

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The six metals are: gold, silver, copper, tin, lead and iron. Kāmsya and pittala (see p. 114) are artificially made [*i.e.* alloys]. 70

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The Salts

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The six salts are: sāmudram (lit. derived from the evaporation of sea-water); saindhava (or rocksalt); *vidam*, *sauvarchala*, *romaka* and *chulikā* lavana.¹

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¹ A syn. for navasāra (salammoniac), see p. 97.

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The 3 alkalies are: carbonate of potash, carbonate of soda (trona or natron) and borax. 71

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The Oils

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[A list of plants is given from the seeds of which oil is expressed.] 73-75

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The Fats

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The fats of the jackal, the frog, the tortoise, the crab, the dolphin, the ox, the pig, man and also of the goat, the camel, the ass, the ship and the buffalo are to be used. 76-77

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The Urines

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The urines of the elephant, the she-buffalo, the ass and the horse are to be used. (Cf. *ante* p. 30). 78

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The Acids

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The acids are: *rumex vesicarius*, the citrons and lemons, *oxalis corniculata*, tamarind, the acid exudation of *cicer arietinum*, *zizyphus jujuba*, pomegranate, *averrhoa carambola*—these are the acids well suited for the purification, dissolution and killing of mercury and the minerals.¹ 80-84

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¹ See under Mineral Acids.

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The Earths

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Brick, red ochre, saline deposits, ashes, earth from ant-hills—these 5 kind of earth are recommended by the experts. 85

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The Poisons

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*Kālakuta*, *aconite ferox*, *sringika* and the biles of animals are the chief poisons. 86

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The minor posions are :—*gloriosa superba*, *strychnos nux vomica*, *nerium odorum*, *anacardium semicarpus*, *datura stramonium*, *calotropis gigantea*.²

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² The information on the poisons is most elaborate in Susruta from whom our author evidently borrows the classification as given later on in Bk. XV; namely : स्थावरः, जङ्गमः, कृत्रिमः or vegetable, animal and artificial poison. It is worthy of note that opium is not included among the minor poisons.