A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v1.c14.s1.4

v1.c14.s1.4

From the time of the Susruta to that of R. R. S., we find all along six metals recognised (see pp. 48 and 127) and the last work distinctly mentions brass and bell-metal as simply alloys. Owing to the veneration paid to ancient authorities, the Indian alchemists had at first some hesitation in classing "the essence of the lustre of tin "वङ्गिमम्" (p. 71) as a separate metal. In the medical Lexicon ascribed to king Madanapāla and written about the year 1374 A. D,, ¹ zinc is, however, distinctly recognised as a metal under the designation of *Jasada*. ²