A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v1.c16.s1.13

v1.c16.s1.13

“Take five *palas* of saltpetre, one *pala* of sulphur and one *pala* of charcoal, prepared from the wood of *Calotropis gigantea* and *Euphorbia neriifolia* by destructive distillation¹; powder them and mix them intimately and macerate them in the juice of the above-named plants and of garlic and afterwards dry the mixture in the sun and pulverise it to the fineness of sugar. Gunpowder (lit. fire-powder) is thus obtained. 201-202