A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v1.c16.s2.4

v1.c16.s2.4

It is strange indeed that a substance which occurs extensively in Bengal and in upper India as an efflorescence on the soil should have been allowed to go without a definite name for several centuries.² Dutt says "nitre was unknown to the ancient Hindus. There is no recognised name for it in Sanskrit."³ * * * Some recent Sanskrit formulas for the preparation of mineral acids containing nitre mention this salt under the name of “soraka”. This word, however, is not met with in any Sanskrit dictionary and is evidently sanskritized from the vernacular sorā, a term of foreign origin. The manufacture of nitre was therefore most probably introduced into India after the adoption of gunpowder as an implement of warfare.” ¹ Mat. Med. of the Hindus, pp. 89-90, ed. 1900.