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A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v2.c33: General and Concluding Remarks

A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v2.c33

Language
English

Contents

General and Concluding Remarks

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The crystalline character of the minerals is referred to in one or two places. All the old writers agree in describing the diamond as having 6 angles, 8 faces and 12 edges.* The octahedral form of the crystal is common in the diamond occurring in the neighbourhood of Panna in Bundel Khand. Rājanighantu further adds that the stone is often endowed with numerous faces and edges.† According to Rasaratnasamuchchaya the female diamond is flattened and rounded, whilst the neuter is rounded and obtuse-angled.‡ Vaikrānta is also (probably a mineral of the spinel group, *vide* Vol. i, p. 83) described as having 8 faces and 6 angles.

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∗ कोणाः पार्श्वानि धाराश्च षडष्टौ द्वादशेति । Garuda.

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† "In most cubes of diamond, however, each edge is replaced by two faces, ... ... ... the twenty-four faces thus derived would, if produced or enlarged" sufficiently, give rise to the form known as the four-faced cube, or tetrakis-hexahedron. (Bauer and Spencer).

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‡ The rendering of the description of diamond in R. R. S. (vide Vol. i, p. 100) is based upon a misreading The correct reading is that adopted by the Poona edition, namely, अष्टास्रं चाष्टफलकं षट्कोणं "a diamond has 8 faces and 6 angles." The author evidently uses अस्र and फलक in the same sense ; there cannot be any confusion here, as distinct mention is made of the 6 angles. As a rule अस्र and कोण are used synonymously. Thus in Varāha वज्र is described as षडस्रि ; the commentator Bhattotpala explains it षडभिरस्रिभिर्युक्तं षट्कोणमित्यर्थः । "Rounded" (वर्तुल) : Cf. Bauer and Spencer. "The faces of diamond crystals differ from those of most other crystallised minerals, in that they are, as a

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It is sometimes asserted that the phosphorescence of diamond was first observed in 1663 A. D. by the celebrated Robert Boyle. Bhoja, (11th century A.D) however, mentions this property.* Faults in precious stones due to isolated grains of minute gravels etc., embedded in the mass [now technically called "enclosures"], are also referred to.†

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It may be noted here that what is generally known as the Indian or Tavernier's rule for determining the value of diamond can be traced back to a remote date. Sukranīti speaks of it as the "rule of squares,"‡ while Varāha, himself a great

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rule, much curved and rounded instead of being perfectly plane, as is usually the case." p. 119. "Obtuse-angled" (कुठकोणाग्र) in the crystallographic terminology should be rendered as "with corners truncated off."

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∗ अन्धकार च दीप्यते (phosphoresces in the dark). † कलुषा मन्दद्युतयो लेखाकोर्णाः सधातवः खण्डाः । दुर्विद्धा न मनोज्ञाः मशर्कराश्चेति मणिदोषाः ॥ Baráha. Here सधातवः and मशर्कराः no doubt refer to the minute pebbles (gravels) enclosed in the body of the stones. ‡ यथा गुरुतरं वज्र तन्मूल्यं रत्तिवर्गतः i. e. if a diamond weighing 1 *rati* be worth x, one of the weight of 4 *ratis* will be worth 2 *Xx*.

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mathematician, gives practically the same rule, though somewhat on an elaborate scale.*

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It would be unfair to compare the progress made by the Hindus in this branch of knowledge in the 6th century A.D. and perhaps earlier with that of the present day. Reference to the crystalline forms of diamond can be found in the writings of Keppler, Steno and Robert Boyle in the seventeenth century. Scientific crystallography originated with Romé de l'Isle and the abbé Haüy at the end of the eighteenth century. The various physical and chemical properties of the minerals culled here bespeak considerable powers of keen observation.†

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† Concerning Ratnaparíkshá cf. also "Les Lapidaires Indiens" by M. Finot in the "Bibliotheque de l'Eccle des Hautes Etudes."

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* सितसर्षपाष्टकं तण्डुलों भवेत्तण्डुलैस्तु विंशत्या । तुलितस्य द्वे लक्षे मूल्यं विद्वानितै चैतत् ॥ पादंशाधोनं त्रिभागपञ्चांशषोडशांशाय । भागाय पञ्चविंशः शतिकः साहसिकयेति ॥

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i. e. if a diamond weighing 20 tandulas (p. 33 ante) be worth 2 lacs (2,00,000), one weighing 5 tandulas will be worth only (5² × 4 = 100)th part of 2 lacs or 2,000.

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NOTE ON THE METHOD OF PREPARING CAUSTIC ALKALI.

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In the first Volume of our History the detailed description of preparing caustic alkali from the ashes of plants has been quoted at length from the Susruta and we referred to it "as a proof of the high degree of perfection in scientific pharmacy achieved by the Hindus at an early age."* M. Berthelot has no less been struck with the originality of this process; indeed, he goes so far as to suggest that this portion in the Susruta is evidently modern and in fact a later addition derived from contact with the European chemists. †

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The process of rendering mild alkali caustic by the addition of lime is to be found also in Chakrapāni (c. 1050 A. D.) and Vāgbhata, who must have preceded the former by several centuries, and it is well known that both these authors are deeply indebted to the Susruta. There is not thus the remotest chance of inspiration from the European chemists.

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∗ Vide Vol. i, Intro. c. † Journal des Savants, Jan. 1903, p. 42.

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We have evidence from quite an unexpected and independent source that the cauterization of bad wounds by means of caustic alkali was an established custom in ancient India. Thus we read in "The Questions of king Milinda":—

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"And when the inflammation had gone down, and the wound had become sweet, suppose he were then to cut into it with a lancet, and burn it with caustic. And when he had cauterized it, suppose he were to prescribe an alkaline wash . . . . Now tell me, O king! would it be out of cruelty that the surgeon . . . . thus cut with the lancet and cauterized with the stick of caustic."*

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∗ "Sacred Books of the East," Vol. XXXV, p. 168. Although Milinda has been identified with the Bactrian Greek king Menander (c. 140—110 B. C.), it is not to be supposed that any Greek influence can be traced in it. In this ethical romance, king Milinda and the Buddhist Bhikshu Nágasena have been put forward simply "as men of straw" to quote Rhys Davids. The work in reality conveys the teachings of the older Buddhists (Hínayánists) with the background of Sámkhya and Vedánta metaphysics.

The Tantrists, the Rosicrucians and the Seekers After Truth

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The East has not been always East and the West, West. Modern Europe is materialistic, but she has not disdained in the past to "plunge in thought." This reminds us of the truth of the poet's words: "one touch of nature makes the whole world kin." Ancient Greece had her orphic mysteries. They were developed into a religious and ethical system by Pythagoras. In the schools of Alexandria the neo-Pythagoreans and the neo-Platonists further added to it the Vedantic doctrine of a world-soul.

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"With the dissolution of the neo-Platonic school in the sixth century, Greek philosophy disappears, it is true, as a distinct phenomenon from the theatre of history, but it continues to exist in combination with foreign elements in the service of a new form of culture in the Science of the Middle Ages and of modern times." (Zeller).

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Says Waite :—

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The traditions of the neo-Platonic philosophy, with its elaborate theurgical system, were to some extent perpetuated through the whole period of the Middle Ages, for besides the orthodox theology of the great Latin Church and amidst the clamour of scholastic philosophy, we find the secret theosophy of the magician, the Kabbalist, and the alchemical adept borrowing, directly or indirectly, from this prolific

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fountain of exalted mysticism. The traces of its influence are discoverable in Augustine, in Albertus Magnus, in St. Thomas, the angel of the schools, and in other shining lights of western Christendom, while the metaphysical principles of Johannes Scotus Erigena, even so early as the close of the ninth century, were an actual revival of this philosophy."*

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History repeats itself. In India the Yoga doctrines of Patañjali paved the way for the origin of Tāntric mysticism and it associated itself with magic and alchemy. Some twelve centuries later, this phase in the stage of human progress found exponents in the soil of Europe. As Waite says:—

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"In an age of progress, of doubt, and of great intellectual activity, it is singular to remark the almost invariable prevalence of mysticism in one or other of its manifold phases, and the close of the sixteenth century beheld spreading over the whole of Germany and passing thence into Denmark, France, England and Italy, a mighty school of mysticism in the great multitude cf magicians, alchemists, &c., who directly or indirectly were followers of the renowned Paracelsus."†

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[^ *]: "History of the Rosicrucians," p. 27. Regarding the sect of the Cabalists see also Lecky's " Rationalism in Europe." Vol. i, p. 42. ed., 1900. [^ †]: See also Kopp's " Die Alchemie in ält. u. neu. Zeit," ii, pp. 1—146, on the " Bekanntschaft mit Geheimnissen der Magie, Theosophie, Alchemie u. A."

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Even the lower strata of society in England did not escape the contagion. Sir William Temple observes: "I have had several servants far gone in divinity, others in poetry, have known in the families of some friends, a keeper deep in the Rosicrucian mysteries."

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There are those who sneer at the attempts of the alchemists to convert the baser metals into gold and are at the pains to insinuate that the motives of the adepts were sordid. It may be that there have been here and there men—vulgar charlatans—who have pursued the art merely from worldly considerations. The high priests of alchemy, however, have in every age and clime been honest seekers after truth. Had there been no desire implanted in the human breast to pry into the hidden and occult mysteries of nature there would have been no science. Whence come we and whither are we destined to go? What is this substance made up of, and what are its ultimate constituents, and what will its combination with this or that lead to? These are queries, the solution of which or rather the very attempts to solve which mark the birth of philosophy. Patañjali and Nāgārjuna in India and Paracelsus in Europe stand forth as the prominent representatives of this spirit of inquiry. They have been dreamers, mystics and naturalists all combined in one. Such geniuses have always chafed at the restraints and limitations imposed on frail man and hence their fervid yearnings to peep into regions beyond the ken of our gross senses. As Emerson puts it:—

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“The privilege of this class is an access to the secrets and structure of nature, by some higher method than by experience. In common parlance, what one man is said to learn by experience, a man of extraordinary sagacity is said, without experience, to divine.”*

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Plotinus heaved a sigh at the soul with its infinite possibilities being caged in a frail and corruptible body. The pursuit of alchemy by the esoteric *Tántrist* is easily explained. To him it was only a means to an end. “It (mercury) is alone that can make the body undecaying and immortal.”† We find echoes of the same sentiment in the authoritative literature of the Rosicrucians. Says Waite:—

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† *Vide* “History of Hindu Chemistry,” Vol. i, Intro. lxxvii and xcv—xcvi.

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“Among the concourse of inquirers, and the clamour of supposed and pretended discoverers, there rose gradually into deserved prominence an advanced school of illuminati,

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∗ “Swedenborg; or, the mystic.”

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who, employing the terminology of the *turba philosophorum*, under the pretence of alchemical pursuits appear to have concealed a more exalted aim. . . . The student is directed by these writers from the pursuit of material gold to the discovery of incorruptible and purely spiritual treasures. . . Physical transmutation, the one and supreme end of the practical alchemist, sinks into complete insignificance; nevertheless, it is performed by the adept and is a landmark in his sublime progress." l. c. p. 32.

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The sage and seer of Hoenheim had his wrestlings. Should he pursue knowledge for its own sake or for what it bringeth? His evil genius holds out the bait thus:—

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"Know not for knowing's sake
But to become a star to men for ever;
Know for the gain it gets, the praise it brings,
The wonder it inspires, the love it breeds."*

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The spiritual at last triumphs over the base in man. Paracelsus has his revelation, and he bursts forth:—

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"Truth is within ourselves: it takes no rise
From outward things, whate'er you may believe,
There is an inmost centre in us all
Where truth abides in fulness: and around
Wall upon wall, the gross flesh hems it in,
The perfect clear perception—which is truth."*

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∗ Browning's "Paracelsus."

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In the above delineation the poet has done no more than bare justice to the inward longings of an ideal alchemist, who is only an honest seeker after truth. The spiritual and thought-world has always transgressed all barriers of time and space. Kanāda, Patañjali and Nāgārjuna of India and Heraclitus, Empedocles and Plato and the rest—they all form a holy fraternity; aye, these prophets and oracles of the intellect belong to a "lofty and sequestered class," "the high-priesthood of the pure reason, the *Trismegisti*, the expounders of the principles of thought from age to age. When at long intervals we turn over their abstruse pages, wonderful seems, the calm and grand air of these few, these great spiritual lords, who have walked in the world,—these of the old religion,—dwelling in a worship which makes the sanctities of Christianity look *parvenues* and popular; for ‘persuasion is in soul, but necessity is in intellect.’ "*

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∗ Emerson : on "Intellect,"

The Metals and Their Loss in Weight After Calcination

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Very vague ideas prevailed among the Hindu philosophers on the constitutions of a metal and its fate after calcination. We are reminded of the diversity of opinion in Europe before the time of Lavoisier. A metal like every material substance was supposed to be formed of one or more of the five bhūtas; in fact the earthy or saline element was taken to be predominant in it,[*] and hence it felt itself so readily to calcination.[†] It should be noted here that by "bhūta" was understood not so much an *element* in the modern connotation of the term as certain qualities of individual substances. Even mercury was regarded as composed of the five bhūtas.[‡] When a metal was submitted to calcination some of its component bhūtas escaped, leaving the earthy or saline portion behind; hence the ash (calx) must weigh less than the original metal itself.

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[*] पार्थिवाः सुवर्णरजतमाणिक्यमुक्तामनःशिलामृतकपालादयः । Ch. I., 24. Again in Ch. XLVI (Sūtra) 345 et seq. the metals are included among the saline ingredients.

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[†] Cf. "For some maintain that gold is solid light, or, at least that the chief ingredient is light, which is rendered solid by mixture with some particles of earth. Were it mere earth it might be calcined by fire strongly urged."—Vol. I. p. 9.

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[‡] पञ्चभूतात्मकः सूतस्तिष्ठत्येव सदाशिवः । इति रसाणवे ।

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There is, however, no direct reference to be met with anywhere as regards the quantitative aspect of the question so clearly established by Lavoisier.

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The proportion of loss which a metal undergoes on ignition was made the basis for determining its purity and we find in the law-books an arbitrary scale fixed. Thus according to Yājñavalkya, "gold is unaffected by fire, while one hundred parts by weight of silver, tin and copper lose (lit. undergo decay to the extent of ) two, eight and fifteen parts respectively.* This is to be taken as referring not to the roasting (killing) of a metal but simply as allowance made to goldsmiths and other artisans for loss incurred in the shape of dross &c. when it is melted in a crucible.

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That copper, lead, tin and other base metals (हीनधातवः) when repeatedly calcined are completely reduced to their calces was well known as will be seen throughout the body of the texts. The passage from Rasendra-chūḍāmani (p. 14) deserves some notice. Lead of the weight of 30 palas is to be calcined till its weight is reduced to a karsha (=1/4 pala). Even if it be calcined now one thousand times, it will not undergo further reduction in weight. Our author evidently had his experience of lead derived from argentiferous galena, which would leave a residue in the shape of a "button" of silver after the lead had been cupelled off.*

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∗ अग्नौ सुवर्णमक्षीणं द्विपलं रजते शते । अष्टौ वपुषि सीसे च ताम्रे पञ्चदशायसि ॥

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∗ Similar confusion prevailed in Europe up till the end of the 17th century. The following extract from Robert Boyle's "Concerning the Unsuccessfulness of Experiments" will make the point clear.

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"Having, upon occasion, had the curiosity not long since to visit some mines of lead and other metals, I find that there is a great difference, and discernible even to the eye, betwixt the several ores ; for instance, of lead, some of which I can show you so like steel, and so unlike common lead-ore, that the workmen upon that account are pleased to call it steel-ore, which being of more difficult fusion than ordinary, they are wont to mix it with other ore, which they call firm-ore, to facilitate the melting of it. And I likewise took notice of an ore, which for its aptness to vitrify, and serve the potters to glaze their earthen vessels, the miners call pottern-ore, and sell it (at least where I saw it digged up) dearer than other ore, from which it differs both visibly enough, and as the workmen affirm in divers other (and those less obvious) qualities ; and yet all these ores, after fusion, do pass indiscriminately under the name and notion of lead. In which therefore it is no wonder, that severer inquiries find a great deal of disparity. I remember I did not long since cause some lead-ore to be tried, which being the most promising that ever I saw, made me suppose it might contain some considerable quantity of silver : but though it proved so rich in lead, as to yield after the rate of seventy pound to the hundred, yet one of the most expert artists in Europe could not extract one grain of silver out of it ; whereas the lead of very many mines, being skilfully examined, will leave behind it, upon the test, a proportion of pure silver. And though this quantity of silver be not considerable enough to make such mines as yield it pass for silver mines

Antimony

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Although there is no direct recognition of antimony as a distinct metal, some sort of allusion to it as a variety of lead is not wanting. The reason why antimony was often confounded with lead is that at first sight stibnite may be mistaken for galena. The mineral sauvīrāñjana or nīlāñjana was thus indiscriminately applied both to the sulphides of antimony and of lead (cf. vol. I., pp. 93-95) That nīlāñjana contained a new metal was often suspected though its nature was not properly understood. Thus in Rasendra-chūḍāmani we have "nīlāñjana, mined with tīkshna (cast iron), and heated several times yields a superior kind of lead which is readily fusible and is of mild black colour."*

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(or, as we are wont to call them mines-royal) because the silver will not quit the cost of extracting it ; yet such mines though they pass but for lead mines with the metalist, may appear to be mixt mines to the naturalist, who may meet with divers experiments, wherein the little silver that is in them, may make their lead operate differently from that of those ores, which are wholly destitute of silver."—Edition of 1772, p. 323.

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∗ *Vide* Sans. texts, p. 52. The identical distich occurs also in R. R. S. Cf. vol. I. p. 119. Cf also ‘ But to detain you no longer on this subject, give me only leave to strengthen the paradox I have proposed, by the authority of that great and candid chymist Basilius Valentinus, who speaking of antimony, after he hath told us, that there are several kinds of it, and especially two; the one more mercurial and of a golden property, witnessed by the shining streaks or beams it abounds with; the

The Preparation Known as Svarnasindura or Makaradhvaja

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As the "law of definite proportion" was unknown to the ancients, tedious processes were resorted to for the complete conversion of mercury into its sulphide. "Makaradhvaja" even at the present day is a favourite remedy with the Hindu physicians of the Ayurvedic school.* Let us follow the recipe as given in Rasendra-chintamani: "when quicksilver is killed with an equal weight of purified sulphur, it becomes hundred times more efficacious ; when it is killed with twice its weight of sulphur it cures leprosy ; when it is killed with thrice its weight of sulphur it cures mental langour ; when it is killed with four times its weight of sulphur it removes grey hair and wrinkles ; when it is killed with five times its

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other more full of sulphur, but destitute of the golden nature that enriches the former ; adds, that there is such a different goodness betwixt the several sorts of antimony, as there is betwixt the several sorts of flesh or fish, which, though agreeing in name and, if you please, in nature, do exceedingly differ in point of goodness, which brings into my mind the great difference which I have found, even visible to the eye, betwixt the several sorts of Antimony."—Boyle's work—l.c. p. 324.

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∗ If we take the historical meaning of the term "Ayurvedic," the above preparation cannot lay claim to this distinction, for it was unknown at the time of the Charaka and the Susruta and was introduced into the Materia Medica during the Tantric period.

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weight of sulphur it cures consumption; and when it is killed with six times its weight of sulphur it is a panacea for all the ills that flesh is heir to. * Now 25 parts by weight of mercury can only take up (i. e. combine with) 4 parts by weight of sulphur; the excess of sulphur simply sublimes off unchanged. In the actual preparation of svarṇa-sindūra (Lit. vermilion with gold) the mercury is first made into an amalgam with thin gold leaves and then repeatedly rubbed in a mortar with sulphur. During the process of sublimation (ऊर्ध्वपातन) the excess of sulphur volatilises off as we have already explained and the gold in fine particles remains behind as a residue. The lustrous, crystalline, reddish brown sublimate, which collects nearest the source of heat, † has the formula HgS. As there is an erroneous impression about the composition of this drug even among educated people in this country we give below the results of analysis of a sample of "mercury killed with six times its weight of sulphur along with gold."*

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∗ तुल्ये तु गन्धके जीर्णे शुद्धाच्छतगुणो रसः । द्विगुणे गन्धके जीर्णे सर्व्वकुष्ठहरः परः ॥ त्रिगुणे गन्धके जीर्णे सर्व्वजाड्यविनाशनः । चतुर्गुणे तत्र जीर्णे वलीपलितनाशनः ॥ गन्धे पञ्चगुणे जीर्णे क्षयक्षयहरी रुजः । षड्गुणे गन्धके जीर्णे सर्व्वरोगहरो रसः ॥ र. चि.

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† Gopālakrishna very properly lays particular stress upon this point. स्फोटयित्वा तु मुक्ताभमूर्द्धलग्ं बलिं त्यजेत् । अधःस्थं रससिन्दूरं सर्व्वरोगेषु योजयेत् ॥ इति रसेन्द्रसारसंग्रहः ।

Identification of Metals by Their Colouration of Flames

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Prominent attention should be drawn to the following extract from Rasārnava (Vol. I. p. 68.)

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"Copper yields a blue flame * * * * * that of the Tin is pigeon-coloured ; that of the Lead is pale-tinted" * * * * *

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We are not aware of similar tests being applied anywhere at such an early period as a qualitative test for metals.

The Age of Bhikshu Govinda the Author of Rasahridaya

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There is a belief current in some parts of the Deccan that our Govinda is no other than the celebrated teacher of Saṅkarāchārya.† If there be any historical foundation for the belief Govinda should no doubt be placed in the 8th century A. D. Apart altogether from the question whether at such an early date the progress of chemical knowledge as revealed in Rasahridaya had been attained in India, the colophon at the end of the work would tell against such an hypothesis (Intro. lii). The author distinctly states that he wrote his book under the auspices of the king of the Kirātas and even throws out a hint that he was of the Buddhist persuasion. We have no valid reasons to believe that Saṅkara, the sturdy champion of Brahminical faith and the mighty dialectician, whose activity proved the ruin of Buddhism in India should have sat at the feet of a Guru of the opposite creed.

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∗ Percentage of sulphur found = 13·89 ; the calculated amount being 13·79 ; not a trace of gold could be detected.

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† The following Slokas are cited from Saṅkaradigvijaya in support of the above :— तस्योपदर्शितवतश्चरणौ गुहाया द्वारि न्यपूजयदुपत्य स शंकरार्यः । आचार इत्युपदिश स तत्र तस्मै गोविन्दपादगुरवे स गुरुर्यतीनाम् ॥

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व्यासः पराशरसुतः किल सत्यवत्यास्तस्यात्मजः शुकमुनिः प्रथितप्रभावः ।
तच्छिष्यतामुपगतः किल गौडपादो गोविन्दनाथमुनिरस्य च शिष्यभूतः ॥
शृणाव तस्य निकटे किल शास्त्रजालं * * * * *

v2.c33.s6.5

श्रीसङ्करदिग्विजयः, प्रसङ्गः, verses १०१ and १०५-६। आनन्दाश्रमसंस्कृतग्रन्थावलिः—ग्रन्थाङ्कः २२।

v2.c33.s6.6

In the above Slokas Govindanātha Muni is stated to be the preceptor of Saṅkara, the former being himself the pupil of Gauḍapāda, who in his turn was a pupil of Sukadeva, son of Vyāsa, the well-known compiler of the Vedas. The Govindanātha of the text has been confounded by the commentator, Dhanapati Sūri, with the Buddhist Govinda. It is scarcely necessary to take serious notice of the chronological perspective of the author of the Saṅkaradigvijaya.

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