A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v2.c34.243

v2.c34.243

Formation of molecular qualities in chemical compounds :—The Charaka school, which, we have seen, was an offshoot of the Sánkhya (cf. Charaka, Vimánasthána, Chap. 8, यथा वादित्यः प्रकाशकः तथा सांख्यवचनं प्रकाशकमिति) supplemented the above account of inorganic and organic compounds with a characteristically Sánkhya explanation of the formation of molecular qualities by chemical combination. In Charaka’s view, the colours, tastes, etc. of the molecules of chemical compounds result from the collocation in unequal proportion and unstable equilibrium of the different forces latent in the atoms (Paramánus) themselves. (एवमेतेषां रसानां षट्त्वमुपपन्नं न्यूनातिरेकविशेषात् महाभूतानां भूतानामिव स्थावरजङ्गमानां नाना-वर्णाकृतिविशेषाः । Charaka.)