History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, Incorporating the History of Hindu Chemistry by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray c16.s1.22

c16.s1.22

The process of killing iron described by Chakrapani consists in rubbing a bar of iron with the levigated powder of various vegetable products like belleric myrobalans, *Clitoria ternatea*, *Vitis quadrangularis*, etc. It is then strongly heated to the fusion point and plunged into the decoction of the myrobalans. The iron is then powdered by being beaten with an iron hammer. The powder is then digested in the decoction of the myrobalans and roasted repeatedly in a crucible. The final product resulting from these operations is evidently an oxide of iron in a finely divided state.