History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, Incorporating the History of Hindu Chemistry by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray c17.10

c17.10

As stated above, the name of Nagarjuna stands pre-eminent among the Indian alchemists The authorship of the renowned Tantric treatise Rasaratnakara is ascribed to him. He is also the reputed author of Kakshaputa Tantra and Arogyomanjari, etc., and the redactor of the famous Ayurvedic treatise, the Susruta. But there is much controversy about the age of Nagarjuna. He is often confounded with Nagarjuna, the founder of the Madhyamika school of Buddhist philosophy and one of the creators of Mahayana Buddhism, who flourished towards the end of the second and the beginning of the third century A D. Rasaratnakara is obviously a Tantra of the Mahayanist school, since its invocations are addressed to all the Buddhas; and in one place there is pointed reference to Prajnaparamita (perfection of wisdom) appearing before Nagarjuna in a dream and revealing chemical knowledge to him. A feature of this work, specially to be noted, is that some chemical processes are discussed in the form of a dialogue between Salivahana and Nagarjuna, and between Ratnaghosha and Mandavya. These last two names are held equally in veneration with Nagarjuna and grateful acknowledgments to their services occur in later chemical treatises A document in its Tibetan and Chinese version has been found in the shape of a "Friendly Epistle of Nagarjuna to King Udyana". The original in Sanskrit, entitled Suhrillekha, is probably lost. Udyana in the Tibetan transcription is Sadvahana. References to Nagarjuna and his contemporary king Sadvahana are only to be met with in ancient classical literature. This Sadvahana is frequently spoken of in ancient Sanskrit literature as a patron of learning and there are several reminiscences associated with this name. According to Bhandarkar (Early History of the Deccan) the Andhrabrityas or Satvahanas ruled over the Deccan from B.C. 73 to about A.D. 218. So, if Salivahana of Rasaratnakara be identified with Sadvahana of the classical literature then the age of Nagarjuna and Rasaratnakara should be fixed sometime in the second century A.D.; and Nagarjuna, the founder of the Madhyamika philosophy, and Nagarjuna, the alchemist, should be regarded as one and the same person.