History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, Incorporating the History of Hindu Chemistry by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray c26.15

c26.15

The latter part (1500–1600 A D.) of the Iatrochemical Period, representing practically the final phase of Hindu Chemistry and Materia Medica, is characterised by the fact that over and above opium, some other foreign drugs were incorporated into its pharmacology. By the beginning of the 16th century A.D. the Portugese had fairly established themselves at Goa and some other parts of India, and as a result of intercourse with them, that dreadful scourge—the venereal disease—had made its appearance. Sanskrit medical treatises, from the Charaka and the Susruta downwards and ending with Sarangadhara, are silent about the malady, though they give fairly accurate descriptions of diseases of the genital organ (*upadamsa*) But syphilis had now to be reckoned with and a new name had to be coined for it. Accordingly we find Rasapradīpa, one of the standard works of this period, given to Tantric method of treatment, prescribing calomel and *chobchīni* (China root, *Smilax china*) for what is now termed for the first time *phirangaroga* or the disease of the Portugese. The use of this drug as a remedy for syphilis, it is believed, was made known to the Portugese at Goa by Chinese traders about A.D. 1535. This indirectly furnishes us an approximate date for the composition of Rasapradīpa This work also gives us a detailed process for the preparation of mineral acids by distillation, which the author names *samkhadravaka* (lit a solvent for conch-shells). This is described as a substance endowed with the property of dissolving metals. It is thus evident that the use of mineral acids as a solvent for metals was unknown in India before this time.