History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, Incorporating the History of Hindu Chemistry by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray c35: Book X. On the Ingredients for Crucibles, etc.
History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, Incorporating the History of Hindu Chemistry by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray c35
- Language
- English
Book X. On the Ingredients for Crucibles, etc.
c35.1
Earth which is heavy and of a pale colour, sugar or earth from an ant-hill, or earth which has been mixed with the burnt husks of paddy, fibres of the hemp plant, charcoal and horse-dung pounded in an iron mortar, and also rust of iron, are to be recommended for crucible-making. 5-6
c35.2
*Vrintaka Crucible* :—A crucible of the shape of the brinjal (*Solanum melongena*) to which is attached a tubular end, expanding towards its mouth like the flower of *Datura stramonium*, and which is either twelve or eight digits in length, is suitable for the extraction of the essence of calamine and other readily fusible minerals. 23-24
c35.3
Then follows a long account of the different kinds of crucibles to be used for different chemical operations.
c35.4
*Calcination, Roasting, etc.* :—When metals have undergone roasting they cannot be roasted to their former condition (i e. they lose their own properties) and they acquire superior qualities, fill up the lines in the fingers and do not sink in water. 51
c35.5
A quadrangular pit, two cubits in length, breadth and depth respectively, is filled with 1,000 cow-dung cakes. The drugs to be roasted are placed in one crucible; this is covered with a second, the rims being luted with clay. The crucibles are deposited over the cow-dung cakes and five hundred more thrown over them: fire is now applied. 54-55
c35.6
*The Metals:*—The six metals are: gold, silver, copper, tin, lead and iron. Kamsya and pittala are artificially made (i e. alloys). 70
c35.7
*The Salts:*—The six salts are *samudram* (lit. derived from the evaporation of sea-water); *saindhava* (or rock-salt); *vidam*, *sauvarchala*, *romaka* and *chulika lavana* (sal-ammoniac).
c35.8
*The Alkalies:*—The three alkalies are: carbonate of potash, carbonate of soda (trona or natron) and borax. 71
c35.9
*The Oils:*—A list of plants is given from the seeds of which oil is pressed. 73-75
c35.10
*The Fats:*—The fats of the jackal, the frog, the tortoise, the crab, the dolphin, the ox, the pig, man and also of the goat, the camel, the ass, the sheep, and the buffalo are to be used. 76-77
c35.11
*The Urines:*—The urines of the elephant, the she-buffalo, the ass and the horse are to be used.
c35.12
*The Acids:*—The acids are: *Rumex vesicarius*, the citrons and lemons, *Oxalis corniculata*, tamarind, the acid exudation of *Cicer arietinum*, *Zizyphus jujuba*, pomegranate, *Averrhoa carambola*—these are the acids well-suited for the purification, dissolution and killing of mercury and the minerals 80 84
c35.13
*The Earths:*—Brick, red ochre, saline deposits, ashes, earth from ant-hills—these five kinds of earth are recommended by the experts. 85
c35.14
*The Poisons.*—*Kalakuta*, *Aconitum ferox*, *sringika* and the biles of animals are the chief poisons. 86
c35.15
The minor poisons are :—*Gloriosa superba*, *Strychnos nuxvomica*, *Nerium odorum*, *Anacardium semicarpus*, *Datura stramonium*, *Calotropis gigantea*
c35.16
( The information on the poisons is most elaborate in the Susruta from which the author has evidently borrowed )
c35.17
*The Solvents* :—Treacle, bdellium, *Abrus precatorius*, clarified butter, honey, borax—these are used for helping the fusion of the most infusible metals and hence they are classed among the solvents. 100
c35.18
BOOK XI
Linked texts (1)
- Suśrutasaṃhitā — Suśruta & Nāgārjuna (siddha/alchemist), Sanskrit