History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, Incorporating the History of Hindu Chemistry by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray c39.s5.1

c39.s5.1

What then is the equivalent in the Samkhya-Patanjala of the distinction between a chemical element and a chemical compound, or is there none? Did or did not this elaborate physical analysis and classification of things lead on to a classification based on chemical analysis and chemical synthesis? These are questions of singular interest, the answer to which will disclose some new points of view from which the ancient Hindu thinkers approached the problems of chemical physics and physical chemistry.