History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, Incorporating the History of Hindu Chemistry by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray c39.s6.27

c39.s6.27

The colour and other qualities of a simple substance (an isomeric mode of any *bhuta*) are the result of the potencies lodged in that particular collocation of Mass, Energy and Essence Now, when two such substances unite, their colours etc. tend to be produced, but the combination brings on a fresh distribution of Energy, Mass and Essence, and the forces thus set free may powerfully modify or even extinguish the separate tendencies or potencies of the component simple substances For example, when we prepare a collyrium by mixing equal parts of sulphur and mercury (the black sulphide of mercury), we find the resulting compound black. It should be remembered that each of the substances (sulphur and mercury) contains *sattva* (Essence), *rajas* (Energy) and *tamas* (Mass) in different proportions, and that predominant *tamas* (Mass or Inertia) always produces black, predominant *sattva* (Essence), white, and predominant *rajas* (Energy), red. Now, in the black sulphide of mercury, the white of the mercury tends to produce white, and the yellow of the sulphur yellow and if these tendencies were not obstructed, the result would be a mixed colour. But, in the particular collocation in question, the *tamas* of the mercury becomes intensive, and the black of the now intensive *tamas* extinguishes the white of the uncompounded mercury, which was due to prevailing *sattva*, as well as the yellow of the uncompounded sulphur, which was due to the combined operation of white-producing *sattva* and red-producing *rajas*. Again, when, with proper apparatus and by the application of heat, we combine mercury and sulphur to produce the red sulphide of mercury, the resulting colour is explained by the fact that in this new collocation the *rajas* (Energy) of the mercury becomes intensive, and, extinguishing both the white-producing *sattva* of the mercury and the yellow-producing *sattva-rajas* of the sulphur, imparts a red colour to the compound. In these cases as also in the formation of red by mixing powdered turmeric with lime, or whenever a new colour is produced in the compound, it is to be explained by the dominance of *tamas*, *rajas* or *sattva*, or their combinations, and the extinction of the uncompounded tendencies (or potencies) by the forces set free in the new collocation But there are cases where the colour of the compound is a mixed colour resulting from the colours of the combining substances; e.g., when sulphide of mercury and calcined tin are mixed, the resulting colour is evidently a mixed one (*patala*, pink), which is easily explained by the colours of the component substances