Minerals and Metals in Sanskrit literature
by Sulekha Biswas | 1990 | 69,848 words
This essay studies the presence of Minerals and Metals in Sanskrit literature over three millennia, from the Rigveda to Rasaratna-Samuccaya. It establishes that ancient Indians were knowledgeable about various minerals and metallurgy prior to the Harappan era, with literary references starting in the Rgveda. The thesis further examines the evolutio...
6. Non-gem Minerals and Materials mentioned in the Arthashastra
The Arthasastra mentioned the uses of several non-cem minera and materials such as pigments, mordants, abrasives, materials producing alkali, salts, bitumen, charcoal, husk, an agricultural waste etc. In use as pigments were anjana antimony sulphide (2.11.35; 2.12.6 & 24) manahsila red arsenic sulphide (2.12.2; 2.14.48 etc.), hadtala yellow arsenic sulphide (2.14.48 Zand hinguluka mercuric sulphide -28; 2.22 c.). These were also used as alloying reagents. Another pigment gandhara red lead (2.14.35) was used like hinguluka for embedding gold on metals Kasisa green iron sulphate (2.13.19) and sasyaka blue copper
V-13 sulphate (2.11.35; 2.12.6) were used for colouring agents and later as mordants in dyeing clothes. Corundum or kuruvinda, having hardness nine in Moh's Scale, was appropriately used as an abrasive (2.14.48) like diamond powder. Conch-shells (2.6.4; 7.12.24) and oyster-shells (2.11.35) were used not only for making bangles and other decorative items, but also to prepare Ksara or alkali by calcination of calcium carbonate contained in it to alkaline calcium hydroxide (2.12.27). The word ksara meant 'an extract' and denoted sugar (2.15.14) well as alkali from calcareous materials (2.12.27) and from the ash of barley yavaksara (2.12.9; 2.15.15) or masa-bean, sesamum, palasa etc. (2.12.9). as Yavaksara or barley ash (containing potassium carbonate etc.) was considered to be one of the 'salts' or lavanas. The group of salts or lavanavarga included salt from saline soil, from the sea, bida salt which contains apart from sodium chloride, some calcium and magnesium salts and red iron oxide, pit salt and sauvarcala or borax (2.15.15). silajatu (2.12.4) or bitumen, also known as adrija vas used a medicine since the Harappan times and also as a coating agent. Charcoal and husks from the forests and agricultural fields were utilised for their calorific value and carbonaceous content, in metal workshops, and the resultant ash further utilised for plasterir walls (2.15.60 also 2.17.16).
V-14 of great commercial importance were metallic ores from which useful metals were extracted. The Arthasastra did not provide the names of the constituent minerals beyond referring to them as dhatu of iron (tiksnadhatu), copper, lead etc.