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Many of the early Rasashastra texts had been composed by the Mahayana Buddhists who maintained close links with the Brahminical tradition of Tantra and the siva-Parvati cult. With the flight

VIII-34 of Buddhist monks and demolition of monasteries by the Muslim invaders, the Brahminical texts like Rasarnava of the twelfth century A.D. became very important. Rasarnava described a large number of equipments or apparatus crucibles, furnace etc. for processing of minerals and metals (Ray and Kaviratna, 1910, 1985). Dolayantram for example was an apparatus for steam-heating of suspended solids. Crucibles were made of different kinds of earth, iron-rust and burnt husks of paddy. Covered crucible resembled the nipple of a cow and were fitted with lids having raised heads. The flames were stated to be specifically colured A specific salts of copper, tin, lead etc. (Rasarnava 49). The characteristic of molten pure metal in a crucible was described: due to na visphulimga naca buddhadasca yada na rekhapatalam na sabdah bhusagatam ratnasamam sthirasca tada visuddham pravadanti loham || | | 'A pure metal is that, which when melted in a crucible, does not give off sparks nor bubbles, nor spurts, nor emits any sound, nor shows any lines on the surface, but is tranquil like a gem (shows signs of tranquil fusion) (Rasarnava 52-55). from Procedures were described for making copper metal maksika first (Rasarnava 7.12-13), vimala (7.20-21) sasyaka (7.41-44) etc; the two are pyrites bearing copper, and the third copper sulphate. The red copper metal was compared with coccinella insect: indragopasankasam sattvam. Rasamava repeated Nagarjuna's recipe for making zinc (from calamine or rasaka) the metal which is 'like tin and converts copper to gold' (actually to brass): satvam kutilasamkasam karoti sulvam triputena kamcanam || (Rigveda 7.34-38)

VIII-35 Zinc ore (rasaka) was stated to impart gold-like colour to copper as well as lead and iron (Rasarnava 12.50). Preparation of a copperzinc-lead alloy was described (Rasarnava 17.70-74). Six metals were arranged in the order of increasing rate of corrosion: suvarna rajatam tamra tiksna vamga mujamgamah | lotakam sada啶监たdham tacca yathapurvam tadaksayam | (Rasarnava 7.89-90) High reactivity of sulphur with most of the metals was described poetically: 'There is no such elephant of a metal which cannot be killed by the lion of a sulphur or pyrites'. nasti tallohamatamgo yatra gandhakakesari | nihanyat gandhamatrena yadva maksikakesari || (Rasarnava 7.142) Metals were reported to be 'killed' (jarana) by materials. like kasisa (green vitriol), sauvira (stibnite), sauvarcala (saltpetre) etc. (Rasarnava 9.2-3) Rasarnava mentioned three kinds of ksara or alkali: tankana or borax, yavaksara (carbonate of potash in the ash of barley) and sarjika or river bed sodium carbonate/bi-carbonate (5.35-36). Eight maharasas (Rasarnava 7.2-3) included srotanjana which was probably copper/antimony/cobalt sulphide, found on the banks of river and later colloqually known (in Rajasthan) as sohta.