Essay name: Minerals and Metals in Sanskrit literature
Author:
Sulekha Biswas
Affiliation: Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj University / Department of Sanskrit
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.
Chapter 7 - A millennium of Ratnashastra (gemmology) literature in India
12 (of 85)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
Download the PDF file of the original publication
VII-11
Shilappadikaram was probably the first text classifying
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diamond into four 'castes': Brahmana white and light yellow,
Kshatriya red, Vaisya dark yellow or smoky and Sudra black or
impure. This casteist slant in gemmology persisted for more
than a millennium.
Another method of categorisation was in terms of the
crystalline properties. Pure diamond crystal was known to be
octahedral, with eight symmetric facets (samaphalaka), twelve
sharp edges (dh膩ra), six prominent solid angles (Kona) :
啶樴 啶曕啶｀ぞ 啶呧し啷嵿 啶げ啶曕ぞ 啶︵啶掂ぞ啶︵ざ 啶оぞ啶班ぞ啶� 啶膏え啷嵿い啶� 啶掂い啷嵿ぐ啷� 啶�
啶膏ぎ啶げ啶曕ぎ啷� 啶夃啷嵿啶曕啶� 啶膏啶む啶曕啶粪啶� 啶оぞ啶班 啶� 啶掂ぞ啶班た啶むぐ啶 啶呧ぎ啶侧ぎ啷�
( [gha峁璦 ko峁嚹� a峁ａ弓a phalak膩 dv膩da艣a dh膩r膩岣� santi vatre ca
samaphalakam uccako峁嘺 sut墨k峁ａ箛a dh膩ra峁� ca v膩ritaram amalam
(] REP. 23-24)
Defective diamonds apart from having flaws such as crow's
foot (Kakapada), spot (Vindu), streak or line (rekha), impurities
(samala) etc. may also be geometrically defective (RYP.25, AM 27).
Such defective samples may be barley shaped (yavak膩ra), broken
(3phutita) such that these have unequal solid angles (hinadhikakonam
sometimes only one solid angle (ekas rngam) or even roundness (Vartulam)
On this consideration, RRS (4.26-28) classified diamond gems into
three genders or categories masculine, feminine and neutral. The
samples with well-defined facets, edges and angles are 'masculine'.
The feminine samples are concave, flat or cylindrical. The neutral
(napumsaka) samples are spherical or blunt at the tips and slightly
heavy.
