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
23 (of 85)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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VII-22
represent golden beryl, a gem softer than chrysoberyl but occurring
with beryl). Paribhadra, 'a transparent water-green gem' was equated
by Tagore (Manimal膩, part 2, p.509) to aquamarine, a variety of beryl;
it could be chrysoberyl also.
We have earlier described the modern scientific observations
on milky white chrysoberyl cat's eye and quartz cat's eye. These were
known to Kautilya as m盲rjaraksaka (AS 2.11.39) and in Navaratnapar墨ks膩
as lasuna or garlic-like appearing as dugdhaliptasma or smeared with
milk:
啶︵啶椸啶оげ啶苦お啷嵿い啶膏啶ぎ啷� 啶い啷� 啶む 啶侧ざ啷佮え啶う啶 啶夃啷嵿く啶む
( [dugdhaliptasmam yat tu la艣unapadam ucyate
(] NRP 115 in
Finot p.160). Pheru described the chatoyancy of this gem accurately
by comparing it with a human body that has horripilation pulaka or
has the hair erect and aligned:
啶侧ざ啷佮え啶曕 啶た啷溹ぞ啶侧ぞ啶曕啶粪 啶膏お啷佮げ啶曕ぎ啷� 啷�
- [la艣unaka岣� bi啷溹ぞl膩k峁岣� sapulakam |
-] 'the one which is cat's eye with horripilations' (RYP 93).
Thus we cannot agree with Finot that vai d奴rva is cat's eye,
As a matter of fact, Alfred
and lahsuniya or lasunaka its synonym.
Master (quoted by Sarma, 1984:67) has proved on the basis of a number
of Pali, Prakrit and Sanskrit passages that vaidurva has the clear
sense of beryl ('Indo-Aryan and Dravidian' by Master, Bulletin of the
School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. XI, 1943-46, pp.297-307)
Occasional identifications of vaidurva with cat's eye (such as in
Manimal膩 226, 228) have been erroneous and unfortunate.
