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
40 (of 85)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
Download the PDF file of the original publication
VII-38
Quartz (7) Family of Gem-Minerals
Quartz is pure silica, Si02 and has hardness seven in the
Moh's scale; it represents the headship of a family of a very large
number of minerals occurring in the earth's crust. Silica occurs
in nature either as crystalline quartz in unhydrated form, or as
chalcedony sub-group of minerals (hardness 6) which is hydrated
螤螚
silica S102, nH鈧�0. In pure forms both these materials are colourless,
but trace quantities of specific oxides render specific colours and
gem-like qualitit es to them.
Quartz has been known as 'rock-crystal' when it appears as
transparent crystal; this was erroneously believed in the ancient
world as 'very hard ice congealed in intense cold'. The Sanskrit
name has been sphatika which was known to occur in the Kaveri valley,
Vindhya mountains, China, Nepal (RP 246, GP. 1.79.1), in the Himalayas
Sri Lanka, shores of the Tapi or Tapti (NRP 153, MM 435) etc.
Ratnapariksa (RP 247) recognised that sphatika could be as
transparent as ak谩sa (sky) or taila (oil). Manim膩l膩 (MM 443)
defined:
啶嗋啶距ざ啶多啶︵啶оぎ啷� 啶む啶侧ぞ啶栢啶ぎ啷� 啶膏啶啶苦啶
[膩k膩艣a艣uddham tail膩khyam spha峁璱kam
] 'quartz
as transparent as sky, is called taila or tailakhya'.
Raga-Ratna-Samuccaya (RRS 4.92) described:
啶椸啶椸ぞ啶む啶� 啶掂た啶ㄠ啶︵啶氞啶涏さ啶� 啶掂た啶げ啶むぎ啶� 啶ㄠた啶膏啶む啶�
.... 啶ぞ啶粪ぞ啶｀啶班啶え啶苦啷冟し啷嵿啶� 啶膏啶啶熰た啶むぎ啶た 啶ㄠた啶溹ぞ啶� 啶膏啶掂啷嵿啶むぞ啶� 啶ㄠ啶� 啶溹す啷嵿く啶距い啷�
[ga峁僩膩toya vinducchavi vimalatama峁� nistu峁
.... p膩峁Ｄ佱箛airyanigh峁涐梗峁璦峁� sphu峁璱tamapi nij膩峁� svacchat膩峁� naiva jahy膩t
] The best variety has a shade like a drop of ganges water, very clear,
free from chaff. When rubbed on stone, it may be broken, but never
Alfred Master drew attention to the Rgvedic (1.62.4..1.121.10, 4.50.5
and 8.32.35) word phaligam probably meaning crystal. Sphatika first
occurs in a late Upanisad. The Pail word continued to be phalika
.
Master suggested that the word had a Dravidian origin.
