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 8 - Non-gem Minerals and Metals in Rasa-shastra
18 (of 44)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
Download the PDF file of the original publication
VIII-18
The metals used were gold, silver, copper, lead, trapu
or tin, harakuda or brass, Kala loha (pig iron), kansa loha
(bronze), bahu loha (many metal alloy) etc. Also mentioned were
tikkhaloha (cast iron) and mundaloha (wrought iron).
A special remark may be made of harakuda or 谩rak奴ta
of Kautiliya Arthasastra or brass. It was compared in colour
with gold:
啶むい啷嵿ぅ 啶い啶苦啷囙じ啷� 啶膏啶ㄠい啶曕 啶灌ぞ啶班啷傕ぁ啶曕 啶氞啶� 啶掂た啶掂啶ぎ啷�
啶啶氞さ啶班啶ㄠ啶� 啶膏啶掂啶班啶膏 啶� 啶啶� 啶夃じ啷� 啶灌ぞ啶班啶∴啶� 啶掂た啶溹啶炧啶ぎ啷�
( [tattha patikesu sunataka峁� h膩rak奴岣峚ka峁� caiva viveyam
pa峁僣avarensa sova峁璦resu ya p墨na usu h膩raka岣峚ka峁� vij帽eyam
(] Angavijj膩, 1957:233)
The bright yellow colour of brass was considered to qualify it
as a suitable replacement for gold as suggested by Nagarjuna.
Lohit膩ksa (carnelian), masarakalla or marakata (emerald),
Veruliya or vaidurya (beryl), gomeda (zircon), ph盲liva or sphatika
(quartz) were adored as gems. Kh膩ramani was a general name modified
according to colour: raktakhara (garnet), svetakhara or vimalaka
(pyrite?), nilakhara (sapphire), kalakhara (galena?) etc. The
gems like coral, pearl, chank- or conch-shell, ivory etc. were
separately categorised as pranayonicata or those having biological
origin. The metals were beaten, kh膩ramanis scalloped, coral and
chank were rubbed (ghattha) and the pearls smoothened (parimaddita)
The eyes were decorated with collyrium (anjana), the
brows with the lampblack, the temple with cinnabar (hingula),
orpiment (harit膩la), realgar (manahsila), and the lips with lac-dye
(red
(alaktaka). For other decorative purposes were used gerua 位 x Ochre),
(blue
palepaka (plaster), nilakadhatu (ultramarine?), sassekechunna A
