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Gold is a yellow coloured precious metal. Basically it is a metal, used by people of high economic status. But as far as its religious uses are concerned, it is essential for all; for a piece of gold is associated with every religious rite. Use of gold ornaments was popular since Vedic times. A number of synonyms are used in our literature for gold. Gold is known by several names on the basis of its colour, origin and purity. Its origin can be divided into three heads -mythical, transmutational and obtained from mines. Descriptions regarding its purification and other processes are found in the texts, literary as well as scientific. In addition to its decorative as well as religious purposes, it is used as medicine in different forms.

In Vedas, gold is generally known by the names Harita and 贬颈谤补峁噛补 which means yellow^[1]. According to Atharvaveda^[2], gold is originated from fire or sun. That is why it remains lustrous. It is also stated that this immortal metal has the power to provide long life to one who wears it. 骋峁沨测补蝉奴迟谤补蝉 point out the importance of gold in 峁�o岣峚艣akarma. At the Annapr膩艣a (The first feeding ceremony), the child is fed with honey and ghee by his father. To this mixture, gold is rubbed^[3]. 艢腻峁卥丑腻测补苍补-驳峁沨测补蝉奴迟谤补^[4] gives the description in another way, as per which the mixture of honey and ghee is kept in a gold plate. Relevance of gold in the ceremonies associated with the birth of a child, i.e. 闯腻迟补办补谤尘补 is pointed out in 贬颈谤补峁噛补ke艣墨驳峁沨测补蝉奴迟谤补 (贬颈谤补峁噛补ke艣墨-驳峁沨测补蝉奴迟谤补) and 膧辫补蝉迟补尘产补-驳峁沨测补蝉奴迟谤补^[5]. On the occasion of marriage, a piece of gold is kept on the head of the bride at the time of the ritual bath. 膧艣惫补濒腻测补苍补-驳峁沨测补蝉奴迟谤补^[6] gives details of a house warming ceremony, in which a piece of gold is placed in the water used to sprinkle around the house. During the funeral, the seven passages of breath of a corpse should be filled with seven pieces of gold dipped in honey or clarified butter. Gold is needed in every stage of Agnicayana ritual. At the 痴腻箩补辫别测补 sacrifice, the priests, sacrificer and his wife used to wear gold chains.

We have references in 惭补丑腻产丑腻谤补迟补, regarding the extraction and mining of gold. But from the verse鈥�

[...].^[7]

It comes to know that the process of extracting gold needed great effort in that period. While describing the imperial sacrifice of 驰耻诲丑颈峁ａ弓丑颈谤补, it is said that the gifts received by 驰耻诲丑颈峁ａ弓丑颈谤补 include gold digged out by ants (笔颈辫墨濒颈办腻). In the absence of clear evidence, this description may be considered as an exaggeration. However, it may have been due to the possibility of getting gold even from the diggings made by ants. This shows that gold was so near to the surface in those regions.

笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉^[8] call gold by the name 厂耻惫补谤峁嘺, 碍腻帽肠补苍补 and Kanaka. Like Vedas, 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 also link the origin of gold with fire. In addition to this, 骋补谤耻岣峚辫耻谤腻峁嘺 (骋补谤耻岣峚辫耻谤腻峁嘺)^[9] puts forward another method for producing gold. As per this method, when burning a mixture of yellow flowers of 顿丑耻蝉迟奴谤补, lead weighing five Pala and a bunch of Lakuca, gold will be generated.

碍补耻峁璱濒颈测补^[10] divides gold basically into three鈥�闯腻迟补谤奴辫补, Rasasiddha and 膧办补谤辞诲驳补迟补. 闯腻迟补谤奴辫补 is naturally pure, Rasasiddha is chemically purified and 膧办补谤辞诲驳补迟补 is that got directly from mines, which is impure. Besides these, he talks about another five divisions in accordance with the colour and the region from where it is excavated. T

he table given below describes this classification.

Name	Colour	Region
闯补尘辫奴苍补诲补	Resembles rose apple	Meru mountain
艢腻迟补办耻尘产丑补	Similar to pollen of lotus flower	艢补迟补办耻尘产丑补 mountain
贬腻谤补办补	Looks like 艢evati flower	Gold mines
痴补颈峁嘺惫补	Like that of 碍补谤峁噄办腻谤补 flower	痴别峁嘘 mountain
艢峁涐箙驳墨艣耻办迟颈箩补	Mensil	厂耻惫补谤峁嘺bh奴mi region

碍补耻峁璱濒颈测补 opines that 艢腻迟补办耻尘产丑补 is the best among these, while gold with red colour is inferior. Regarding gold ores, 碍补耻峁璱濒颈测补 mentions two types -solid ore and liquid ore. Their colours and other features are also listed by him. Mention is also made of gold purification, gold plating and enamelling on gold.

In 狈腻峁瓂补艣腻蝉迟谤补^[11], certain characters like 驰补办峁�i峁嚹� and nymphs are recommended to wear gold ornaments.

Gold is considered the wealth of a nation. 础艣惫补驳丑辞峁�a points out this fact in Buddhacarita^[12]. We get evidence in Saundarananda to gold washers, engaged in cleaning the dirty gold. Buddhacarita gives allusions to gold excavated from the regions of 贬颈尘腻濒补测补 and 碍腻帽肠补苍补parvata and also from the river beds. It may be because of the abundance of gold in that region that the mountain is named as 碍腻帽肠补苍补parvata.

础尘补谤补办辞艣补^[13] gives eighteen synonyms of gold. They are鈥�(1) Kanaka, (2) 贬颈谤补峁噛补, (3) Hema, (4) 贬腻峁璦, (5) Japan墨ya, (6) 艢腻迟补办耻尘产丑补, (7) 骋腻峁単别测补, (8) Bharma, (9) Karvara, (10) 颁腻尘墨办补谤补, (11) 闯腻迟补谤奴辫补, (12) Mah膩rajata, (13) 碍腻帽肠补苍补, (14) Rukma, (15) 碍腻谤迟补蝉惫补谤补, (16) 闯腻尘产奴苍补诲补, (17) 础峁ａ弓腻辫补诲补 and (18) 厂耻惫补谤峁嘺. 艢峁涐箙g墨kanaka is the name given by 础尘补谤补办辞艣补 to gold ornaments in general. Mention is also made of K峁沺膩峁嚹� and 碍补谤迟补谤墨, which are scissors used for cutting gold.

Caraka^[14] indicates the use of gold as a drug. He describes the preparation of gold powder for making tonic. 厂耻艣谤耻迟补 also recommends gold tonic, which is a mixture of gold dust, lotus seed and honey.

顿补峁囜笉颈^[15] gives evidence to the purification and melting process of gold. Gold was used for decorative purposes in the powder and liquid form in that period.

搁补蝉腻谤峁嘺惫补^[16] describes the transmutation of copper into gold, in which copper is converted into gold through a process, where a mixture of Rasaka and some organic matters is to be roasted with copper. The same process is described by 狈腻驳腻谤箩耻苍补 in his 搁补蝉补谤补迟苍腻办补谤补. From 搁补蝉腻谤峁嘺惫补, we get evidence to the 鈥楰illing鈥� of gold. There it is said that a Vida contained in the crucible, smeared with the milk of Arka plant will kill the gold. Similarly the transmutation of iron, lead and copper by means of calamine is also possible.

Rasaratnasamuccaya divides gold into five heads on the basis of their source. They are as follows鈥�

[...].^[17]

Of these, the first three are associated with myths, fourth one is obtained from the mines and the last is produced by converting the baser metals. In the 鈥榢illing鈥� process of gold referred to in the same text, the perforated gold leaves having the coating of a mixture of lemon juice and ashes of mercury are to be heated ten times. For getting the pure colour of gold, gold leaves with the coating of salt are to be heated in charcoal fire for one and a half hour. For heating these leaves, they should be placed between two earthen plates. In another method described by 狈腻驳腻谤箩耻苍补^[18], gold can be purified by heating the gold coated with the mixture of salts and ashes for three days.

碍腻办补肠补苍岣峞艣惫补谤墨尘补迟补迟补苍迟谤补^[19] talks about some techniques of transferring a base metal into gold. Thus according to the text, mercury can convert a base metal into thousand times weight of gold. But the mercury gains this power only on rubbing with the mixture of Vida^[20] and heated in a closed crucible. Mercury prepared in this manner converts copper into gold.

The technique of converting a base metal into gold by means of melted copper, silver or lead is described in 搁补蝉补辫谤补办腻艣补蝉耻诲丑腻办补谤补^[21]. For this purpose, the melted minerals should be alloyed with the digested mixture of calamine, cinnabar, copper pyrites, realgar and milky juice of Arka.

顿丑腻迟耻尘补帽箩补谤墨^[22] talks about the preparation of gold from the alloys of lead and copper. The text also speaks of preparing imitation gold by alloying gold with one hundred times its weight of copper. In another process, reddish yellow gold is produced by melting zinc and gold in a certain proportion. To this mixture, alkalis are added and heated in a closed crucible. 厂耻惫补谤峁嘺tantra^[23] explains the process of converting base metal into gold by means of mercury. Mercury attains this power, when rubbed with the root of a certain plant, which is bulb shaped, contains an oily substance. When this oil is added into molten copper, the latter will turn into gold. The colour of gold thus produced resembles the lustre of rising sun.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Atharvaveda5

[2]:

19.26.1

[3]:

膧艣惫补濒腻测补苍补-驳峁沨测补蝉奴迟谤补, I.15.1

[4]:

1.24.3,4

[5]:

贬颈谤补峁噛补ke艣墨-驳峁沨测补蝉奴迟谤补, 2.3.2; 膧辫补蝉迟补尘产补-驳峁沨测补蝉奴迟谤补, 2.1.3

[6]:

2.9.6,7

[7]:

Udyogaparva, 34.32

[8]:

骋补谤耻岣峚辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 2.31.4; 厂办补苍诲补辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 5.3.2075.2.6, 7; 惭补迟蝉测补辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 85.5; 叠谤补丑尘腻峁囜笉补辫耻谤腻峁嘺, 181.7

[9]:

1.84

[10]:

DAOAI, p.137, 138

[11]:

XXI.56-76

[12]:

I.27, II.2,V.42; Saundarananda, I.19, X.12, 20, 25, XIII.4, X.5, XV.66, XVI.80

[13]:

2.9.95

[14]:

AHHC, p.25

[15]:

础惫补苍迟颈蝉耻苍诲补谤墨办补迟丑腻, pp.32,74, 91, 101, 148, 88

[16]:

AHHC, p.13

[17]:

Ibid, pp. 43-44

[18]:

Ibid, p.5

[19]:

Ibid, p.47-48

[20]:

Vida is a powder prepared with certain organic or inorganic matters. It can be of several types, according to the ingredients it contained. Some types of Vida are as follows.鈥�1. A mixture of salt petre, green vitriol, sea salt, rock salt, mustard, borax, camphor and pyrites.; 2. Mixture of K膩sisa (green vitriol), rock salt, pyrites, 厂补耻惫墨谤补, salt petre, sulphur, juice of 惭腻濒补迟墨 an aggregate of three spices (black pepper, long pepper and dry ginger.); 3. Sulphur, sea salt, salt ammonia, borax, ashes, urine (AHHC, p.72.)

[21]:

Ibid, p.65

[22]:

Ibid, pp.88, 97, 98

[23]:

Ibid pp. 28-31