Rasaratna Samuchaya
रसरत्नसमुच्चय (Sanskrit in Devanāgarī script) or Rasaratnasamuccaya (Sanskrit in IAST transliteration), variously transliterated as Rasaratna Samuchchaya, Rasaratna Samucchaya, etc., is an alchemical work written in India, in the Sanskrit language, and datable to the thirteenth or fourteenth century[1] or to the sixteenth century.[2] The text contains detailed descriptions of various complex metallurgical processes,[3][4] as well as descriptions of how to set up and equip a laboratory (ch.10) and other topics concerning Indian alchemy. It is a work that synthesises the writings and opinions of several earlier authors and presents a coherent account of medieval Indian alchemy.
Contents
Among the diverse scientific content of this text is:[5]
- Systematic approach to the Science. (Rasaratna Samuccaya 6/2)
- Philosophy of scientific explanation.
- Two kinds of mineral is zinc: Calamine and Smithsonite. (Rasaratna Samuccaya 2-149)
- Color and nature of the mineral. ('Artha-sastra' '2 -30)
- Color of minerals copper.
- Properties of some chemicals, such as calcium carbonate. (Rasaratna Samuccaya 3 / 130-131)
- Distillation of mercury. (Rasaratna Samucchaya 3/144)
- Explanation of the corrosion (Rasārṇava 7/97)
- The color of the flame (Rasārṇava 4/51)
- Three types of iron (Rasaratna Samuccaya 5/69)
- Two kinds of tin (Rasaratna Samuccaya 5 / 153-154)
- The lead (Rasaratna Samuccaya 5/170)
- The zinc metal (Rasataraṅgiṇi 19/95)
- The brass (Rasendra Cūḍāmaṇi14 / 154)
- The bronze (Rasaratna Samuccaya 5/205)
- Conditions of a laboratory and the people who work within it.
References
- ^ White, David Gordon (1996-01-01). The alchemical body: Siddha traditions in medieval India. ISBN 9780226149349.
- ^ Meulenbeld, Gerrit Jan (1999-01-01). A history of Indian medical literature. Groningen: E. Forsten. ISBN 9789069801247.
- ^ Indian Metallurgy
- ^ Biswas, Arun Kumar (June 1986). "Rasa-Ratna-Samüccaya and Mineral Processing State-of-Art in the 13th Century a.d. India" (PDF). Indian Journal of History of Science. 22 (1) (29–46, 1987). Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ Ancient Indian Chemistry. Hindu culture (blog)
External links
- Indian Institute of Science and Heritage
- Introduction
- Printed edition in Sanskrit
- Electronic text based on the 1927 Calcutta printed edition, with extracts from the Bodhinī commentary, in the SARIT library.
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