Part 18 - Tuber Poison (18): Keshara, Pradipana or Mahabisha (Mahavisha)

It has the appearance of a dried ginger tuber, kept in the midst of filaments or blossoms of a flower. It is red and resembles fire in colour. It causes a terrible inflammation on that part of the body which comes in contact with this poison.

The ten kinds of poisons beginning with kala-kuta may he used sometimes for the purposes of metallurgy, preparation of poison, and kshema operations or alchemy; hut they should never he used in medicines of any kind.

Only the eight tuber-poisons beginning with saktuka should be used, well-purified and as prescribed in the medical treatises. In using these eight in medicines, care should be taken to see that their use is decided upon with reference to the caste or class of poisons to which a particular member of this group belongs (see below).

Note: The science of kshema or khema deals with transformation of base metals into gold. The term khema has been contracted into the Persian “kimia” or al-chamia. Vide page 100 of the author’s work, “Indian civilization and its Antiquity.”