Rasa Jala Nidhi, vol 1: Initiation, Mercury and Laboratory

by Bhudeb Mookerjee | 1938 | 67,774 words | ISBN-10: 8170305829 | ISBN-13: 9788170305828

This first volume of the Rasa-jala-nidhi includes preliminary information on Alchemy including initiation of a discpiple, laboratory setup, mercurial operations and commonly used technical terms. The Rasa-jala-nidhi (“the ocean of Iatrochemistry, or, chemical medicine) is a compendium of Sanskrit verses dealing with ancient Indian alchemy and chem...

Part 4 - Mercurial operations (2): Boiling of Mercury (svedana)

First process.

(note: any of the four processes may be observed.) Mercury being bound in a piece of cloth four-folded (i.e., having four folds) is to be boiled for a day in kanji, mixed with pasted trikatu, triphala, chitraka roots, and kanya. This, act of boiling (svedana) is necessary for the removal of remnants of blemishes.

Second process.

Mercury is to be boiled in kanji for three days with trikatu, rock salt, rajika, chitraka roots, and ginger.

Third process.

Saindhaba, trikatu, all the ksharas (alkalis), and mercury are to be rubbed together with goat’s urine, and boiled in an earthen or iron vessel for three days. Mercury is then to be washed and rubbed with all the materials required for boiling, viz. saindhava (rock salt), trikatu, ksharas, and goats’ urine. Rajika and leaves of sigru are to be rubbed and made into a ball, inside which is to be placed the mercury, the whole thing being bound in a piece of cloth, and boiled again for 3 days with all sorts of alkalis, sour vegetable juices, and urines.

Fourth process.

The trikatu, saihdhava, rajika, mulaka, the triphala, ardraka, mahabala, nagabala, meghanada, punarnava, meshashringi, chitraka, and nabasara—each of these, one-sixteenth in weight of the mercury, is to be rubbed with kanji and made into a paste. A piece of doth is to be coated, one anguli deep, with this paste. Mercury is to be put into this cloth, which is to be made into a bundle, and boiled for three days in a Dola Yantra.

Conclusion:

Rasasastra category This concludes ‘Mercurial operations (2): Boiling of Mercury (svedana)’ included in Bhudeb Mookerjee Rasa Jala Nidhi, vol 1: Initiation, Mercury and Laboratory. The text includes treatments, recipes and remedies and is categorised as Rasa Shastra: an important branch of Ayurveda that specialises in medicinal/ herbal chemistry, alchemy and mineralogy, for the purpose of prolonging and preserving life.

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