Rasa Jala Nidhi, vol 2: Minerals (uparasa)
by Bhudeb Mookerjee | 1938 | 28,803 words | ISBN-10: 8170305829 | ISBN-13: 9788170305828
This second volume of the Rasa-jala-nidhi deals with the purification, incineration and medicinal uses of various minerals (uparasa), as well as preventing faults due to misuse. It is continued in the third volume which deals with the various metals. The Rasa-jala-nidhi (“the ocean of Iatrochemistry, or, chemical medicine) is a compendium of Sansk...
Part 1 - Characteristics of Chapala (rare type of ore)
(note: It appears to be an ore containing lead or tin. It is now-a-days ?very rare ; and the author has not yet been able to procure it.)
Chapala is obtained in mines from which lead and tin are procured. It is of four different kinds, viz., gold coloured, white, red, and black. The first two are especially suitable for solidification of mercury. The third and the fourth melt quickly like lac and are useless. Chapala (meaning subtle) is so called because it melts over fire as quickly as tin, Chapala has the appearance of quartz. It has six faces; it is soothing and heavy.
Chapala is a curer of obesity; it is soothing and has the property of making the body as hard as steel. It is a helper of mercury; it is bitter, strong, and sweet in taste. It is a remover of an abnormal excess of the three doshas; is a great nutritive, and has the property of solidifying mercury. This nectar-like substance may be used in gulma, mucus, colic, consumption, gonorrhoea, fever, leucorrhoea, and menorrhagia.
Conclusion:
This concludes ‘Characteristics of Chapala (rare type of ore)’ included in Bhudeb Mookerjee Rasa Jala Nidhi, vol 2: 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.