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 Kankshi/Tubari (clay containing alum)
Kankshi or tubari is a clay found in Surat. It can dye clothes with the colour of manjistha.[1] Kankshi is of two different kinds, viz, pitika and phullika. The former is a little yellow, heavy, and soft, It cures poison, boils in particular, and all sorts of leprosy in general. The second kind of tubari is called, ‘phulla-tubari’. It is light, white-coloured, soft, and sour in taste. If applied as a paint to the surface of a copper plate, the colour of the plate changes into that of iron. It is popularly known by the name of gopichandana.
Properties of kankshi.
Kankshi is astringent, pungent, sour, purifier of throat, salutary to hair, curer of boils, poison, and leucoderma. It improves eye-sight, pacifies the three doshas, and helps the exhaustion of mercury.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
According to another reading, it enhances the colour of manjistha, if used in the dyeing of clothes.
Conclusion:
This concludes ‘Characteristics of Kankshi/Tubari (clay containing alum)’ 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.