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 Hingula (cinnabar)
Varieties of hingula.
Hingula is of three different kinds, viz, (i) charmara, (2) shuka tundaka, and (3) hansa-pada. Of these, the third is better than the second, and the second is better than the first. Charmara has the colour of a parrot; shuka-tundaka is yellowish; whereas hansapaka is as red as japa flower and coral, with white streaks here and there.
Properties of hingula.
Hingula is a destroyer of all the three doshas (i.e., abnormal excess of vayu, pitta, and kapha). It increases the power of digesting food, and is an excellent medicine for the cure and prevention of senile decay. It cures all sorts of diseases (if used with suitable accompaniments); is nutritive, and is very useful for the purpose of incineration of metals. Especially does it cure spermatorrhoea and leprosy. It increases appetite, strength, memory, and power of digestion. Mercury, extracted from hingula, is as good as that which has swallowed some sulphur. (For the process of absorption of sulphur by mercury, see vol. 1.)
Conclusion:
This concludes ‘Characteristics of Hingula (cinnabar)’ 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.