Rasa Jala Nidhi, vol 3: Metals, Gems and other substances
by Bhudeb Mookerjee | 1938 | 47,185 words | ISBN-10: 8170305829 | ISBN-13: 9788170305828
This third volume of the Rasa-jala-nidhi deals with purification techniques of the Seven Metals (sapta-dhatu) and various Gems (ratna). It also deals with substances such as Alkalis (kshara), Salts (lavana), Poisions (visha) and Semi-poisions (upavisha) as well as various alcholic liquors. The Rasa-jala-nidhi (“the ocean of Iatrochemistry, or, che...
Part 1 - Characteristics of Bell-metal (kamsya)
Bell-metal (kamsya) is composed of four parts of copper and one part of vanga, melted together. Bell-metal, thus prepared, is commendable in medicines.
Characteristics of good bell-metal.
Good bell-metal has the following characteristics:—(l) sharp sound, (2) softness, (3) mildness, (4) dusky white colour, (5) freedom from impurities and (6) assumption of red colour, when heated.
Characteristics of bad bell-metal.
Bell-metal of an inferior kind is (1) yellow in colour, (2) When heated, it assumes the colour of copper. (3) It is sharp, (4) coarse, (5) unable to stand percussion, and (6) turns glazy when rubbed with something else.
Properties of Bell-metal.
Bell-metal is light, bitter, and warm, reducer of fat, improver of eye-sight, curer of worms and leprosy, pacifier of vayu and pitta, increaser of power of digestion. Every article of food stuff, except clarified butter, becomes salutary to the system, if served on utensils made of bell-metal. One who takes a mercurial preparation should not take his food served on a bell-metal utensil.*
Conclusion:
This concludes ‘Characteristics of Bell-metal (kamsya)’ included in Bhudeb Mookerjee Rasa Jala Nidhi, vol 3: 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.