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 3 - Lavana (3): Bira (a type of artificial salt)
Bira is saline in taste, warm in its effect on the system, acrid, alkaline, light, digestive, coarse, increaser of appetite, causing nausea, pacifier of kapha and vayu, increaser of pitta, and laxative. It is efficacious in colic, indigestion, constipation, flatulence, intestinal obstruction, abdominal tumour, heaviness of the heart, and spermatorrhoea.
Preparation of bira salt (black salt)
(a) Eighty two parts of sea-salt and one part each of haritaki, amalaki, and sarji (refined natron)—all powdered well, are to be heated strongly in an earthen vessel, till they are fused together into one lump.
(b) Eight parts of sea-salt and one part of powdered amalaki are to be mixed together, kept in an earthen vessel, and then subjected to a strong heat till the two materials are fused together. The product, when cooled of itself, is called bira salt or black salt.
Conclusion:
This concludes ‘Lavana (3): Bira (a type of artificial salt)’ 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.