Treatment for fever (15): Ratnagiri rasa

An equal quantity of mercury and sulphur is to rubbed together and made into a black sulphuret of mercury. This is to be heated and made into a parpati in the same way as described later in connection with the preparation of rasa-parpati (vide, treatment of chronic diarrhoea). Reduce this parpati to fine powder and mix with it copper, mica, gold, each equal in quantity to mercury, iron half the quantity of mercury, and vaikranta (garnet) half the quantity of iron. All these are to be rubbed together in a stone mortar and subjected to bhabana three times each with the juice or decoction of the following:—sigru, basaka nirgundi, bacha, chitraka, bhringaraja, bhukadamba, kantakari, guruchi, jayanti, baka-flower, brahmi, kirata-tikta, and kanya. The product is then to be confined in a crucible or puta (vide, page 294, Vol. I) and heated by means of the third kind of baluka-yantra (vide, page 260, Vol. I). After finishing the heating, the fire is to be extinguished. When cooled by radiation of heat, the medicine is to be taken out, and powdered. This medicine cures nava-jvara very quickly. Dose, 6 raktis, to be taken with the decoction of pippali and dhanya. This medicine is a yoga-vahaka i.e., one which much increases the merits or demerits of another thing with which it is mixed.